Kevin Harrington To Star In ABC's 'Shark Tank'

Kevin Harrington, an industry veteran and founder of OmniReliant Holdings, is making his primetime debut this summer as part of a new Mark Burnett reality show called Shark Tank.

According to ABC, the show "gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true and become successful — and possibly wealthy — business people. But the entrepreneurs must first try to convince five tough, multi-millionaire tycoons to part with their own hard-earned cash and give them the funding they need to jumpstart their ideas."

You can watch the promo for the show below. I did, and I think it looks great. Sort of a cross between American Inventor and The Apprentice with Kevin and his co-sharks getting to switch off playing the part of The Donald.

(DRTV Reality Show Fun Fact: Kevin's brother, Tim, appears in Episode Two of Pitchmen as OmniReliant is the marketer/financier behind that episode's hit product, Dual Saw.)

Coming Next Week: Three Guest Reviews

After the great response I got to Dick Wechsler's recent guest post on DRTV media, I've decided to bring back a feature I experimented with in October of last year -- guest reviews by people I like and respect in the industry.

Last year, Anthony Sullivan wrote five guest reviews for me. This year, I am inviting several other DRTV experts to participate, starting with John Miller and Peter Hutton of Hutton-Miller.

John and Peter are the brain trust behind such well known DRTV hits as Mighty Putty, Mighty Mendit, Bendaroos, Strap Perfect, Slim Clip (recently named the Best Infomercial Of All Time) and many, many others. They are from a rare breed of producers who are also excellent marketers.

Next week, I will be posting three guest reviews by these esteemed colleagues of mine. It's all part of a larger effort to make this blog even more interesting and educational. But there's a second motivation behind it as well.

My goal has always been to make The SciMark Report a comprehensive record of every new DRTV commercial that gets tested. Fortunately, I am being asked to get involved in more and more of these projects, which makes reviewing them problematic to say the least. In such cases going forward, rather than not posting a review at all, I will ask a guest to comment instead.

And now a word from John and Peter about the coming week:

To blog or not to blog? That is the question ... As marketers in the DRTV industry for many years, we know how hard is to make a successful commercial. That’s why we were initially reluctant to take this assignment and dissect the work of other producers. 

At the same time, a good critique is a good critique. Period. We have always been open to honest feedback and valid criticism with our spots and shows, and have consequently gained valuable insight. 

So with that said, we'll critique these spots as openly and directly as we would want in return.

I can attest to what John and Peter wrote: They have always accepted my criticism of their work with humility and an open mind.

I'm looking forward to a fun and fascinating week!

Review: Space Bag To Go

Description: Space Bags specially designed for travel, air comes out by rolling or pushing down
Main Pitch: "They compress your items so you can create twice as much space and eliminate stress and baggage fees."
Main Offer: $19.95 for 4 medium, 4 large and 2 push-down bags
Bonus: Hanging Bag (just pay S&H)
Marketer: ITW Space Bag
Producer: Envision Response
Website: www.SpaceBagToGo.com
Product (D7) Score: 5 out of 7
Commercial Rating: OK

The Space Bag is a proven winner that has crossed over into DRTV Nirvana: a brand with a permanent place on store shelves. Very few products in DRTV history have achieved this (OxiClean, the Foreman Grill). But with that success comes the tendency to behave like a brand marketer instead of a DRTV marketer. Speaking from experience, this can lead to a lot of disappointment and conflict within an organization. Here's why:

DRTV marketers only care about ROI and immediate results. As a result, they love the hard sell and favor single SKUs retailers can stack high and blow out the doors.

Brand marketers don't share these concerns. They only care about image and expanding their space on store shelves. As a result, they love softer advertising and brand extensions. Go grocery shopping and you will see what brand marketers have wrought. In every aisle, in every category, there are so many choices you get a headache just trying to decide what to put in your cart.

What happens when these two types of marketing collide? You get soft DRTV ads that try to support a wide array of SKUs -- or exactly what we are starting to see here.

On the one hand, I like the product a lot. It solves a problem in life (the stress and strain of cramming clothes into suitcases)  and it solves a problem with the original product. No more vacuums, just roll or press. (On a side note, the secondary problem of "baggage fees" isn't really solved by this product. Yes, airlines charge for additional bags these days. But they also charge for overweight bags. So unless these Space Bags come with helium in them, you're still going to get charged if you cram two suitcases of clothes into one suitcase. Trust me, I know.)

