Direct Response Advertising, Is Everybody Really Doing It?

The direct response advertising business is a $250 Billion dollar industry. Yes, Billion with a capital B. Yet people think they are not affected by direct response - until you find a George Foreman Grill in their kitchen. Even the most unsuspecting people are roped in by direct response (DR) advertising. This is why it is a growing industry for medium to small business owners to get their products and services sold.

Many of products you use today got their initial launch through DR advertising: TheraBreath; OxyClean, the Ab Roller and the list goes on.

Ironically, many people think they know nothing about it and are not affected by it. It is the most unsuspecting, yet highly workable, marketing method today. Why? TV. A newsblaze.com article Why You Can't Ignore the Power of Direct Response Ads to Boost Sales, cites television as reaching a whopping 98% of the homes in the U.S.

And according to a study from the Electronic Retailing Association, called The Evolving Role of Direct Response Television in Multichannel Marketing Execution, multichannel marketers are growing the DRTV industry. (Multichannel marketing is offering customers more than one way to buy something -- for example, from a website as well as in retail stores.)

Bob Francis, the Vice President of Commercial Production for Event Management Services, Inc. is a pioneer in the world of direct response. With 25 years under his belt in the DR advertising industry and accolades like having been the creative genius behind the well-known 8-Minute Abs campaign, when Francis comments on what it takes to be successful in DRTV, people listen.

To hit it big with Direct Response, one needs:

A product that has mass appeal

A good ratio between hard cost & retail price

An irresistible, generous offer -- give away way more than what the consumer pays for (Victoria Principals skin care line is a great example).

An added advantage is to have a consumable product. Once they [consumers] like it, wear it or use it and get compliments three days in a row, you can guarantee when they run out they will buy it again. says Francis. Consumable products have lifetime customers.

DRTV is not just for celebrities. Todays small to medium businesses can reap the rewards. The benefits include:

Building brand name recognition

Retail backup in other words, take your product with proven DR advertising and sales backing it up, that retailer is already ensured they have a product that is going to sell in their stores.

Whats the ultimate goal of DR advertising? Going to retail. George Foreman made millions before taking to retail. Jane Fondas videos were once sold via Direct Response now you can even rent them at video stores.

Francis acumen lies in not only writing, producing and directing Direct Response ads, but also in assessing what products are viable candidates for this type of marketing approach. He imparts his knowledge to entrepreneurs from many different industries nationwide at marketing boot camps organized by Joy Gendusa, CEO of PostcardMania, and Marsha Friedman, CEO of Event Management Services, Inc.

One factor Francis claims he loves is disabusing entrepreneurs of the misconceptions of direct response advertising. Direct Response advertising is very workable today because:

The costs of production is low

With the advent of cable TV, media time is inexpensive

You can target your audience with cable like never before

You cant just utilize one channel of advertising these days, says Francis. DR advertising coupled with an aggressive web and retail presence can boom your business.

Bob Francis is one of the pioneers in the direct response advertising industry. Bob began his career in 1983 as the producer of the hour long infomercials for the Lowry Group and National Super Star, two Real Estate seminar companies. Bob's biggest and most notable TV commercial hit was "8 MINUTE ABS" which he wrote, produced and directed and which sold over twenty million dollars in the first eighteen months it aired. It is still being sold on the internet today.

Karla Jo Helms is the Vice President Public Relations for PostcardMania. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazines prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. As an Expert Author, she is always willing to share her marketing advice through articles, interviews and speaking engagements. Visit PostcardMania's web site at www.PostcardMania.com For more information on Bob Francis educational seminars, visit www.PowerMarketingMania.com

The Charm of the Paper Dolls

The world first saw the dolls appearance in the city of Paris during the 18th century while Louis XV was reining the land. The appeal and design of the dolls immediately caught the attention of the gay circle of the grand French society. On the other side, British printers and doll makers printed moral stories on the bodies of the dolls themselves. Now it is very clear that the dolls have been used for different purposes during the early times!

Early European paper dolls often depict famous actors and actresses of the early years, and they were primarily used during performances on toy stages. For those who love English literature, some are even using these paper dolls to enact Shakespeare plays and play Shakespearean characters. Paper dolls in America had its own humble beginnings because paper back then was considered a scarce or precious resource. It is because of this that little children, if ever they will have some paper dolls, will really treasure each one of them by putting them into boxes or the in-between pages of their books. But as years passed by, paper became less expensive and this bring forth the mass production of paper dolls made out of cheap cardboard boxes.

Many people in the past earned some money by coloring paper dolls manually. The reason behind this is that the technology of colored printing on paper dolls was not yet fully established. The fashion for paper dolls in the early days was also treated with utmost modesty. All paper dolls back then are fully clothed, and some were even depicted wearing multiple layers of clothes. However, as time passed by, clothing commercialization affected the way dolls will incorporate fashion to themselves. Many expensive materials such as silk and linen were then used as clothing to these paper dolls.

Paper dolls began achieving greater fame when they crept their way out into the pages of world-famous magazines. Among the popular early magazines that featured paper dolls were Ladies World, Womans Home Companion, Pictorial Review, Ladies Home Journal, McCalls, Good Housekeeping and Delineator. The paper dolls shown on these magazines were really good that they are really sought by many doll collectors today.

Paper Dolls are also used to depict world famous Hollywood actors and actresses, which further boost their already widely accepted popularity. Among the famous celebrities that were featured as paper dolls were Tyrone Power, Betty Hutton, Greer Garson, Mary Martin, Sonja Henie, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner among others. These types of paper dolls are among the hardest to find and also one of the most sought types of paper dolls in the world today.

Anton Sunhome is a author at Dress up games a children's website focusing on safe online games for kids. He is also editor at Coloring Pages also a well known children website.