Infomercials 2012-International Houewares Show Update

Infomercials in 2012, especially short form infomercials or DRTV commercials are increasingly driven by the retail backend. Annually, I am invited to participate on a blue ribbon panel of DRTV experts and Infomercial gurus each year at The International Home + Housewares Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. Our panel included Gary Sullivan, Scott Hynd, Jon LaClare, Jeff Frankel and myself – all very experienced at evaluating products and helping inventors and product developers evolve their products and pitches. Kevin Harrington of Shark Tank also appeared. This year, we saw about two dozen new products, many of which were viable, but only a few had all of the attributes necessary for As Seen on TV Success. Remember, for DRTV, we look for products that solve a problem, are new and innovative, have a 5 to 1 markup ratio, and can fit on the shelf space afforded in an As Seen on TV department.


The International Home + Housewares Show is the world's largest homegoods event with 60000 professional attendees and 2000 exhibitors - from over 35 countries. This year the added plus was the weather which was Spring like here in normally windy, chilly Chicago.

We saw many innovative products, and my message to many of the inventors was that the offer is King, and you must develop a robust upsell stream to increase revenue from direct sales to make TV viable. Having a great product is not enough, if you expect to generate enough revenue to keep a direct response TV campaign going.

To learn more about the metrics involved with DRTV and the wacky, wonderful world of Infomercials, click here for a primer on allowable cost per order.

If you are interested in production costs, media planning and turnkey campaign management services click here.

Per Inquiry TV and Radio Agency Expands Per Inquiry Specialization.

BOCA RATON, FL (February 20, 2012) – DRTV Agency and Infomercial production company, InfoWorx Direct has expanded its capabilities as a per inquiry advertising specialist in short form and long form television and radio. The TV infomercial production company and media buying agency has developed a proprietary platform that can deliver :30 second or :60 second lead generator calls using the client's 800 numbers or by providing clients with toll free 800 numbers forwarded directly to the client’s call center or in house consultants.

"Our newly developed per inquiry advertising system empowers the marketer to dictate the amount they are willing to pay for a response and also controls the number of responses they are willing to handle. We have been specializing in pay for performance TV and Radio programs since 1999,” Ron Perlstein, Executive Producer and Media Director at InfoWorx Direct explained. "Our new system allows the client to choose if they want to run spots 24/7 or custom tailor hours to conform to call center operations."

In per inquiry TV and Radio advertising, the advertiser can specify how many calls or orders they want and set a price or “payout” for those results. This allows them to use their performance metrics to maximize the potential of their campaigns.

"We designate one toll free number per campaign, per media outlet, and can answer valid calls which can be :30 or :60 second qualified leads. We can also instantly redirect the calls to any call center or to the marketer's live consultants,” Perlstein continued. InfoWorx Direct has relationships with hundreds of TV stations, many cable networks, and thousands of radio stations. "The beauty of per inquiry deals is that the client can work within their allowable cost per order and maintain profitability while controlling media costs. Our proprietary platform and media management systems provide complete tracking information, and can even specify call center hours for valid, qualified leads. This allows clients and media to partner with a revenue sharing media campaign,” Perlstein added.

Per inquiry campaigns work especially well for legal, tax relief, insurance, mortgages, reverse mortgages, diabetic recruitment, health care and many soft product offers.

For 20 years, InfoWorx has established itself as a pioneer in direct response TV advertising, and has generated billions of dollars of major "as seen on TV success" for clients including Emerson Electric, Innovation Direct, SnorEnz, Rubbermaid, and iRobot's Roomba. For additional information on InfoWorx, contact Ron Perlstein, or visit InfoWorx.com.

Infomercial Budgets - Cost of Infomercials 2012

Infomercial budget questions? Are you trying to understand the costs of producing an infomercial? My name is Ron Perlstein, and I started producing infomercials in the early 1990’s and run a very successful Direct Response Infomercial Production and Media Agency called InfoWorx Direct. Part of our client base includes many marketers and product developers who are new to this unique and profitable form of Direct Marketing. Please bookmark or subscribe or follow me on Twitter.


TV Infomercial Production Costs:
Short Form TV Infomercials run in 5 minute; 2 minute; and 1 minute lengths depending on your product, goals and TV media availability. Many producers charge a fee plus a royalty on the back end based on performance. There are a few DRTV Agencies (like InfoWorx) that not only produce winners, but provide media buying services. TV Production costs for these short form TV infomercials or DRTV commercials range from $5,000 to $75,000 depending on many factors.

