Infomercial https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Infomercial

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide2

Infomercial

According to tapebeat.com, over $150 billion of consumer products in the US are sold through infomercials.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide3

Infomercial

Hence, political speeches or conventions may be derogatorily referred to as "infomercials" for a specific point of view.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide4

Infomercial - Format

Infomercials are often made to closely resemble loins television programs

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide5

Infomercial - Format

For many infomercials, the largest portion of positive response is for consumers to take action by purchasing at a retail store

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide6

Infomercial - Format

Many traditional infomercial producers make use of flashy catchphrases, repeat basic ideas, or employ scientist-like characters or celebrities as guests or hosts in their ad. The book As Seen on TV (Quirk Books) by Lou Harry and Sam Stall highlights the history of products as the Flowbee, the Chia Pet, and Ginsu knives. Sometimes, traditional infomercials use limited time offers or claim one can only purchase the wares from television to add pressure for viewers to buy their products.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide7

Infomercial - Products using infomercial marketing

Automobile dealerships, attorneys, and jewelers are among the types of businesses that air infomercials on a local level.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide8

Infomercial - Products using infomercial marketing

Apple's use of the infomercial medium was immediately discontinued with Steve Jobs' 1997 return to the helm of the company.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide9

Infomercial - Early infomercials

Eventually, FCC limits on the amount of advertising that could appear during an hour of television did away with these programs, forcing sponsors into the background; however, few infomercials, mainly those for greatest hits record sets and Shop Smith power tools, did exist during the period when commercial time was restricted.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide10

Infomercial - Early infomercials

It is quite possible that the first modern infomercial series which ran in North America was on San Diego-area television station XETV, which during the 1970s ran a one-hour television program every Sunday consisting of advertisements for local homes for sale

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide11

Infomercial - Early infomercials

Credited for coining the word "infomercial" was hospitality/entertainment impresario Paul Ruffino whose CineStar company was a pioneer in purchasing program-length commercial time. The first infomercial as we know it today aired in 1982. Entrepreneur Robert E. Murphy, Jr., looking to market a hair growth treatment reached out to a Chicago ad agency where he met Frank Cannella, who convinced broadcast stations and cable networks to sell time for his format. The show was a hit.[according to whom?]

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide12

Infomercial - After 1984

Infomercials proliferated in the United States after 1984 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) eliminated regulations that were established in the 1950s and 1960s to govern the commercial content of television.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide13

Infomercial - After 1984

CNBC, which airs only one hour of infomercials nightly during the business week, airs up to 28 hours of infomercials on Saturdays and Sundays during the time where the network's business news coverage otherwise airs; since the September–October 2008 financial crisis, CNBC has inserted a paid programming bug on the top right corner of the screen during all airings of infomercials.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide14

Infomercial - After 1984

Some cable channels, such as Corner Store TV, Access Television Network and GRTV, specialise in an all-infomercial format.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide15

Infomercial - In the United Kingdom

In the UK political infomercials known as 'Party Political Broadcasts' are allocated to political parties according to a formula approved by Parliament and are available only on mainstream radio/network television, are strictly limited and are free of charge

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide16

Infomercial - Televangelists

The vast majority of religious programming in the United States is distributed through paid infomercial time; the fees that televangelists pay for coverage on most religious stations are a major revenue stream for those stations, in addition to programming the networks produce themselves

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide17

Infomercial - During the 2007–2010 financial crisis

However, the reduced ratings from airing infomercials can have a domino effect and harm ratings for other programming on the TV station.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide18

Infomercial - During the 2007–2010 financial crisis

A feature length documentary that chronicles the history of the infomercial is Pitch People.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide19

Infomercial - During the 2007–2010 financial crisis

In 2008, Tribune Media Services and Gemstar-TV Guide/Rovi began to relax the guidelines for listing infomercials within their electronic program guide listings. Previously all infomercials were listed under the title "Paid Programming" (except for exceptions listed below), but now infomercial producers are allowed to submit a title and limited synopsis (phone numbers/websites to order a product/service seem to be disallowed) of the program's content to the listings providers.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide20

Infomercial - Fox's Saturday morning programming

Some stations opted to use the extra time on Saturday morning for E/I programming, with infomercials relegated to before or after the block, or even limited to afternoons, if local newscasts are shown earlier.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide21

