Weekly Round-Up

The Doorman: Old Lead?

1. Card Lockers. Pitch: "Blocks scanners from stealing your credit-card information." Comments: Been there, tried that. [ss]
 
2. Comfort Smart. Pitch: "Fireplace with exclusive new infrafred technology that heats up to 600 square feet." Comments: There are a lot of these in the marketplace, and this one is no real bargain at 4 payments of $49.99. [ss]
 
3. The Doorman. Marketer: Emson. Pitch: "The amazing new portable intercom system that works just like a walkie-talkie." Comments: This is a revival of an item I reviewed back in April of 2008. Although I liked the original product a lot, it never went anywhere. If a revived hit is "old gold," what's a revived flop? Old lead? [ss]
 
4. Drop Down Drawer. Pitch: "The amazing, hanging storage solution." Comments: I maintain my theory that with the exception of random outliers (Swivel Store) and shoes (Shoes Under), storage solutions aren't mass-market enough for DRTV. [ss]
 
5. ElimiTag. Pitch: "Painlessly eliminates your pesky skin tags." Comments: There's only room for one, and Tag Away is the one. The commercial claims the product is the original, but to quote the great Al Ries: "First in the marketplace is worth nothing. First in the mind is worth everything." [ss]
 
6. Metaball. Starring: Greg Plitt. Pitch: "An entire gym in one ball." Comments: I like the product, and I know kettle bells are hot ... but I know very little about the business model for trial-offer fitness items like this one. [ss]
 
7. Tailor's Secret. Marketer: Allstar. Pitch: "Pants too tight? Instantly add up to two extra sizes." Comments: Another 'fast fail.' So far, it seems Perfect Fit Button (see #4 under "Got It Wrong") is an outlier, not a category.
 
8. Wraptastic. Starring: The ubiquitous Marc Gill. Marketer: Hampton Direct/Lenfest. Producer: Hutton-Miller. Pitch: "The super-smart dispener that lets you pull, press and wrap -- just like that." Comments: I'm too close to this one, so I'm just 'posting for posterity.' [ss]

Push Pan

Description: A cake pan
Main Pitch: "Makes perfect cakes the first time, every time"
Main Offer: $19.99 with bake stand
Bonus: 6-inch personal pan (just pay separate fee)
Marketer: Telebrands
Website: www.BuyPushPan.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

This commercial runs out of demos about halfway through, moving from familiar to odd-looking dishes and resorting to strained arguments like "show off your baking skills." That's usually a good indication the product isn't right for DRTV. Add to that the fact most people only bake cakes for special occassions (if they bake at all), and this one is a real long shot.

Lashfull

Description: An eyelash enhancer
Main Pitch: "The eyelash boosting serum that will help your own lashes become fuller, longer and sexier in just four weeks"
Main Offer: 30-day trial (just pay P&H)
Starring: Taylor Baldwin
Marketer: Hutton-Miller
Producer: Media Enterprises/Plymouth Direct
Website: www.Lashfull.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

My prediction here is based on DRTV history and past experience. Several products similar to this one have been tried without success. As I wrote in my review of Guthy-Renker's Lash Appeal, I think that's because "Latisse owns the market, and it [this type of product] is not DR-friendly."

I mentioned past experience, and that story is worth telling. When Latisse was new, well before any of the usual DR players had thought about lashes, an outside company decided to bring their lash enhancer to market using DR. With a little trial and error, they got it mostly right and launched their test. However, during the testing period a mixed blessing occurred -- a talk show host decided to start raving about the product on her show. This resulted in a huge surge in sales and a ridiculously low CPO (the blessing part), so they decided to push the spending the following week. However, the hype died quickly and the campaign died with it (the mixed part). The moral of this story has nothing to do with lash products, but it did teach me something about the dangers and limitations of buzz-based marketing strategies.

Returning to this project, everything else worked for me. I liked the way the offer was handled ($9.95 P&H to try, $29.99 later). I even liked Taylor's perverted sense of humor (once again) in the opening. If it weren't for the category history, I might have predicted success.

Orgreenic Flip Flap

Description: A ceramic-coated pan
Main Offer: $19.99 for one
Bonus: 2nd one, batter pitcher (just pay separate fee)
Marketer: Telebrands
Website: www.BuyFlipFlap.com

I've lamented the demise of 'gentlemen's rules' in our industry before (see here and here), and this is another example.

As I recounted in my most recent column for Response magazine, Merchant Media & Allstar introduced the original Perfect Pancake in 2002, and it became the No. 2 hit of the year. A decade later, at the end of this September, they brought it back with the a new twist. Now comes this competitive product, which is essentially the original pan in green.

A few months ago, this would have been my first 'Dueling Old Gold' feature. But at this late date, it is hard to see it as anything but what it appears to be.

It's a shame, too. Under détente, this idea would have been brought to market via a partnership. And who knows? It might have been a happy success. The ceramic cookware craze is bigger than anyone imagined, and there could certainly be room for expansion. Done this way, however, the project makes little sense. If pursued, it will be more bad PR for an industry that has worked very hard to overcome the stereotypes of the past.

As if the hose war isn't bad enough!

Hot in Australia

Apparently, I'm all the rage 'down under.' At least, I was interesting enough to be interviewed for PreneurCast, a popular podcast for entrepreneurs run by business phenom Pete Williams.

If you have an undying fascination with my ideas and about 45 minutes to kill, you can listen to the interview here.