Long form TV infomercials are about 30 minutes (most are 28:30 minutes). Again here costs can vary greatly. Do you want a production with a spokesperson sitting at a table with a black curtain or do you want to produce a TV show that is convincing with great talent, custom sets, animations and high end graphics? Take a look at these TV Infomercial production packages to get a better idea of production values.

TV Infomercial Campaign Costs:
In addition to production costs a TV campaign must include media. I recommend that a marketer test their offer or several offers. A media test on a limited national basis costs about $15k to $20k per test. These tests produce sufficient data to determine if you have a winner, moderate success, or …..ugh….a loser. The backend of a campaign or test is also imperative. Inbound telemarketing in the form of an IVR or live agent call center has setup fees ($1,000 and up) and ongoing transactional fees. A non swipe merchant account is required and nowadays a landing page e-commerce site is recommended. Also a DRTV friendly fulfillment shop is recommended to handle inventory management, pick and pack services, payment processing, and returns and exchanges. Like inbound telemarketing, there are setup fees and ongoing transactional costs associated with this aspect and having a world class fulfillment partner helps.

Check back here often. Also check my DRTV Media blog. We’re working on one now regarding rollout media budgets.

TV Infomercials Are Here To Stay

Thanks to all of you who visit and read my blogs. Since 1992, my company InfoWorx has been innovating, straight talking, and making money for our clients.  DRTV can be tough, even brutal sometimes, but marketers with patience, an understanding of the dynamics of testing, tweaking and massaging somehow make their products successful.  Others come in underfunded, with unrealisitc expectations and a desire to reinvent DRTV - and they usually fail.

Today's topic is the old fashioned (since 1984) long form TV infomercial. A lot has happened since 1984, but these shows keep on keepin' on. Many marketers are fearful of producing a long form show because the budgets can get up there. (Check out InfoWorx affordable and award winning packages) I'm here to tell you today that those video assets are valuable. They are valuable for social media marketing, they are valuable for your web site, they are valuable for point of purchase and other corporate videos, and they are valuable for b-roll footage at home shopping networks like HSN and QVC.

Now I'm a guy who goes to the gym early in the morning during the week and the weekend.  My gym keeps CNBC, E! and several local channels on, along with CNN and ESPN. You know what?  I see Long Form TV Infomercials every day at 630A or 7A while I'm on the eliptical - just like millions of others. Long form TV Infomercial are everywhere. They are airing on your local network affiliate on Sunday afternoons, Satyurday evenings and most every day during late fringe. Remember this - if they are airing they are working!

Conventional wisdom is that short form works on low cost products and long form works on high cost products.  That's conventional, 1980's wisdom.  Here are the facts:  We live in a multi channel world of communications and media. We get our messages from TV, Radio, Internet, Print, Social Media, etc. With a Long Form TV Infomercial you already have all of the video assets necessary for every application and media distribution. Your messaging can be more complex, better explained, and more fully demonstrated with the long format.  Before you box yourself in, consider creating a long form show that can be used in short form, online video, and all of the channels we already discussed.

TV Infomercial Producer - Infomercial Production Values

Yesterday a new client called with many questions about the cost of TV Infomercials including production values like camera quality, animations, and set construction. Now mind you he was calling about a Short Form TV Infomercial or a DRTV Commercial to sell an inexpensive new and patented fitness product. He was confused because he had spoken to some companies in the Los Angeles area who quoted a minimum of $100,000.00 for a short form project. Together we looked at some competitive products and broke down the production values for each to help him determine how high the production values for his Direct Response TV project needed to be.

Of course there are many factors that determine the cost and quality of a TV Production. Nowadays there are HD cameras sold at Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy for a few hundred dollars, so beware of a producer offering HD, when in fact it may be a consumer format like HDV. Likewise, the lighting should include a truck full of professional lighting like HMI and Kino Flo lights. Some producers offer very low prices that would be appropriate for a wedding or Bar Mitzvah event, not a national quality TV commercial.

On the flip side, large corporate advertisers like beverage and automotive companies spend $250,000.00 and up on a single 30 second spot. The hottest camera out there today is a heavy duty broadcast HD camera called Red. Recently, a new client approached InfoWorx Direct asking us to replicate an ad for a competitive product. We broke down the production values and suggested that the client spend about $55,000 with us to replicate the two minute DRTV spot which had a budget over $100,000.00. We added a film lens package, a studio shoot with custom set, dolly, additional crew, animation and a graphic designer to our standard package. After 19 years of award winning TV Infomercial production (and many roll outs), we know where and when a marketer needs to put some extra dollars into their production.

