Show All

::: C :::

"call now" motivators

the use of premiums, bonuses, discounts, sweepstakes, etc. offered in addition to the principal product to motivate the viewer to call immediately. This is a much studied subject. A good "motivator" can sometimes double response. Yet marketers are cautioned to fully substantiate and fulfill all claims. If you state

"$10 off for all callers in the next hour."

you must strictly adhere to the offer, a difficult task at best...

call to action

also know as "CTA." That portion or portions of an DRTV commercial that "asks for the order." An infomercial can have 1, 2, 3 or more CTA's. Each infomercial CTA is typically a minimum of 2 minutes long and generally reviews the product's main features and benefits, and states the product guarantee, price point, warranties, "send check" address, 800#, credit cards accepted, etc.

campaign

term used to describe a product's advertising plan and execution, from development, through production and media placement.

channel surfing

the use of a remote control to window shop multiple cable channels, stopping only briefly on each channel.

chip camera

a technologically advanced video camera that records images using chips. This video is more stable and not subject to the drifting and burning typical of the older tube cameras.

clearance

a term used by short form buyers to indicate what portion of their media order in any day, week or campaign was actually broadcast. If a media buyer requests $10,000 of short form media be telecast in a week, but only $5,000 airs, the clearance was 50%. Decreasing clearance percentages over the past decade has been a problem for short form direct marketers and media buyers.

clutter

a term used primarily by the spot image/awareness TV advertising industry to denote multiple commercial messages in a short period of time making it difficult for the individual spot commercial to stand out from the crowd. Commercial breaks can last two to four minutes, where it's possible to have as many as eight to sixteen different commercial messages.

C.O.D.

acronym for "cash on delivery." The most common method of payment in Europe; rarely used today in North American DRTV. Refusal rate is often 50% or higher making it too costly. An exception is where a product's gross margin is very high (10 to 1) and therefore able to absorb refusal costs. "Sorry, no COD's" is a common graphic on DRTV billboards.

COG

(see "cost of goods")

color correction

a technical process involving the electronic manipulation of colors on transferred film or video. Color correction is done to enhance color or correct lighting or equipment problems resulting in off-colored images during shooting.

comparables

a media time slot or slots that had previously aired an infomercial with a product of similar demographic appeal to the product being analyzed.

component

recording and transmission of the individual color, luminance and chroma characteristics of a video signal without combining them first as in a composite signal.

composite

the combining, recording and transmission of a video signal's color, luminance and chroma values and characteristics as one signal.

composition

the demographic make-up of a specific viewing audience.

contingency

a percentage (usually 10%) of a production budget that is set aside for potential cost overruns.

continuing media

specific infomercial media time slots that produce profitable results week after week and are continually rebooked.

continuity program

a DRTV product purchasing program that encourages consumers to purchase the first in a series of products for a lower than normal price, then continue purchasing the entire series for a higher price. Extensively used for music and book series. Concept also employed successfully for beauty, diet products and self-development products.

copy

term used by advertisers and agencies to specify the written or spoken words in a commercial. The term "copywriter" is most often used in traditional advertising to denote the writer of copy. In the infomercial industry, the copywriter is more often referred to as a "scriptwriter", due to the length of copy written (30 to 40 pages).

cost of goods

generally the direct costs associated with the manufacturing/packaging of a specific product.

cost per order

most often called "CPO." Refers to the television media cost to generate one product order. The figure is determined by taking the cost of a specific infomercial telecast and dividing it by the number of orders received. A $1000 time period that generates 100 product orders would have a CPO of $10.

cost per rating point

commonly known as C/RP. Describes the cost of buying one rating point in a specific time period or general program category (news, talk show, soaps).

coverage

the total number of different people or homes reached by a specific ad campaign.

cover shots

same as B-roll.

CPO

(see "cost per order")

creative

term used to describe the concept and scripting phases of the production process; and/or a person or group of people who is involved in these processes, as in "the creative department".

credit card %

the percentage of total DRTV orders purchased with a credit card versus check or COD.

C/RP

(see "cost per rating point")

CUME

synonym for reach.

Cumulative