IT IS AN AD. First and foremost, an infomercial is simply another form of advertisement. It is a commercial message, and as such represents the viewpoints and serves the interest of the sponsor.
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It is a "paid program."
IT IS LONG FORM. Unlike conventional 30 and 60 second TV ads, an infomercial runs at least a half hour. The reason: a half hour is the smallest block of airtime a TV station will sell without interrupting its programming schedules. (NO program on TV is shorter than 30 minutes.)
IT SOLICITS A "DIRECT" RESPONSE. An infomercial must solicit a response which is specific and quantifiable. The solicitation and the delivery of the response must be direct between the advertiser and the viewer. A normal commercial does solict a direct response instead they are simply trying to brand their product in the market place, so that when next you are shopping you will remember the advertisement and be more susceptible to buying their new product.
Unfortunately, the term infomercial is not universally understood in the industry, and infomercials may be called different things by different people.
The list of official sounding names, from "documercials" to "long-form advertising" to "paid programming," is endless and can be confusing: some terms do not adequately define the scope of this type of advertising.
For example, the term 'long-form advertising' seems to be a favorite among media people. Unfortunately, the term describes only the time aspect, disregarding purpose and content. Of course, it does reflect the focus of those in TV circles, as opposed to the broader perspective of those in the marketing community. What will become of the term long-form advertising when paid advertising program extend to an hour or longer? Will we upgrade the term to longer-form advertising and then longest-form advertising?
By contrast, the term direct response advertising is obviously of a marketing heritage. But like the former, the term is incomplete because it does not qualify the medium being used. Mail order is also a form of direct response advertising.
Finally, there are those who feel uncomfortable with the term infomercial because it sounds too gimmicky or colloquial.
We think otherwise. More and more companies are accepting and using the term infomercial, and because of that we feel it will stand the test of time.
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