Infomercials
Infomercials – Adfomercials: The Dynamo Of Sales Engines – The Ultimate Branding Tool
My second book Cheque Mate was a real labor of love. This being my second book I decided to self-publish, I wanted to capture a bigger share of the profits from my labors. I knew I had to get the information in to the hands of America but the question was how. Sure I could get it into book stores but back then there was no Amazon. I needed a marketing edge and I had to have it before the hardback book came off the presses. I had already ordered the first several thousand books and the last thing I need was tens of thousand of dollars sitting in my garage.
I spoke with a couple of ad agencies but unfortunately they wanted to shove me into the same box they put everybody else in. Unfortunately, the book I had written did not fit into that genre or style of marketing. I had a select audience and reaching them would take a more concentrated effort. So, after getting the same old answers from the same guys all wearing blue or gray suits with red power ties I decided I would chart a different course.
I decided that I would make an informercial. At the time, nobody had ever made an infomercial to market a book … EVER! I spoke with a couple of companies about the project and decided on one out of Phoenix. Quite honestly I could have done it better myself but I didn’t know that at the time. But from that experience I learned a couple of important things. I learned how to write a script for an infomercial because they didn’t have a clue and I learned about how to place the infomercial I had created on the best television network available. Interestingly, It was during the television buys that I discovered a unique quirk to the system. I discovered the power of counter-intuitive thinking and soon discovered what that meant for sales.
I’ve always done a lot of writing during my career, including thousands of radio and tv commercials, more than 1600 published articles, six books and was in radio and television for more than thirty years. So despite their incompetence I prepared a compelling script and used a production company out of the Tampa Bay area for filming. As we started the infomercial tested well but sales did not meet our expectations. My consultants were theoretically making buys in the right areas with the right audiences but when sales continued to lag, I called an audible and introduce a strategy that while counter-intuitive was the key to our success. Book sales soared.
My point here is that market studies and science should also be blended with experience and the art involved in shaping a campaign. And whether creating an Infomercial for Television in a thirty minute format, a three minute format or a written Adfomercial or magazine placement, if done right they can pay big dividends.
For instance I wrote an Adfomercial in an industry magazine and i wanted to select the perfect month and the perfect placement of the piece which appears to be just a story about our company our commitment to being the best in the business why we did what we did. We had a opportunity to buy one run for one price or buy a second run for 60% off. That told me that they were looking to fill some space. I immediately made a deal with them for the two spaces but also negotiated a third run which would be a one on one interview by one of their staff reporters. Between the three our total bill was only less than half the price of three runs. Additionally, we created a branding sensation that brought us more than $2 million in sales.
The point of all of this is simple. Infomercials and Adfomercials aren’t for everyone. But When they are appropriate Elite Power Pros is is the team you need. We have the experience, the contacts for the perfect ad placement and the technical expertise and copywriting talent to display your excellence in a wonderfully powerful way.
It just might be time for you to speak to one of our experienced people and put this powerful engine with eye-popping success potential to work for you.