TV commercials offer a great opportunity to sell directly to a captive audience and grow your brand awareness. But can you do them both at once and which is best for you? Should you consider a DRTV advert or a BRTV commercial and what does that even mean? Let me explain…
DRTV – Direct Response TV Commercials
The first on our list is Direct Response TV commercial.åÊ DRTV ads are specifically targeted at answering the needs of a specific audience demographic. They are all about getting those viewers actively engaged in the advert and encouraging them to pick up the phone, visit the website or go to a store and buy what you’re selling.åÊ When produced properly this is an amazingly powerful tool that can achieve measurable and substantial return on investment.
A standard format for a successful DRTV advert is one of relateable characters on screen speaking directly to the audience about a problem or situation in their lives. This problem may be instantly recognisable to the viewers which immediately makes them actively involved in the advert. The commercial will then go on to explain how with the help of a product or service helped them resolve the problem and how much better their lives are because of it. It will then finish with a call to action, telling the audience directly that they too can benefit and they should pick up the phone right now to find out how.
This simple narrative structure combined with eye-catching on-screen graphics and recognisable characters has proved effective time and time again as long as you target your campaign effectively in terms of where and when your commercial will air in order to attract the right demographic.
Brand TV Commercials
A well crafted and targeted brand TV commercial can be incredibly effective. They are created to raise awareness of a brand without necessarily targeting an immediate uplift in sales. It’s all about planting a seed in the viewers mind that this is a product or service worth remembering, building up trust and creating a position in the market for the brand. It might drive viewers to search out the brand either online or in store to find out more but it’s a far more gentle-handed approach to sales. Brand adverts are often produced for new companies or companies who are trying to expand their position in a crowded market. It’s a way of slowly edging their way into the conscience of the viewing public.
Straight up brand TV adverts are often produced with the aim to provoke an emotional response from the audience. That emotion will be part of the the brand’s position in the market. It could be to provoke a sense of desire or aspiration the “I want that” or “I want to be like them” feeling. You’ll often see this with luxury brands – watches, cars, perfumes – where the audience is invited to experience the same sensation that the person on screen is feeling. That’s why you’ll often see celebrities such as sports personalities and actors brought in to help promote these brands. These are people that audiences admire and often aspire to be more like so if they see them on screen with a particular product then it could drive them to either buy the same one or at least do more research into it.
BRTV – Brand response TV Commercials
Brand response TV commercials take the best of both worlds – the brand awareness of a Brand advert and the direct selling of a DRTV commercial. Whereas BRTV is still trying to generate an immediate response from the audience, it’s approach is far gentler than that of a DRTV advert. It will also retain the brands values whilst attempting to change or affect the audience’s opinion when it comes to the brand.
This was extremely prevalent in the wake of the banking crisis. Many banks and building societies looked to rebuild their brands by reminding customers how they have always been around in every aspect of their lives – from birth to buying a house, getting married etc. This tactic, implying that they are an old, reliable friend who will always be there for them plays into and exploits the audiences fears of an uncertain financial future.
This tactic is often replicated in food adverts. At a time when people are perhaps buying less luxury food goods in the supermarkets, many brands rolled out updated versions of their old adverts. This reminds audiences of feelings they had as kids eating a particular cereal or drinking fizzy pop. Many people look forward to seeing the classic Coca-Cola Christmas advert on TV as it links them directly to memories of Christmas as a child. Both of these examples are trying to create a response from the audience – encouraging them to buy the products or services whilst firmly cementing their brand in the mind share of the viewers.
Television Advertising with Echo Video
Hopefully that’s given you a bit more insight into the different types of TV Commercials. Which one is right for you? In summary…
DRTV Adverts
- Want to immediately sell products
- Outline a practical situation
- Show AND tell the viewer about the product or service
- Give a call to action
- Show AND tell you how to get in contact
- Very direct and not very subtle!
BRTV Adverts
- Want to influence buyers choices and opinion of brand
- Encourages further research into the brand
- Offers ideal view of brand and the product
- Pushes the viewer towards the website or Google search
- More subtle than DRTV
Remember, Echo Video can help with every aspect of creating a TV ad and getting it on TV so why not get in touch to discuss how a TV commercial could work for your brand?