Infomercial Fulfillment News & Information

Ron Bliwas, the longtime chief executive of A. Eicoff & Co., the Chicago-based direct-response television agency that claims credit for coining the phrase “or your money back,” is stepping down.

Bliwas has headed up the nation’s largest DRTV agency for 32 years, steering it from a late-night shill for everything from TV Magic Cards and hair growth formulas into a mainstream marketer for companies such as Walgreens, New York Life and The Scooter Store.

The ongoing transition from television to online advertising was one reason for handing the reins to Eicoff veteran Bill McCabe, complete with a guarantee nearly as strong as those in their many 800-number commercials.

“Bill McCabe has been leading this transition into digital media,” Bliwas said. “He’s better equipped to take the agency forward than me.”

Bliwas, 69, who has been with the company for more than four decades, will stay on as acting chairman. McCabe, a 27-year veteran at Eicoff, is moving up from his role as executive vice president and chief operating officer, where he has worked closely with many of the agency’s major accounts, including UnitedHealthcare, Quicken Loans, AARP and Genworth Financial.

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Marsha Kent, one of the foremost pioneers in the industry, has this to say about the importance of the Infomercial for the product that is being routed through the DRTV channel. “The whole framework of the DRTV model hinges on the Infomercial. The success of your product depends on how well you develop the Infomercial”. Marsha Kent has helped sell an array of products through the DRTV route. All of them, meeting with supreme success, and their sales grossing more than a million dollars in just weeks of their being launched.elaborately descriptive!” says Marsha Kent, who can be rightly called DRTV’s dynamic ambassador.

Marsh Kent says that advertisers need to ask certain questions before choosing the production company for creating the Infomercial:

Does it have experience specifically related to Infomercial production? Is it a known name in the field?

How many years of experience does it have in the arena of Infomercials or DRTV?

What are all the products and services that they have worked on, have they been successful?

Is their scriptwriter experienced enough- how many infomercials has he or she worked on?

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For any merchant that sells online, order fulfillment is a crucial part of its business. It’s an important final step in creating a positive, consistent experience for your customers. It can mean the difference between a one-time buyer and a lifelong brand advocate. And, if done right, it can make your business more competitive, flexible and profitable.

Southampton resident Betty Birnbaum recently finished filming a YouTube infomercial with East Hampton videographer Frank Vespe for her multipurpose household tool.

Southampton local Betty Birnbaum, a spirited idea-driven 80-year-old, has invented a multipurpose tool for cleaning, cooking, fixing and more that she calls “Ms. Wiggley,” and now she is using YouTube to demonstrate how the all-in-one device can make life easier.

Betty B, as she refers to herself in her new online infomercial, said she has a hat full of ideas and plans, but currently dedicates her time to Ms. Wiggley. It’s been a decade since she came up with the idea, she said, but she finally got through the patent and production process three years ago.

“It started out with a fingernail,” she said. Birnbaum wanted a tool to scratch off dirt and perform a multitude of tasks. She ended up with a small, wavy black tool made of nylon. In her infomercial she says, “This little tool looks like nothing and can do everything.” She shows it scraping carrots, coring apples, washing dishes, cleaning grout, taking plastic off bottles and performing other tasks.

East Hampton videographer Frank Vespe, helped her produce a minute-long informational video about the product. It not only showcases Ms. Wiggley and all of its uses, but the bubbling personality of Betty B as well.

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Once just a sliver of all online dollars, US online ad spending on branding-based objectives now accounts for a significant—and growing—percentage of total online ad spending.

According to eMarketer, US online ad spending on branding-based objectives accounted for $12.4 billion in 2011, or 39% of total online ad spending. Branding-based online ad spending will continue to rise over the next few years, and by 2016, eMarketer predicts it will more than double to $26.66 billion—or 43% of all US online ad spending.

Findings from Maxifier show US agencies narrowing the gap in budget allocation for branding vs. direct-response objectives, as compared to their UK counterparts, which invested much more heavily in direct-response campaigns. US ad agencies’ budget allocation for online branding and direct-response campaigns were 43% and 54%, respectively, in Q4 2011, according to the publisher solutions provider. UK ad agencies reported just 31% of their clients’ ad budgets allocated to branding-based objectives, vs. 67% for direct response.

Despite growing investments in branding, US and UK ad agency clients still placed great importance on clickthrough rate for measuring display advertising success—for both direct-response and branding objectives. Given that UK ad agencies invested more in direct-response objectives, it’s not surprising that they emphasized direct-response success metrics such as cost per conversion and cost per lead. Though US clients also valued such metrics, measured brand engagement was more important than both cost per lead and clickthrough rate. Agencies in both countries placed equal importance on measured brand awareness.

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Ad campaigns that target consumers on the basis of their social media activities and interest-based connections—or Brand Graph—perform better than ads without such targeting capabilities, and they generate large gains in brand lift and key direct-response metrics, according to a study by 33Across.

The new study, which showcases Brand Graph technology from 33Across, demonstrates how brands can boost the performance of advertising and direct marketing by targeting consumers based on their social media activities.

What Is a Brand Graph?