The bottom line….TV production values do matter. You cannot produce national quality infomercials and Direct Response TV commercials for a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars as so many sites advertise today. However, a good short form infomercial can range between $15,000 and $50,000.00 and a good long form infomercial can range between $55,000 and $150,000.00. National quality, broadcast HD cameras, professional talent, lighting, design, editing and animation are all must haves, but there is no need to break the bank.

Infomercial Cost 2011

What is the cost to produce an infomercial? Infomercial Production Costs 2011? You guys keep asking. TV Infomercial costs? Cost of infomercial media? The calls and emails and searches continue. Thanks for visiting the Infomercial and DRTV Blog - a good place to get straight, real information on the wacky, wonderful world of TV Infomercials. Let’s look at some different formats and talk about the range of TV Infomercial Production Costs.

Short Form DRTV: Short form TV Infomercials are actually TV commercials with a response mechanism like a toll free number or URL or both. These spots are available in :120 second and :60 second lengths with :30 seconds used mainly for TV lead generation. Production costs vary according to the Direct Response Agency or Production Company and other factors including camera equipment, size of crew, etc. Many short form direct response television producers charge about $30,000.00 plus a royalty. Beware of any producers less than $10,000.00 because too many corners must be cut. However, some companies bundle services together and provide media services in lieu of a royalty.

In addition to Short Form TV Production, other costs associated with a DRTV launch include: TV media costs, inbound telemarketing setup, fulfillment and payment processing, as well as duplication costs. As you can see, it starts to get a bit complicated so it’s always best to work with an experienced professional, not someone getting their feet wet with your project.

Long Form TV Infomercials: These are really TV shows! Since 1984 when the length of commercials was deregulated, marketers have had the ability to fully demonstrate, create emotional testimony, and make a complete pitch to truly sell their products. It’s a unique marketing platform and creates all the video assets needed for every other new media platform in the 21st century. Since you must produce about 30 minutes of content, these productions naturally cost more than short form. Rates are all over the place. Some of the best known infomercials may have a multi-million dollar celebrity and others may be shot in front of a black curtain. Costs range from the down and dirty (avoid this!) to the ultimate shoots on The Red One. Choose your producer wisely. Again, many producers must make a substantial profit on your show, while others may work close with you and gain their profits with a rollout and substantial media buying. Some product developers and owners are looking for “partners” to fund the production. If you want to keep control of your product be careful. TV Production costs and initial media tests are very affordable, and there are media funding companies who will assist with a roll out without any equity in the product.

Additional costs for Long Form DRTV are the same as Short Form DRTV, except your duplications fees are higher. The trick is knowing which format works best with your product and establishing proper metrics and goals for success. Check some of our older blog posts for lots of information on these issues.

The bottom line: TV Infomercials and Direct Response TV commercials represent a low cost, high exposure advertising method that can take your product to marketing heaven.

FIVE MINUTE INFOMERCIALS NOW AVAILABLE

How would you like the best of both worlds, that is -- long form infomercials and direct response short form commercials? What are we talking about here? We all know the old saying, “the more you tell the more you sell.” Well now about 15 national cable networks are offering five minute infomercial airtime. Most of the Discovery owned and NBC Universal networks have five minute inventory. Networks like OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), which formerly aired half hour infomercials and many other smaller networks like MGM HD give marketers an opportunity to demonstrate, explain, and sell, sell, sell.

TV infomercial costs are often a barrier to launch and test a direct response TV project, even if a long format is required for the price point or detailed explanation of the product. A five minute production can be shot in one day, like a two minute or one minute production. Obviously, you will have the assets necessary for a full roll out to brand your product in short direct response media.

Now you may ask – what products work best in a five minute format? Answer – most long form half hour infomercials have a three to five minute call to action (CTA). We always counsel our clients to test – so almost any 30 minute TV infomercial should be tested in this new, exciting hybrid format. Short spots work best for direct to retail $19.95 products. With a five minute direct response TV spot, you can make a longer pitch, sell products with high price points, and generate lots of traffic to your web site. Remember, though, your media buyer must be smart and connected!