Infomercial - Criticism and legal issues

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that any infomercial 15 minutes or longer must disclose to viewers that it is a paid advertisement. An infomercial is required to be "clearly and conspicuously" marked as a "paid advertisement for [particular product or service], sponsored by [sponsor]" at the beginning and end of the advertisement and before ordering instructions are displayed.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide22

Infomercial - Criticism and legal issues

Some channels, such as CNBC, include a "paid programming" bug in a corner of the screen during the duration of each infomercial on that channel; other channels, particularly smaller networks such as RFD-TV, have publicly disavowed infomercials and have refused to air them.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide23

Infomercial - Criticism and legal issues

In 2006 the first third party testimonial verification company was launched and now independently validates the consumer testimonials used in many infomercials.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide24

Infomercial - Parodies

In a sort of self-parody, the movie Santo Gold's Blood Circus features a musical number in which mail-order jewelry salesman "Santo Gold" Rigatuso (who financed the film) advertises his wares. Santo Gold promoted the film heavily in its infomercials.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide25

Infomercial - Parodies

A skit in the cartoon series Tiny Toon Adventures has an infomercial hostess trying to sell a clothesline for $39.95, but has to include additional offers to try to justify the high price.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide26

Infomercial - Parodies

In the Garfield and Friends episode "Dread Giveaway", Garfield dreams of attempting to give away Nermal in an infomercial, but no one wants to take him.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide27

Infomercial - Parodies

In the 2003 live-action film The Cat in the Hat, the cat performs an entire talkshow-style infomercial spoof for a magical (but disastrous) cupcake maker. In the spoof, the Cat plays the roles of host and guest/expert.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide28

Infomercial - Parodies

In the direct-to-video movie The Lion King 1½, Pumbaa sits on the remote in mid-movie and the screen switches to a jewelry infomercial from QVC.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide29

Infomercial - Parodies

The comedy duo Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim have produced several infomercial parody segments that are showcased on their oddball comedy show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, notably one for a CD-ROM-based version of the internet called the "Innernette". It employs many of the cliched infomercial hallmarks and phrases such as enthusiastic demonstrations, and outlandish claims of user satisfaction.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide30

Infomercial - Parodies

"Weird Al" Yankovic parodied infomercials in the song Mr. Popeil, a homage to inventor and infomercial spokesperson Ron Popeil, on his 1984 album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (Popeil himself used the song in some of his infomercials). Well known pitchmen like Popeil and Billy Mays have been the inspiration for many of these parodies.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide31

Infomercial - Parodies

In the "Home-Cooked Eds" episode of the Cartoon Network series Ed, Edd & Eddy, the Kanker Sisters decide to watch infomercials after taking over Eddy's house in yet another misguided attempt at affectation.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide32

Infomercial - Parodies

Robot Chicken has parodied numerous infomercials, along with their hosts. Popular examples include Billy Mays, Mick Hastie, and Cathy Mitchell.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide33

Infomercial - Parodies

Adult Swim aired a highly elaborate parody of an infomercial, Paid Programming, several times in November 2009. The clearest evidence that the parody, which advertised various fictional "Icelandic Ultra Blue" products, was not real was the use of profanity and the fact that Adult Swim does not air infomercials.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide34

Infomercial - Parodies

The ABC improvisation-comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series) regularly satires infomercials in two of its segments. One is "Greatest Hits", where the infomercial hosts (usually including show regulars Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles) attempt to sell an album of "greatest hits" about unlikely subjects, with songs mentioned usually sung by the other show regular Wayne Brady. The other one concerns them trying to make useless junk seem desirable.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide35

Infomercial - Political infomercials

In the United States the strategy of buying prime-time programming slots on major networks has been utilized by political candidates for both presidential and state office to present infomercial-like programs to sell a candidate's merits to the public

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide36

Infomercial - 2008 Presidential Campaign Use

The combination of these networks reportedly drew a peak audience of over 33 million viewers of this half hour program, making it the single most watched infomercial broadcast in the history of US television.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide37

Infomercial - Children's programming

Although not meeting the definition of an infomercial per se, animated children's programming in the 1980s and early 1990s, which included half-hour animated series for franchises such as Transformers, My Little Pony, Go-Bots and Bravestarr were often described by media experts and parents derisive of these types of series as essentially program-length commercials, as they also sold the tie-in toy lines and food products for the shows within commercials

