DRTV on a budget

(or how to get more bangs for your bucks)

25th March 2013

Hello…

• I’m Maria Phillips, Director of Film and TV at WPN, a

London Direct Marketing Agency

• I’ve written more than 100 charity DRTV adverts

• I’ve helped put many charities – big and small – on

television

• I’m passionate about film and fundraising!

I do the creative bit!

Hands up…

• Have you ever tried DRTV before?

• Did it work for you?

• Do you have a recruitment proposition that

works well in other mediums (eg direct

mail or face to face)?

• Do you have any video footage?

In the next 40 minutes…

• Why DRTV

• Is DRTV right for you?

• Some of the basic principles and techniques to

make a responsive DRTV advert

• How to do it all on a budget

Watch out for relevant links to DRTV ads online

Why DRTV?

• It brings you new audiences

• It can transform tired propositions

• It is currently getting great results through

online and text responses

• It has uses beyond TV

• It is the most emotional of mediums

Yes but…

• No-one’s heard of us… We’ve seen great results from unknown charities

• I don’t know anything about DRTV…

Don’t panic! The basic principles of direct marketing still apply

• How do I know my advert will work?

You don’t – but you can stack the odds in its favour

• I don’t have enough budget…

There are some cost-effective short cuts

Three reasons to try it…

What is DRTV?

• Not brand building…

• Not about raising awareness...

• Not about changing people’s attitudes...

• Not about telling everyone how great you

are...

• Bluntly, it’s about making a direct sale

• The clue’s in the word…RESPONSE

Today, the UK charity

TV market place…

• …is crowded (84 charities on air in 2012!)

• …has to work harder than ever

• …has tried many different approaches in

the last 20 years

But the basic principles of response still apply…

What makes a strong DRTV advert?

• Head and heart (technique and emotion)

• A mass appeal proposition

• A low level ask (cash or RG)

• Multi response channels (call, text, online)

• Enough time to sell (eg 60 or 90 secs)

• Problem and solution

• Emotional storytelling

Know your audience…

Know your audience…

Good causes for DRTV

More challenging causes for DRTV

Could DRTV be right for you?

YES: my cause is mass appeal

YES: I already have a successful and simple

recruitment proposition that works elsewhere

YES: my solution is simple and can be

expressed as life-changing

YES: I pass the speed date test!

Before you take the plunge ask yourself…

• Proposition – existing or new?

• Amount – cash or regular giving?

• Length – 60 or 90 seconds?

• Phone / text / web or all three?

• What are my best life changing stories?

• What tangible prompts do I have?

• Do I have usable footage or am I starting

from scratch?

Some good propositions

Help save animals lives…

Help stop kids dying from dirty water…

Help cure cancer for someone like Susie…

Help a blind man see…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cZojxvxvGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99pQ0KJfdoE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yYQ-I9ZMjw

Some not-so-good propositions!

x Help people to share their skills so they

can pass them on to others

x Help people to help themselves work their

way out of poverty

x Help disabled people live the lives they

choose

Anthony Nolan proposition development

“Anthony Nolan matches donors willing to donate

their blood stem cells to people who desperately

need life saving”

to…

‘Save the life of a child with blood cancer’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyqEjtlZiKQ

Sense proposition and offer development

“Support our vision of a world in which all deafblind

children and adults can be full and active

members of society”

to…

‘Give £2 a month to bring a deafblind child

into our world’

to…

Give £15 to give a deafblind child the best

Christmas gift of all

to…

Text TOY and give £3 to buy a life changing

toy for a deafblind child this Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W650B9S5bHo

Putting the ‘heart’ into your DRTV advert…

• Life-transforming angle

• Feel then think

• Emotional storytelling

• Problem and solution

• Music and voice over

• Beginning and ending

The first few seconds of your

advert are really important

• Target your audience

“If you care about animals…”

• Be clear this is a response advert

“Please find a pen and get ready to ring”

• Attention grabbing caption

• “Urgent appeal…”

• Obvious and unapologetic telephone number

Beginnings…

The final frame is equally important

• End on your strongest need image

• Close up, strong eye contact

• Make one final, urgent ask

• Never let your audience off the hook

• Large, clear phone number and text

Endings…

Beware…

• Don’t tease

• Don’t be clever

• Don’t complicate

• Don’t use humour or anger

• Don’t forget you are selling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBHi7kJ78Ts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyyNCKsMSc4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKrRxmLfbJQ

How to make your advert for less -

a word about production costs

• A long time ago we used to spend quite a lot on

some charity TV adverts (up to £120k!)

• Today, those numbers simply don’t work!

• Today, DRTV charity adverts roughly cost

between £75k and £40k

• At WPN we offer a ‘starter package’ for £20k to

encourage charities to try TV

5 simple ways to cut production costs

• Re-cycle your existing footage

• Buy-in only the shots you need

• Use library music

• Pull in favours on voice over

• OR negotiate no repeat fee

Why existing footage?

• Many charity DRTV ads today use their

own recycled footage

• Some use a combination of ‘bought’ and

own footage

• This documentary style, ‘rough and ready’

feel often works better than filming from

scratch!

What’s in your cupboard…?

• Corporate video?

• You Tube

footage?

• Field trip record?

• Event film

gathering dust?

• Reels of old footage…?

Three ways to create an effective

DRTV ad from existing footage…

1. Re-editing an existing video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvCX8mABlg

2. Using footage from different sources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGKVhpMbpVA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYEOQjvpraE

3. Using footage from the field…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKE3RJuH1rE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAczkjHss7I

Some lessons learned with existing

footage

• Make friends with anyone who is planning a field trip!

• Make sure they take a video camera and are briefed on

the kind of footage you need

• If you are looking for old footage, befriend your video

editor and be prepared to spend the day searching for

the ‘needle in the haystack’!

• Missing shots? You can buy individual shots from Reuter

or BBC – but negotiate hard

• Quality of footage is not normally an issue for DRTV –

adds to authenticity and drama

The final touches – music

• Music is very important to response

• It adds an extra level of emotion

• There are many excellent library pieces

that are not expensive

• Look for pieces that take the viewer on a

journey from pathos to hope

• Subtle sound effects can add ‘colour’

The final touches - voice over

• Finding the right voice over is critical!

• We always use actors rather than voice over

artists or celebrities (more emotion)

• Befriend your PR people to find actors

sympathetic to your cause who’ll do it for free

• Or find your own VO – they will waive their

repeat fees if you ask nicely!

• Our experience: male and regional VO’s seem to

work best

A final few words…

• Putting together a DRTV is hard work but great fun

• Be prepared to fight the odd battle!

• Understand these principles and techniques, but please

don’t just go off and do it all yourself…

• BUT beware anyone who is more interested in the film or

the idea than getting the response

“A cheap advert is an expensive advert

if it doesn’t work”

Thank you – please remember to watch the links…

For more charity DRTV adverts, go to

Watson Phillips Norman You Tube Channel