Zebra Pattern Expandable
Zebra Pattern Expandable
Countering Copycats
Like every great product that hits big-time, your direct response blockbuster can fall victim to its epic success as knockoffs proliferate with startling speed. While it's a nice problem to have--nobody mimics a loser, after all--it remains a plague to creative marketers forced to watch the fruits of their labor land in copycats' pockets. A 2009 study by British Brands Group concluded that about a third of consumers have purchased a copycat, believing they'd actually bought the better-known brand.
Economists like to call this "perfect competition," and celebrate the benefit to consumers: new producers lower prices to siphon off market share. Alas, the original producers beg to differ, adding colorful adjectives to the term "knockoff artists" -- despite product variations and their accompanying advertising expanding demand for the overall product category.
Breakthrough DRTV products are particularly susceptible to Me Too Merchandising. A Google search for "Snuggie" identifies a dozen similar products on the first results page alone. (And, of course, Snuggie has been lambasted as being the king of all knock offs, since many versions of the "backwards bathrobe" preceded it.) Low manufacturing costs allow would-be competitors to ramp up production quickly, online search advertising provides a low-cost direct response channel, and the global marketplace guarantees that even the most meticulously patented and copyrighted concepts and brand names will attract admiring imitators and charlatan counterfeiters.
But since forewarned is forearmed, you can plan proactively to protect your position and remain King of the New Product Hill. Here are five suggestions, in marketing cycle order:
1) Craft memorable, feature-driven product names and slogans. That way, when you become one of ten battling brands, the original still defines the product category. You probably won't become the next Kleenex, but "the blanket with sleeves" isn't bad.
2) Employ what protections you can, such as copyrights and patents. While the ever-resourceful Chinese will still counterfeit M&Ms with "S&Ms," and fill butter dishes with "Unbelievable - This Is Not Butter," American product plagiarizers will at least have to introduce minor improvements or options--zebra-patterned fleece, or possibly blankets with slipper bottoms.
3) Saturate direct response media. Blanket broadcast airwaves so consumers can call now; advertise contextually so they can buy with a click. That's what your competitors will do--so afford them less opportunity by doing it first. Get the super-affiliates on board; let them take your online brand into the stratosphere.
4) Tweak the product continuously. Keeping it new and fresh also denies competitors an "in." But tread carefully. If you make too many changes to your trendsetting product, you risk morphing into the imitator you're trying to fight off.
5) Expand the brand. There is no greater asset than a popular and recognized brand. Conduct follow-up research to learn what your current customers want. The principle driving continuity programs is that it's easier to keep existing clients than it is to acquire new ones. Snuggie is already doing this with special event Snuggies and Snuggies for kids.
Admittedly, these are commonsensical and familiar best practices. But even savvy direct marketers can focus so myopically on breaking through, that they're caught without a battle plan when they do. That's not only embarrassing, it's unnecessary. Think positive and plan ahead; expect the copycats to come catting around as soon as you roll out your DRTV hit.
About the Author
Author of over 200 published articles, Tim Hawthorne is Founder, Chairman and Executive Creative Director of Hawthorne Direct, a full service DRTV and New Media ad agency founded in 1986. Since then, Hawthorne has produced or managed over 800 Direct Response TV campaigns for clients such as Apple, Braun, Discover Card, Time-Life, Nissan, Lawn Boy, Nikon, Oreck, Bose, and Heifer International. Tim is a co-founder of the Electronic Retailing Association, has delivered over 100 speeches worldwide and is the author of the definitive DRTV book The Complete Guide to Infomercial Marketing. A cum laude graduate of Harvard, Tim was honored with the prestigious "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) in 2006.
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