Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Understanding Good Web Design

Be sure your website is good looking and strikes emotion with your viewers. Choosing a great Boston web design is not just important for local business, it is important to the customers nationally that you would like to make customers. It should be easy to read and not cluttered with unnecessary text that confuses the reader when they enter. It should be a basic explanation of how your product will benefit the consumer. More than half of the visitors who browse a site are there to make a purchase or gather information for a future purchase. Aside from the obvious aspects, such as having a great product at a good price, is your site easy for the user to navigate? Is it a site that they can browse and still be able to reach the product they came for? These are all questions you must ask as you build a site. Its also a great idea to have a friend, family member or employee give feedback as to how they think the site worked for them.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Reverse advertising via infomercials

Recently Montel Williams started a series of DRTV. The infomercials are similar to the format of his talk show. Over the past, his show was a format to promote various musical acts, actors, movies, products and writers. Now Montel is doing this for his own benefit. He is promoting products with Tristar where he earns a percentage on each product sold.
It is a new twist on two very successful formats. Combining the two formats into one seems to be the way of the future. Television shows are constantly trying to combine advertising into their format and not just during a commercial break. 
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Monday, February 16, 2009

Infomercials at bargain prices!

It seems silly to say that infomercials can now be picked up at a bargain prices, but in comparison to the cost of prime time spots that were once unattainable, they are somewhat of a bargain. The networks are having trouble filling the prime time ad spots because companies can no longer find it in their budgets to pay for the time. This leaves holes in programing and those holes are being filled with infomercials.
Infomercials are not guaranteed time spots when a media buyer purchases the time from a station. They are simply placed where the empty time slots happen to fall, and they are last priority. The larger brands who can carry the heavy price tag typically get the best spots. But with their absence, the infomercials take over. In other words, they are getting the best spot times at the low cost of advertising. Winning by default in a way, but gaining hugely regardless.
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Saturday, February 7, 2009

Superbowl and DRTV

This year the Superbowl featured the very first Direct response television commercial. The Superbowl commercials have long been recognized as the 2nd most popular reason to watch the game. It is rumored that a 30 second spot during the Superbowl is $2.7 million. This gives advertisers all the more reason to make their commercial stick out and makes them highly entertaining for the viewing audience. Some are cleaver and some are funny but most will agree they are very interesting.
This year, the company Cash 4 Gold was featured and was the first infomercial to air at the game.The commercial was very different from their typical commercial. It stared Ed McMahon and MC Hammer. They were portraying themselves as selling off their gold toilets, gold necklaces and so on. It was very funny and poked fun at the fact that the two of them have fallen on difficult financial situations. This may be the first, but is sure not to be the last infomercial during the Superbowl.
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Friday, February 6, 2009

Infomercial King

The infomercial king, A.J. Khubani has, for the past 20 years, been selling products via infomercials. His best known products are things such as steps for dogs, hangers that bend to fit your garments, and many other products some people find to be unnecessary. However enough people have purchased these products to make Khubani the “king” of infomercials.
What makes these not so necessary products so popular? The fact that they are problem solving. The dog cant get on the bed? Someone may not think that there would be a product to assist, but since there is, people find it to be very valuable. Its not at though there is a competing market so therefore, the product sells!
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Infomercial product profitablity

The George Foreman Grill has sold over 80 million products since 1994. George Foreman himself has been said to have earned far more selling the grill over his career as a champion boxer. The success of these infomercials could be credited to a number of reasons. Perhaps the product performs to the caliber it was intended and simply just doest the job. It could be the way it was marketed through the infomercial itself. It could also be because the spokesperson was more recognizable than the product, and that allowed the brands popularity to flourish. The simple facts are, infomercial marketing works for brands and sales.
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Friday, December 26, 2008

DRTV is the best medium for…

What kind of products will do well with a DRTV mode of advertising? Why do certain products work so well while others don’t?

Well, the answer is that DRTV is an unconventional way of advertising and hence will suit only certain unconventional products. The best products are those that are innovative and have the potential to make life easier and better. Hence beauty & personal care products, health & fitness products and household gadgets are the most commonly featured in DRTV. An immediate, transformational result always grabs viewers’ attention. All of us love innovative and revolutionary products that provide immediate gratification. The more intangible the result, the less the appeal it has.

So a “miracle” hair straightener attracts eyeballs, a self help book that will improve your personality gradually, may not. An exercise ball looks like fun, but not so a video/DVD showing a vigorous aerobics session to get rid of fat. DRTV products should also have mass appeal because it is very important to appeal to maximum viewers to make your dollar work. A niche product has very less chance of profitability simply because there is very less chance that your niche audience will be viewing the advert when it is broadcast.

The price bracket also is very important for a profitable direct response product. Products of up to $300 work best for long format infomercials while the $19.95 or less range suits the short format. In summary, a reasonably priced never-before product with a magical effect on some aspect of life is the ideal candidate for DRTV.

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Friday, December 19, 2008

DRTV Media Buying Agency

If you are planning on investing in a DRTV campaign, remember that a very important part of running a  successful campaign is Media buying. Media buying at its simplest is the systematic planning, negotiating and buying of television time for the airing of short form / long form infomercials. A media buyer will use historical data and research in order to put together a media plan that will most effectively and efficiently achieve your campaign goals. Buying media is usually the biggest expense in an advertising campaign; however with Direct Response you will be able to save up to 60% off of traditional rate card pricing. With reasonable terms and fees, a media buyer can make life a lot easier by monitoring your campaign and optimizing your media to meet your goals. The right media buyer will aim for your infomercial to be viewed by the highest number of target audience members at the lowest possible cost.
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Thursday, December 18, 2008

How successful is DRTV?

Let us look at some figures. Nowadays DRTV accounts for at least 25% of all television commercials. And nearly two third of the American viewers have watched DRTV commercials sometime or the other. Potential customers for DRTV are usually more affluent and educated. Although previously female customers outstripped the males, it is changing slowly but surely now.

Infomercials tap into the emotional side of viewers. Watching the product in its entirety, being explained all the aspects of the product, watching it in actual use – all these go a long way in building the viewer’s trust. This is a special advantage for complex products like repair kits and multi piece sets where the potential customer has the satisfaction of knowing exactly how to use the product in its totality before deciding to buy it. Nothing is vague or left to the imagination. Surprisingly according to a survey, DRTV viewers are more likely to trust infomercials than congress, used car salesmen and corporate executives!

With DRTV, the viewer is a part of the commercial. The presenter talks directly to the viewer which works sub-consciously at a near-personal level and persuades the viewer to call for more information or to even place an order. Attractive buy-back policies, discounts and freebies add to the winning formula. Add-ons are also very important for a successful DRTV campaign to maintain the recall value of a product.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

A common theme with beauty infomercials

The ways in which infomercials use actors, athletes and models as spokespeople for their products can be very beneficial for a marketing campaign. Infomercial media buyers know this because they continue to suggest famous faces to endorse the products. Cindy Crawford is a spokesperson for Meaningful Beauty skin care line. Victoria Principal endorses Principle Secret. And Christie Brinkley has long time been an advocate for the Total Gym. These products have been marketed for years by the same spokespeople and have proven success. The a very important to attach a memorable face to your product to create more brand awareness.
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