For Infomercials, Downturn Is Prime Time
Admit it: Thanks to some late-night pitchman, you either own a Popeil Pocket Fisherman, a Snuggie blanket or a Thigh-Master, or have been tempted to buy one.
Bill McAlister, 50, co-owns Media Enterprises, a six-person sales and marketing firm that specializes in as-seen-on-TV products – including the Smart Mop (”the mop with a twist”), Urine Gone (”Love your pet, hate the smell”) and his current hit, Mighty Putty.
On the strength of such products, McAlister says, his firm cleared $50 million in revenue last year. He expects sales to grow by 15% to 20% in 2009.
McAlister and other direct marketers hope to prosper through the downturn. With top-tier marketing firms slashing their ad budgets, competition for airtime has steadily declined, making room for a new class of advertisers. Infomercials were once relegated to the wee hours of the morning, when slots come cheap.
Now they’re turning up in prime time, even squeaking onto the Super Bowl telecast: Cash4Gold, a direct advertiser that melts down jewelry, made headlines in January by snapping up an unsold 30-second slot.
Photo by washingtonpost.
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