There are many options when it comes to advertising. But here's one I bet you haven't thought much about, long-form advertising. Long-form advertising, also known as an infomercial, has helped to make many entrepreneurs wildly successful. Of course, they are still many others who have gone bust while attempting to sell a new product with an infomercial, Personally, I like long form advertising. It gives the advertiser a lot more time to talk about the benefits of the product. And depending on the medium, consumers can ask questions and get an immediate response. Compared with a :30 or :60 second spot, consumers benefits more from an infomercial by having access to more information, seeing how a product works, being able to ask questions and hearing testimonials. In terms of cost, it comes down to content vs. frequency. I'll talk more about this in the next post or two.
However there are a couple of non-negotiable factors that must be in place in order for an infomercial to work. First, the product or service should be something that people will want to buy. Sounds obvious right? Well it's not. Do you remember the Slumber Sleeper or the Beer Burglar Alarm? Exactly. Next, you need a pitch person that is both knowledgeable and passionate about your product or service. Although it's your product/service, it doesn't mean that you're the best person to front your infomercial. You might want to consider a paid spokesperson. This is someone you'll compensate to represent your product or service. The late Billy Mays is a great example of a very successful paid pitchman. He was best known for his association with OxiClean, but he also represented several other products.
If however, you embody the passion and presence for tv, then hosting your own infomercial is the way to go. The one person that personifies a successful television infomercial salesman is none other than Ron Popeil. In fact, I consider him to be the king of the television infomercial, a marketing/infomercial genius. Mr. Popeil's inventions have been bought by millions, but that never would have happened without his incredible talent to sell in the long-form advertising format. I encourage you to read his bio. He learned a great deal at his father's knee, but Popeil mastered the art of selling in an infomercial. Popiel took his father's inventions, the Chop-O-matic and the Veg-o-matic and made them household names.
Popiel also introduced us to the Popeil Pocket Fisherman (I really wanted one of these), Mr. Microphone (I really, really wanted one of these), and the Showtime Rotisserie (not that I needed it, but I wanted to be able to just "set it and forget it"). There are about a dozen other products from his company Ronco, that Popeil has successfully sold using infomercials.
But wait...there's more. In part two of this post, we'll take a look at radio infomericals, including one in which I co-hosted.
Have you ever purchased a product that was advertised in an infomercial?
1 comment:
Great points, Deb.
I used to watch the Lindsay Wagner Sleep Number Bed commercial and say, "What? Is she the poster child for quaaludes? How could they ever pick her?" I wrote to the SNB people and they later sped up the verbiage on the commercial so she didn't seem as capable of INDUCING sleep WITHOUT a bed.
Popeil's saturation of the gadget market is readily seen at nearly every garage sale or flea market (The next time I see either Mr. Microphone or the Pocket Fisherman I'll set it aside for you--I wanted them too--and I don't fish--and I only sing in the shower).
If your radio infomercial was on what I think it was, its concepts were applied by me, and have helped a handful of others as well.
Once again, good job.
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