I don't know about you, but I'm kinda bored of the features from last year. For instance, when it comes to the monthly True Top 10, it feels a lot like what fellow New Jerseyan Bon Jovi said: "It's all the same. Only the names have changed."
As a result, I've decided to stop publishing that particular ranking. We'll all keep score and high-five once a year when I post the True Top 50, OK?
The other feature I used to do last year was called "New & True." If you recall, it was a post about one new campaign that had made it to the top of the charts. I thought it was informative, but the concept needs a little refreshing.
And so, I propose a new "New & True." Since you guys seem to like lists, it will start with a list like this one:
- Copper Fit Arch Relief (IdeaVillage/Blue Reef)
- Sharper Image Calming Heat Neck Wrap
(Allstar/Hutton-Miller)
- Handy Heater Turbo Heat (Ontel)
- GraniteStone Emerald Green (Emson/Hutton-Miller)
This is a list of every noteworthy new campaign that made it onto the DRMetrix report in recent weeks. The links go to the commercial on iSpot.tv in case you aren't familiar with the item and want to see what it's all about. The names in parantheses are self-explanatory and designed to keep you informed about who's doing what. I won't always know who to credit, but I'll do my best and update these posts when people email me missing information (so check back if you're interested).
Finally, I plan to continue adding informative and entertaining commentary when I have something to share. To wit:
1. Copper Fit projects are going straight to rollout these days. There does not appear to be a typical DRTV testing period, which means IdeaVillage is likely working toward a different goal. By the way, this is the 28th Copper Fit-branded product I've logged since the brand launched in 2014.
2. Speaking of building brands, the Calming Heat Neck Wrap was the eighth entry under that brand when it first tested last spring. (Since then, I've logged two more.) Given that it has almost been a year, Allstar is obviously taking a more traditional approach and fully testing and developing Calming Heat items before rolling them out.
3. It's much the same story with Handy Heater, although here the strategy appears to be a very traditional 'new and improved' one. Turbo Heat is the third version Ontel has put out since launching the original unit (No. 46 on the 2016 True Top 50). If there's a line strategy, it's not a brand strategy (yet). That is, Ontel solved the seasonality limitation with Arctic Air for the warm months, but I haven't seen any attempts yet to roll up both lines under a 'mini HVAC' umbrella brand. Instead, Ontel appears to be extending the Arctic Air brand to other products, such as the Brella Shield (No. 40 on the 2021 True Top 50).
4. Sick of line and brand extensions yet? Too bad. Emson apparently wants to own every color in the spectrum and every material you could possibly use for a nonstick pan. If someone without a huge, successful line of pans tried to do this, we'd laugh. But Emson has so much brand awareness that introducing aqua blues and emerald greens seems like a pretty good idea.
I think back to my strong opinions when Gotham Steel launched so soon after Telebrands' Orgreenic had dominated the shelves and the airways. It's way too early, I thought. There's no way the market is ready for another line of nonstick pans. Well, since then, Emson has succesfully rolled out a bajillion new pans with no end in sight. I mean, these guys could probably even sell people on a pan made from volcanoes! Oh wait.
