Inter/Media Advertising, an Encino, CA, agency specializing in direct response television spots, cemented its foray into per-inquiry advertising with the launch of Mediapoint Network.
The new division comes after the 30-year-old agency tested per-inquiry ads as an adjunct to its direct response media planning and buying services.
Inter/Media said Mediapoint aims to help clients take advantage of a little-used form of advertising requiring no upfront expenditure.
Per-inquiry advertising is a profit-sharing, self-liquidating arrangement in which the media owner runs DRTV spots in remnant time at no risk to the advertiser. Instead of a fixed cost per spot, the media venue gets a fixed cost per lead or sale-generated portion of the revenue. Advertisers pay only for leads received.
Mediapoint Network gives clients accountability and exposure, offering brand building through low-cost impressions. Also, the lower cost per lead is far less than the equivalent of cash-based advertising, Inter/Media claims.
In another benefit, the agency said it uses a tape distribution system that reduces the cost of dubbing and shipping.
Inter/Media offers Mediapoint Network to existing clients as an add-on service. CreditCardDebt.com, for example, is adding per-inquiry ads to its direct response mix on national cable networks. The agency, which has billings of $250 million, also is open to working with new accounts solely on per-inquiry basis.
Inter/Media's dip into per-inquiry advertising indicates a new acceptance among TV and radio stations forced to act creatively in a tough media environment.
Mediapoint Network claims 750 participating media venues in the United States. These include local cable and broadcast TV stations, national cable networks, syndicated national TV and radio, local radio and select print media.
