Product Challenge
Alcoa Home Exterior Group had a new version of an old product. House siding rethought. Real insulation value, true customized colors, merchandise excellence—a quality product worthy of any home. The plan was visionary: utilize the Web and telemarketing to let customers interact with real designers; create “Dream Color” siding with shades and hues appropriate to specific homes; ease the process of finding a contractor.
Alcoa had been spending $800 per lead to find the classic “hot lead” for their product. They’d grown frustrated with conventional advertising: its costs were prohibitive, and it was unable to calculate the effectiveness of those costs. They couldn’t measure the success of previous campaigns. Simply stated, they couldn’t be sure how well conventional advertising was actually working.
DRTV Solution
Alcoa met with our team and we suggested a DRTV solution. Not a commercial or print ad that would plug “siding for sale,” but a sophisticated, comprehensive package that included a strong Web presence, key dealer incentives, a contractor component, and a “sweepstakes” to drive consumer interest.
When we completed the project, Alcoa Home Exterior Group had a “warm and educational” long-form infomercial in the vein of a “home improvement” show. But undergirding it was a true campaign: reasoned, well planned, and tailor-made for their product. This allowed them to employ the primary benefits of DR: measure their costs, gauge the response, sell their product, and build their brand.
DRTV Case Study Results
Our DRTV solution drove leads at a cost of $45 to $50 per “hot lead”—an enormous reduction from the original figure of $800. It allowed them to evaluate their advertising costs and make future business decisions with reliable information. It permitted them to strategically and successfully launch their revolutionary product in new markets.
In short, the program proved so effective that contractor organizations ultimately contributed their own money to roll out the program in their respective regions.
