1. DRTV on a budget
(or how to get more bangs for your bucks)
25th March 2013
2. 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!
4. 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?
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
9. 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
10.
11. 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…
12. 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
17. 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!
18. 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?
19. 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
20. 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
21. 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
22. 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’
23. 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
24. 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
25. 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
27. 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
29. 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
30. 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
31. 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
32. 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!
33. What’s in your cupboard…?
• Corporate video? • Field trip record?
• You Tube • Event film
footage? gathering dust?
• Reels of old footage…?
34. Three ways to create an effective
DRTV ad from existing footage…
35. 1. Re-editing an existing video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvCX8mABlg
36. 2. Using footage from different sources
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGKVhpMbpVA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYEOQjvpraE
37. 3. Using footage from the field…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAczkjHss7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKE3RJuH1rE
38. 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
39. 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’
40. 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
41. 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”
42. Thank you – please remember to watch the links…
For more charity DRTV adverts, go to
Watson Phillips Norman You Tube Channel