On the other hand, the Space Bag concept isn't as new or exciting as it once was, two things critical for impulse purchasing, and travel isn't as "every day" as storing cloths, blankets, etc.

From a DRTV perspective, the commercial also has several flaws that were no doubt created by the brand/DRTV tension I mentioned earlier. Specifically, it soft pedals two promising "magic demos" (the canoe demo and the mud/car demo) instead of making them a centerpiece of the commercial, and it has a bewildering offer sure to leave prospects with a head full of sales-killing questions. (Do the eight main bags roll or push down? Are both sizes meant for suitcases? What is a hanging bag, and how does it work? Etc.)

Bottom line: The Space Bag people have made meaningful improvements to their product, but they've tried to accomplish too much in their spot and, as a result, shouldn't expect good DRTV results. Then again, any ROI is good when you're supporting an established brand that's everywhere at retail, and those DRTV media rates don't hurt, either.

Review: Brew In 2

Description: Coffeemaker that brews in two minutes
Main Pitch: "The single-serve coffeemaker that works right in your microwave"
Main Offer: One unit for $19.99, includes insulated travel mug
Bonus: Second unit and mug (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Cricket Holdings
Producer: Blue Moon Studios
Website: www.BrewIn2.net

Product (D7) Score: 5 out of 7
Commercial Rating: Good

This product is different and interesting, but the big question is whether it solves a real problem. I don't think it does. Consider the problems it is positioned against in the commercial:

• Waiting on line for a $4 cup of coffee is crazy. Yet this doesn't seem to have stopped a Starbucks from opening in every city in America. And if the price bothers people, there's always Dunkin' Donuts -- and now McCafé.
• Most of the coffee in a fresh pot ends up going down the drain. Perhaps, but this is why there are single-serve coffeemakers available at every retailer.
• Single-serve coffeemakers cost up to $80. True. But again, this doesn't seem to have stopped people from buying them. The category has exploded over the years.

A second, related challenge for this product is credibility. In this case, I mean the perception of quality. No matter how good the pitch, people will find it hard to believe quality coffee can come out of the microwave. That is, people who care about the quality of their coffee. Those who don't will drink instant coffee. And that's the real problem with this product. It's stuck in the mushy middle.

Unasked Questions

I just got back from the Response Expo in San Diego. Every year it gets better, as does the quality of the seminars and symposiums.

I especially enjoyed Dick Wechsler's symposium on integration. One reason was the speakers. Any time you get Dick, AJ Khubani, Ron Steblea from Allstar and Fred Vanore from Blue Moon Studios in one room, you're bound to learn something new. (Brian Fays from Viacom also gave a fascinating talk about his networks and media availability.) These are some of the brightest minds in DR today.

Naturally, there were a lot of people who wanted to know more, so I didn't have a chance to ask the panel my questions. If I had, I would have asked the following ...

1. "DRPR" seems to be an increasing trend. More and more, we see the CEOs of DRTV companies going on news and talk shows to promote their products. AJ demonstrated Ped Egg on The View. Scott Boilen went on Oprah to pitch Snuggie. And Bill McAlister did the circuit to promote Mighty Putty and Mighty Mendit.

Has anyone been able to measure the impact of these PR efforts on direct sales? (After all, our business is about measurability.) If not, does the Internet present an opportunity to invent this metric?

(For example, specific URLs could be promoted on these shows and trackable links could be used on companion Web sites. And here's an interesting idea: What if, in addition to an audience giveaway, these CEOs were to promote a viewer giveaway, say $5 off for visiting a special site?)

2. The DRTV media environment is very challenging right now. (See Dick's excellent guest post for why.) Inevitably, that means more DRTV companies will be running campaigns at a loss to support retail.

Has anyone developed a reliable way of measuring and managing negative ROI media spending against retail sales? (I have, but I'm curious to compare notes.)

3. Lastly, a related question: Is the correlation between hot on DRTV and hot at retail as strong as it used to be? Or are we seeing more examples of products succeeding on DRTV only to do mediocre at retail, and vice-versa? If so, how are you mitigating the associated risks? Please cite examples if you can.

Since the panel is over, I'd like to see what my readers think. Post your answers here and, if I get enough responses, I'll follow up with a second post recapping your comments. You can always post anonymously if you prefer.