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From Infomercial to Billion Dollar Brand

From Infomercial to Billion Dollar Brand
Written By Elisabeth Pritchett, CEO and Founder of IntelliVision, Inc.
www.InfomercialHitMakers.com

Cracking the Branding Code:
Many traditional advertising agencies require budgets that rival those of small countries and would like their clients to believe there is one way, and one way only to build a “real brand”. And with those gargantuan budgets they can run flashy Super Bowl ads that cost millions of dollars for 30 seconds, and blanket the airwaves with brands we already know all about…. But the thing they know very little about is how to take a product with zero consumer awareness, no retail distribution, and a budget so small it wouldn’t pay for their catering and turn it into a brand. (I can say this with confidence because I once was an executive producer for one of those big agencies).

Maybe you have heard of these products…

Proactive Solution, The Snuggie, OxyClean, Ginsu Knifes, Hooked on Phonics… ShamWow, Total Gym, Bowflex, and the Geroge Foreman grill.

You have probably heard of most of them, unless you have been living on a deserted island for the last 10 years. And as you are probably also aware, that these million and billion dollar BRANDS weren’t launched by big agencies on Madison Avenue… They were all launched by infomercials.

And today there are many “traditional” brands using infomercials or direct response because it’s so effective; Blue Cross Blue Shield, State Farm, Amazon, Gieco, Oil of Olay, and many more.

Now traditional advertising certainly has its place and I am not saying infomercials are a replacement to that marketing, however, it is clear that you do not need to have millions and millions of dollars to launch a product and create a name for your brand.

Retail Sales and World Wide Distribution:
Retailers have become much savvier to the power of television advertising and realize when you’re marketing your product on television, and putting the media dollars behind the brand it also means success for them. In fact most of the larger retailers are so interested in infomercial products, many of them even have their own buying formulas for products with television sales. As an example Wal-Mart’s suggested opening order for an infomercial product ranked number one in media is ONE MILLION PIECES!! That’s just the opening order! And the reason for this is Wal-Mart understands a television infomercial product will not sit on the shelves because there is already a built in consumer awareness and demand. It takes the pressure off the retailer because the consumer already knows what the product is! They’ve seen the commercial.

Industry Fact:

For every unit you sell on television through an infomercial or commercial you can expect to sell 15 to 20 units in retail!


We have had countless clients come to us with great products, who have been beating down the doors of the big retail chains for years with little or no success. And after a successful infomercial campaign they have literally had retailers calling THEM to carry their products. So, the bottom line is by creating your own market and generating consumer demand can turn a product into a brand, resulting in the sales and retail distribution you need to grow your business.

International Distribution
Not unlike domestic retailers the rest of the world also understands the power of television and infomercial marketing. We have helped many of our clients find international partners that will purchase their products at pre-negotiated prices, run their TV commercial in different countries around the world and handle all of the “local” aspects of marketing the product. For many of our clients this aspect of distribution has been enormously successful. So don’t limit yourself to this country… think bigger!

Obscurity to Household Name
The bottom line is infomercials and Direct Response Television, have taken many, many products from total obscurity to household brand names. And even though the market has evolved and requires seasoned savvy marketers to help you exploit all of the new channels of electronic media in conjunction with television, TV is still the 800 pound gorilla when it comes to turning a product into a brand.

For more information and to find out if infomercial marketing is right for your product give IntelliVision, Inc. a call.  We’re happy to answer your questions and give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.  Toll Free: 888-575-3788.  www.InfomercialHitMakers.com

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