Today, I’m traveling back from an online marketing conference in San Diego where I met with 3,000 of the most technologically advanced and dialed-in marketers on the planet. I took copious notes on current marketing trends all in an effort to bring you fresh marketing advice before you can find it anywhere else.
The one trend that surprised me the most was the fact that so many of these online marketing experts kept referring to infomercials as the ultimate example for how to effectively market products. First I was happy that direct-response television is finally being recognized for the powerful marketing platform it is. Then I realized that there are special elements in TV marketing that can be translated into almost any other marketing channel to grow your business.
First, the event organizers talked about how they use a phrase in their office to challenge all of their marketing pieces, “WWBMD,” or “What Would Billy Mays Do?” Their point was that direct-response TV spots are very formulaic. It’s not just about the product. In order to be successful with product marketing, nothing is more important than the messaging. For years, Billy Mays has been a symbol of effective marketing communication because he followed a straightforward pattern in all of his spots. I know the pattern well because I wrote many of his scripts during my time with OxiClean and Kaboom.
True, there is no one quite like Billy Mays, but only part of his genius was due to his captivating personality. Watch several of his spots on YouTube, and you’ll see the pattern, and more importantly, you’ll be able to repeat it. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sending out a script template based on successful infomercial spots that you will be able to use to improve your own marketing efforts, whether you are producing a TV commercial, an online video or any type of marketing messaging for your website, email copy, print ad, etc.
I also spoke with several very successful online marketers, some generating $10mm or more in annual revenue for their businesses, and they all wanted to pick my brain to see how they can use the power of TV to grow their brand understanding that there is simply no other marketing medium that can deliver the kind of audiences you can get with TV.
As the conference came to a close, one of the final speakers compared Facebook ads to infomercials. If you can interrupt and entertain like an infomercial, then you’ll better capture your audience’s attention, and your marketing messaging will become even more effective if you can incorporate stories similar to the consumer testimonials we include in TV infomercials.
It is true that there is no more efficient, no more effective way to market products than TV infomercials. Not all products are appropriate for direct-response television marketing, but every business can learn from the science behind what makes infomercials so successful. Watch for a more detailed article in the next couple of weeks outlining how to use infomercial style scripting to improve your marketing results.
If you are considering an infomercial to help market your product and would like some advice, please contact our office at (720) 207-9493 or info@harvestvideo.com.
To your success!
Jon LaClare
CEO, Harvest Growth