Infomercial programming is direct response television, which means that during the commercial information is provided for the consumer to make direct contact with the seller. This usually occurs with the posting of a 1-800 number and now more frequently a URL for the product’s web address, too. The combination of advertising and direct marketing makes infomercials the perfect combination for reaching thousands of target customers at one time. A benefit that makes infomercials popular with marketers is that it is considerably more affordable than regular airtime simply because it is for infomercials. It has been estimated that approximately 1/3 of the US population watches infomercials so this is a large target market that can be reached quickly, easily, and affordably. The reach is far and the price is very affordable.
Most everyone knows what direct response television is and they frequently refer to it as an infomercial. Another interesting fact about infomercial advertisements is that they are targeted towards people who can afford them. Generally, when someone is watching an infomercial they are in the target group for that particular product, which means they can most likely afford to buy it. Research is used to determine when different people are watching television and how to market to their target market. That’s how it is determined whether an infomercial will air early in the morning, mid morning, mid afternoon, or even in primetime.
People in their mid 40s have the most buying power and that is the average age of the infomercial viewer. Because of this marketers often target this age group through their infomercials more than other age groups.
In the early days of infomercials women were the main buyers. This has begun to change somewhat over the years, however, and today quite a few men buy items through infomercials, too. The infomercial industry anticipates this will change even more in the future and an equal amount of men and women will both purchase items through direct response marketing.
Many people enjoy buying items through direct response television and infomercials simply because they know what they are buying, how it works, and have made the decision on their own to purchase. Since there is no salesman breathing down their neck trying to convince them to buy a product consumers will be more pleased with their purchase and overall experience.
One of the largest media buying agencies for any infomercial and DRTV spot is A. Eicoff & Co. of Chicago