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide38

Infomercial - Daytime programming

In definition, these programs can be considered infomercials, albeit not exactly meeting the letter of the definition.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide39

Infomercial - Infomercial companies

Traditional infomercial marketers, for example, Guthy-Renker and Telebrands, source the products, pay to develop the infomercials, pay for the media, and are responsible for all sales of the product

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide40

Infomercial - Infomercial companies

In the brand infomercial business, services are often provided by full service agencies who deliver strategy, creative, production, media, and campaign services.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide41

Infomercial - Use around the world

However, the term "infomercial" needs to be defined more universally to discuss use in all countries

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide42

Infomercial - Use around the world

There are few structures that apply everywhere in the international infomercial business. The regulatory environment in each country as well as that country's television traditions have led to variations in format, lengths, and rules for long form commercials and television commercials selling direct to consumer. For example, in the early 1990s long form paid programming in Canada was required to consist only of photographs without moving video. (This restriction no longer exists).

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide43

Infomercial - Use around the world

Many products which started in the US have been taken into international distribution on television. And, each country has local entrepreneurs and marketers using the medium for local businesses. What may be called infomercials are most commonly found in North and South America, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide44

Infomercial - Use around the world

In many countries, the infrastructure of direct response television distributors, telemarketing companies and product fulfillment companies (shipping, customer service) are more difficult and these missing pieces have limited the spread of the infomercial.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide45

Infomercial - Research on effectiveness

Based on a survey of 878 people who had bought products after viewing infomercials, they found that infomercials were more effective if they used expert comments, testimonials, product demonstrations, and other approaches

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide46

Kevin Trudeau - Infomercials

All of his subsequent infomercials advertized his books Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About and The Weight Loss Cure

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide47

WKBW-TV - Financial difficulties, cutbacks and infomercials

As the Great Recession set in at the start of 2008, ABC primetime and syndicated early prime programming was often pre-empted with infomercial|paid programming to make up lost revenue

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide48

Paid Programming - Products using infomercial marketing

Automobile dealerships, attorneys, and jewelers are among the types of businesses that air infomercials on a local level.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide49

Paid Programming - Products using infomercial marketing

Apple's use of the infomercial medium was immediately discontinued with Steve Jobs' 1997 return to the helm of the company.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide50

Paid Programming - Early infomercials

Eventually, limits imposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the amount of advertising that could appear during an hour of television did away with these programs, forcing sponsors into the background; however, few infomercials, mainly those for greatest hits record sets and Shop Smith power tools, did exist during the period when commercial time was restricted.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide51

Paid Programming - Early infomercials

It is quite possible that the first modern infomercial series which ran in North America was on San Diego, California|San Diego-area television station XETV-TDT|XETV, which during the 1970s ran a one-hour television program every Sunday consisting of advertisements for local homes for sale

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide52

Paid Programming - Early infomercials

Credited for coining the word infomercial was hospitality/entertainment impresario Paul Ruffino, whose CineStar company was a pioneer in purchasing program-length commercial time. The first infomercial as it is well known today aired in 1982. Entrepreneur Robert E. Murphy, Jr., looking to market a hair growth treatment reached out to a Chicago ad agency where he met Frank Cannella, who convinced broadcast stations and cable networks to sell time for his format. The show was a hit.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide53

Paid Programming - Political infomercials

In the United States, the strategy of buying prime-time programming slots on major networks has been utilized by political candidates for both presidential and state office to present infomercial-like programs to sell a candidate's merits to the public

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide54

Paid Programming - Infomercial companies

Traditional infomercial marketers (for example, Guthy-Renker and Telebrands) source the products, pay to develop the infomercials, pay for the media, and are responsible for all sales of the product

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide55

Infomercials

The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide56

Infomercials

Hence, political speeches or political convention|conventions may be derogatorily referred to as infomercials for a specific point of view.[http://www.gmanews.tv/story/172527/premature-poll-campaign-law-cant-stop-infomercials Premature poll campaign law can't stop infomercials] - 2007 © GMA Network Inc.

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide57

Suzanne Somers - Infomercials

Calling her a legend in the industry, On May 2, 2014, Direct Marketing Response inducted Somers into the infomercial Hall of Fame.[http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/may/02/shifting-market-shapes-made-tv-market/]

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

Slide58

For More Information, Visit:

https://store.theartofservice.com/the-infomercial-toolkit.html

The Art of Service

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