Remnant TV Media Buying
DRTV Media buying is Remnant TV Media buying. All of the cable networks allocate the “left overs” – which is the media not sold in quarterly upfront buys – to DRTV. The direct response TV departments at each cable network in turn sell that media to the highest bidders week to week. It is a complete fallacy to think that a large DRTV agency has more sway over the “left over” rates than a smaller agency. The networks do not care – they simply want to move their left over inventory at the highest prices. “Clearing rates” are the rates that will run in any given week based on inventory. But, again, remember these rates are pre-emptible and the spots go to the highest bidder.
A great DRTV Media Buyer has an innate sense of value and has zero allegiance to their friends at the networks and cable systems. A great DRTV Media Buyer has allegiance only to the client and the client’s allowable cost per lead or order. For example, we run overnight spots on a cable network reaching 57 million homes. We book a $15 rate, and we clear at about 50%. Our client wanted more clearance and the network asked for $25 as a reasonable clearing rate. We booked at $18, expecting 80% clearance – so you see there is a great deal of skill and knowledge involved to execute these buys correctly.
Remnant TV media drives sales and leads and can be targeted to all demographics. That’s the beauty of direct response television. And in today’s fragmented media landscape there are more opportunities than ever for a marketer to expand their TV presence via DRTV Remnant buys. Please check back here often for more updates and straight talk about the DRTV media industry. Or visit us at InfoWorx.com.