Comprising a vast set of digital, social, and demographic attributes, the Brand Graph is driven by an algorithm that predicts audience scale, loyalty, and purchase behaviors.

Unique to an industry, brand, or product, a Brand Graph essentially constructs a real-time network of people who, based on their social connections, are predicted to be loyal to a brand. A company’s Brand Graph exceeds the audience size of its existing brand loyalists by 20 times, on average, according to 33Across.

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Direct response for television (DRTV) can be an effective way to generate valuable leads, and increase sales for your business. Historically, this genre of marketing has produced a wide spectrum of results, with several key variables contributing to the success or failure of DRTV campaigns. The good news is that there are are five key variables that marketers have identified as critical to the outcome of DRTV campaigns: the value of the product or service being sold, the strength and quality of the DRTV commercial (See GreyTV DRTV Methodology), the efficiency and competence of lead management and fulfillment centers, the accuracy and amount of media placement, and the continuity of the product (is there a need for your new customer to keep buying your product?)

The Product or Service Offered At the heart of each direct response success is the product or service that is being presented to the market. The DRTV marketer must do preliminary research, using market data, focus groups, trade shows, and in-home product trials to determine what needs remain unmet in the market, and if that need is shared across a large enough market. From that point, more research is needed to confirm that the product or service effectively meets that need, and if the price exceeds the value a customer will receive from the product. Product testing and design is an ongoing process throughout the DRTV marketing cycle, but requires the most up-front work, prior to beginning a direct response campaign.

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Who could forget the Sham Wow? Well, if you happen to forget the product Vince famously hawked through numerous infomercials, he’s back.

Vince has stepped back on the scene to introduce the world to another equally unforgettable product, thanks to his newest and possibly most humorous infomercial yet.

The new product is called the Schticky and Vince does an amazing job of describing it in a new informercial. The infomercial popped up on YouTube this past week and has quickly become quite the hit.

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The infomercial industry has grown rapidly over the years, reflecting the transformation of the late-night low cost commercials into sophisticated infomercials. Moreover, infomercial products are more functional and need-based as compared to the conventionally advertised products. Though the proportion of customers directly purchasing from Infomercials is relatively low, the medium helps in developing the generating demand that is converted into actual sales at retail stores and supermarkets. The recession transformed consumers purchasing behavior, as people opted to stay at home. This provided an opportunity to the Infomercial industry to come up with innovative products. With more people preparing their food at home, products such as juicers, food choppers, avocado slicers, and fruit pitters, registered high demand among consumers. The medium also allowed consumers to make purchases from home without the need to go to the retail outlet and listening to the salesperson. The hassle free marketing experience is also a key contributor to the industry growth. The emergence of new and smarter advertising technologies favors growth of direct response advertising.

Unlike conventional advertisements aimed at creating brand awareness among the consumers and influencing purchase decisions in an indirect way, the Infomercials are aimed at generating immediate sales in terms of number of units sold, and are not particular about building long-term relationship with the customers. The impact of a conventional advertisement can be gauzed in terms of awareness return, brand equity return and reach return; while in case of an Infomercial, the impact is solely based on dollar returns. More than three-fourths of sales orders for an average Infomercial roll up within 10 minutes of the completion of Infomercial aired on TV. Thus, the fate of the product and success of the Infomercial is known to the marketer within minutes of airing the Infomercial. Based on consumer response by means of phone calls, an SMS, or website hits or purchases, the marketer can quickly modify the program content, or stop airing the Infomercial incase the product fails to make satisfactory impact on viewers. In sharp contrast, conventional ads are aimed at increasing awareness among consumers, which can be measured by means of national brand awareness or net promoter score.

In the United States, the market for Infomercials surged despite the recent economic slowdown. Factors driving growth include lower cost of airtime and increased television viewership. Companies engaged in Infomercials grabbed airtime more than ever before, as traditional commercials increasingly pulled out of air. Further, increasing brand-awareness campaigns fuelled the growth of Infomercials. Reduced advertising budget and lower number of shopping trips among consumers also affected market growth. The Infomercial marketers launched innovative sales techniques owing to the growing talent pool in the sector.

In business, whether you are a small business or a large established public corporation, there are two main types of marketing: brand marketing and direct response marketing. If you want your marketing efforts to be successful for your small business then it is important to understand the difference between these two types of marketing so that you do not accidentally waste money on a marketing campaign that is ineffective.

An example of brand marketing is when you see billboards with big corporate logos that tell you to use a certain corporation’s products, but this sort of marketing can be ineffective and costly for a small business. Instead of trying to promote awareness about the brand of your company with your advertising, you want to use that advertising to get your readers or listeners to take a certain desired action directly after hearing your message.

Brand advertising can be great for a company that has been around for 100 years and that many people are familiar with, but most small businesses that use internet marketing are going to be more interested in getting things like sign-ups for an email list or referring members to their site instead of creating an iconic brand. Understanding the exact difference between direct response and brand advertising is very important for maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing campaign, because you do not want to make the mistake of trying to only advertise your brand instead of trying to get your customers to take a desired action.