TEMECULA, Calif., Dec 1 , 2004
In order to best understand the potential of Per Inquiry Advertising, it helps to look at how the model has flourished outside of television. I think you’ll discover that CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) is a more commonly used term describing the Per Inquiry model outside of television. Use of the word “acquisition” in this context could mean “lead” or “sale”. A close cousin to CPA, which has generated a tremendous following in the advertising community, is PPC (Pay Per Click) which better describes the performance based advertising models of companies such as Google and Overture. Recently, another Internet company, Findwhat, introduced a new type of PPC model (Pay Per Call) which will allow both advertisers and users of local search to transact business through 1-800 numbers instead of clicking on a link. Local Advertisers, placing their ads on Search Engines, will be able to pay by the call and will not be required to have a website through Findwhat’s model. This begins to parallel the traditional Per Inquiry Television model which often transacts on a Pay Per Call basis itself and tends to favor the use of 1-800 numbers. In recent years, as new response mediums have developed, Per Inquiry has expanded its horizons to not only include 1-800 numbers but also web addresses and other combinations of technologies that allow for consumer response. When you consider Performance Based Advertising in all of its forms, it’s really becoming more and more a major part of the mainstream advertising mix. So, where does Per Inquiry Television fit into the exploding growth of performance based advertising models?

Although the model of Television Per Inquiry proceeded the advent of the Internet’s billion dollar Performance Based Industry, it has remained a small cottage industry. To be fair, for years the direct response television model was limited due to the small number of advertisers, relatively speaking, that utilized the medium. However, we have all witnessed incredible growth in DRTV over the past decade and most of it comes from General Advertisers embracing the medium such as DTC Pharmaceutical and others. So, we no longer have that excuse to fall back on. There is more demand today for DRTV Advertising than ever before. Given channel expansion, there’s also more inventory than ever before. Despite what many think, it’s not a supply or demand problem with Per Inquiry Advertising. It’s an execution problem with the blame falling squarely on insufficient analytics and media management technology.

On the CPA Internet side of the equation, everything is a science from testing and execution to media management. Everything is measured and well managed not unlike the traditional direct response television agency model. However, one will not find this level of sophistication with most television Per Inquiry models of business where there is rarely anything that approaches real media or campaign management. It is typically left to the TV Station to try and manage the Per Inquiry campaign which proves to be a critical weakness of the model. Traffic Managers do not necessarily make good direct response media managers especially when they do not have proper reporting or agency tools to properly manage the Per Inquiry campaign. Given the situation, most stations run the same ROS schedule for all Per Inquiry campaigns which represents a terrible inefficiency. Can you imagine an agency buying the same schedule on all stations for every DRTV campaign? It would be a disaster and they wouldn’t be in business for very long. Similarly, the end result for most Per Inquiry Campaigns, and for the entire Per Inquiry model, is limited scalability.

Now that the stage has been set, let us provide some bullet points so you can see the differences between traditional Per Inquiry and REVShare’s business model.

Here are the 5 key differences:

Per Inquiry: Distribution of commercial is difficult, time consuming, and expensive
REVShare: Network Distribution System eliminates 90% of costs and allows for expedited delivery to over 700 stations.

Per Inquiry: Limited ability to work with new response mediums
REVShare: Offers Complete Support for Web, Text Messaging, 800, and Interactive Technologies.

Per Inquiry: Difficulty working with advertisers who manage their own in-house call center.
REVShare: No limitations. In fact, most REVShare clients handle their own inbound.

Per Inquiry: Insufficient Lead Authentication & Fraud Control
REVShare: Ability to use ANI data to authenticate leads through NOC Integrations

Per Inquiry: Limited Ability to Measure and Manage the Campaign
REVShare: ROI and Media Management Technologies allow both advertisers and stations to see how campaigns are performing in order to maximize efficiency for both parties.

Of all the innovations REVShare has made in the Performance Based Television Industry, the last one is perhaps the most critical of all. If on a Per Inquiry basis neither the Advertiser nor the Station have the proper tools to track the performance of campaigns the model will always be limited. Without exception, all successful CPA models on the Internet rest their success on some form of ROI Bid Management and Media Optimization Technology. While perhaps unique in the Television Industry, REVShare is no different in implementing these processes into its television CPA model.

It is our opinion that these are the five major impediments to a scalable CPA model on Television. Making progress on all five fronts, REVShare has enjoyed substantial growth and has established itself as Television’s Largest Broker of Performance Based Advertising. As television continues to fragment, and as disruptive technologies continue to erode the viability of today’s model of television advertising, the role of CPA Television will continue to grow. One doesn’t have to look further than the Internet’s billion dollar performance based industry to see what the television industry must do to compete in these changing times. In a sense, the Internet has thrown down the gauntlet of CPA Advertising and billions of ad dollars have followed. How will television answer back and gets it’s fair share? How will all those lost ad dollars be reclaimed? What will attract these advertisers to television?

At REVShare, we believe we have the answer: CPA Television Advertising

For more information on REVShare, please contact Gail Gessert - Director of Marketing & Communications: gail@revshare.com or 1-800-819-9945, ext. 485.