Today we welcome a new member to our family: Samara Jordan Pine!
The peer review period is over. Here are the True Top Spenders for the first half of 2013:
And now, here are the big winners ...
True Top Marketer: Allstar Products Group!
Although technically tied with 2012 champ Telebrands for the number of campaigns that made the list (9), Allstar has the most new campaigns and thus takes the title. That is, eight of nine campaigns had not appeared before (compared to five of nine for Telebrands). Congratulations to a great group of true professionals. This is the fourth time they will wear the belt (not counting seasonal titles). They were also the Best Marketer of 2009, the True Top Marketer of 2011 and the True Top Marketer of mid-year 2012.
As for the other major players: IdeaVillage was a close third with eight campaigns (five of them new), Emson tied for fourth with rising star Hampton at four campaigns a piece, Tristar logged a respectable three campaigns, and Ontel did not appear on the list for the first time (although I'm certain we'll see them on the full-year chart).
True Top Producer: The Schwartz Group!
Demonstrating they are more than 'just' the champions of food DR (see Side Socket and Grip Go), this talented team from sunny southeast Florida reigns supreme with five campaigns on the list -- for three different marketers, no less! Major kudos to them! This is the first time they will wear the belt (although they did briefly hold a seasonal title in 2011).
As for the other major producers: 2012 champ Concepts was a close second with four campaigns on the list, 'Steady Eddie' Blue Moon tied for third with upstart Zoom TV, and seven other familiar names all appeared twice on the chart.
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Finally, my track record with regard to the new items on the mid-year list is as follows:
My biggest misses: Cat's Meow, Side Socket and Flex-Able Hose. In my defense, I had pretty good reasons for all three. For instance, pure pet toys have never worked on DRTV ... until Cat's Meow, that is. The same is true of multi-outlet gadgets like Side Socket. I have personally failed with several. I can see why the latter worked (more painful problem solved, great Schwartz Group creative) but not the former. In fact, I predict at least five cat toys will test and fail in the next year as people try to replicate that outlier's success.
Then there's Flex-Able Hose. It was part of a triple duel where one player had a huge head-start (X-Hose, the only hose to appear on the 2012 chart) -- and the other player was Telebrands. Yet somehow, this campaign survived and thrived, at least on TV. At retail, there's no question Telebrands' Pocket Hose completely dominated the field.
So there you have it: The year so far. Got something to say? Post a comment.
Description: An light wand for acne
Main Pitch: "The minute you feel it, [the wand] will stop it, so you don't have to pop it"
Main Offer: $19.99 for one
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Ontel
Website: www.BuyLumaClear.com
Prediction: On the fence
Given the success of high-tech light products such as no!no! Skin at $180, a value version of the idea would seem like a no-brainer. Or, to draw another connection, this could end up being to expensive acne light therapy what Telebrands' White Light was to expensive tooth-whitening light therapy.
That said, there is a serious credibility barrier here that even clinical versions of this technology must struggle to overcome. At $20, desperate acne sufferers might be willing to take the chance. Or they might require lots of social proof that can only be delivered in a Guthy-Renker style long-form show. We'll see.
Description: A portable door alarm
Main Pitch: "Stops crooks dead in their tracks with its loud, 130 decibel alarm"
Main Offer: $10 for one
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay a separate fee)
Marketer: Telebrands
Website: www.HangmanDoorAlarm.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed
There are a few good reasons to buy something like this, but none of them have to do with home security. That is, I can't see anyone who is seriously concerned about a break-in buying and relying on a $10 'As Seen on TV' device.
People who travel often and stay in strange places might want one of these, but that doesn't describe most Americans. Parents with toddlers they want to prevent from running outside might also buy one of these to alert them when a door is opened, but again that is a segment of a segment. More to the point, this creative doesn't speak to any of those potential buyers, so any small chance there may have been to piece together enough arguments here to generate response is lost.
Description: A kit for making balloon animals
Main Pitch: "Make every day a party day"
Main Offer: $14.99 for the Starter Kit
Bonus: None
Marketer: IdeaVillage
Website: www.GetLooneyBalloons.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed
"It's a bird! It's a plane!" Nope, it's just something really lame -- balloon animals.
Not to burst anyone's balloon, but this tired party favor is far from magical. That's why I'm predicting this one will deflate quickly.
In one way, this product reminds me of Fushigi. That's because a good degree of skill is required to get the results shown in the commercial. Unlike Fushigi, however, this product doesn't have anywhere near the "wow factor" required to overcome that barrier to purchase.
Allstar's Purrfect Arch
The print edition of the SciMark Report for August is now available on the Response Website.
This month, I look at three products designed for our furry friends: Chillow Pet [ss], Brush No More [ss] and Purrfect Arch [ss].
Description: Hats for kids
Main Pitch: "Super fun action hats that come alive right before your eyes"
Main Offer: $19.95 for one
Alt Offer: $99 for all seven
Marketer: IdeaVillage
Producer: Infomercials Inc.
Website: www.Flipeez.com
Prediction: Hit!
This is an excellent idea for a follow-up to Stompeez, and one of those items that will sell like hotcakes during the holiday season regardless of how much DRTV advertising is behind it. Of course, kids' items are always a bit of a gamble because they follow different rules ... But this is as close to a no-brainer as you can get.
On a side note, I found the $99 alternate offer especially interesting. I'm curious to know if that big of a "deluxe" offer can convert well.
Description: A leg pillow
Main Pitch: "Say goodbye to those achy knees and morning backache"
Main Offer: $19.99 for one with Air Flow Cover
Bonus: Double the offer (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Ontel
Website: www.HuggyKneePillow.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed
This one comes too long after the Sobakawa Knee Pillow to be a proper duel, so I am left wondering what the play is here. From what I can tell, that earlier product didn't go very far -- and this one is identical in design plus $5 more expensive. Then again, they didn't have the cartwheel demo in their commercial ...
Of course, both projects were an attempt at 'Old Gold,' the gold being the Contour Leg Pillow. The problem: Contour already failed once trying to bring that item back, and now the brand is out with an updated product called Double Back.
Description: A toilet-bowl cleaner
Main Pitch: "Will help keep your toilet clean and stain free for five years or 50,000 flushes"
Main Offer: $10 for one
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Allstar
Producer: Blue Moon Studios
Website: www.BuyTidyToilet.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed
This is at least the third automatic toilet-bowl cleaner I have noted in the last year or so. (See Little Blue Elephant and Toilet Bullet.) My thoughts on competing in a category dominated by the likes of Clorox and Lysol remain the same. I also think this problem is relatively low on the pain scale for most people.
Description: A custom sprinkler system
Main Pitch: "An all new above-ground sprinkler system you can install in seconds"
Main Offer: $19.99 for three sprinklers heads and hoses
Bonus: Double the offer (just pay separate processing)
Marketer: Telebrands
Website: www.TriplePlaySprinkler.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed
Sprinklers don't strike me as the sort of "wow" products that can motivate people off the couch, and then there's that seasonality problem. That could be why only a few have been tested on DRTV, and the one Ontel tested late last year (Smart Sprinkler) doesn't seem to have gone anywhere.
