Page 181 - Marketing the Basics 2nd

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Despite their seemingly comical sales pitch, consumers in the US spend $2 billion each year on products advertised on television.
The second form of direct television marketing is cable television shopping. In this form, the advertiser obtains a broadcast license and promotes a wide range of products 24 hours a day. Advertisers pay the content provider a fee to list their product at the time when their target market will be watching. Like the infomercial, cable television shopping channels bring in billions.
kiosk MaRkeTing
The final method of direct marketing is called kiosk marketing. Kiosk marketing entails placing a mobile stand in a place where the customer is most likely to be. The kiosk may be manned by one or more people, or could simply be a touch screen that displays information. This form of marketing is effective if the salesperson is motivated and understands the inner-workings of the product. Kiosk marketing is particularly effective for Apple in their eponymous stores. Their ‘consultants’ are power users of Mac-branded products and have the enthusiasm to match. Other examples of kiosks include Eddie Bauer stores where customers can order from the entire line of products some of which are not available in the retail store and Florsheim Shoe kiosks placed in airports for home or office delivery. Banks’ ATMs placed in many and high traffic areas are another example.
TexT Message MaRkeTing (sMs MaRkeTing)
A recent direct marketing trend facilitated by mobile devices is text message marketing. This is a relatively inexpensive method to reach a large population. Consumers are forced to acknowledge these ads, either by reading it or deleting it, as it enters their message inbox. Some companies are even offering to pay consumers’ mobile phone bills, provided they agree to be bombarded by marketers.
PRIVACY ISSUES
Critics of direct marketing agree there are many advantages to creating relationships directly between the buyer and seller. However,