Some firsthand advice on how the infomercial industry works

7 years ago I went to America to help produce an infomercial with a company called TV Goods. The CEO of this company was Kevin Harrington - owner of TV Goods, the pioneer of the infomercial format, and now the star of the TV show The Shark Tank. In the 80's Kevin produced the first ever infomercial and invented a new format which which generated billions of dollars in product sales and started a true evolution in how we all sell innovations. Working with such an influential figure taught me many things and in this article I want to share my experiences with you.

Meeting the inventor of the infomercial format

We first met Kevin on set Florida in for an energy drink infomercial he was making with a local poker player. The first thing that struck me was how down to earth this guy was. I could see he was just a regular guy with exceptional ideas. Looking between the lines however I noticed he was very driven, dedicated, and an innovator in the true sense of the word. The guy had a vision and backed it up with serous hard work, dedication and a commitment to achieving his dream. It was quite inspiring.

Learning how infomercials are made

Over the next week we sat in the production studio with the 2 producers and editor in charge of our infomercial. Together we watched, observed and threw ideas in where needed from a client perspective. When making an infomercial everything is compiled around the voiceover script. There could be hundreds of hours of film and other multimedia components so the trick is to find the best parts and weave these into the finished product. With the average infomercial viewer having a short attention span it is important to keep them engaged and show them what you have, how it will make their life better and to present an offer they can't refuse. This same philosophy could really be applied to any type of sales really. Being part of this process was inspiring and educational because we saw how infomercials are produced from the ground up – all the way from an initial concept through to compiling everything needed to best sell it to prospective customers.

The one that got away...

It was during this time I first heard about the Snuggie - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeved_blanket. If you have not heard about this product before, the Snuggie is one of the most successful products ever sold through infomercials. It sold over $40 million dollars in quite a short time. Not many people realise this, but the owners of the Snuggie had approached 20 potential funders and were knocked back until someone finally took it on. 40 million dollars later in sales and the rest is history. I learnt from this that if you own an innovation and believe in it enough you need to keep pushing forward no matter how many people tell you otherwise. This really is inspirational advice and a reason for anyone who has an innovation to keep pushing forward. It goes without saying that there were quite a few regrets from the people I met who knocked this innovation back after it became so successful.

Conclusion

Throughout the past 7 years I have helped other innovators step into the infomercial industry with some really great results. Now as a proud member of The Innovator Lab I am here to help people like your self with your own innovations through my own experience and industry skills too. Please contact us on the details below if you have an innovation and want to take it to the next level.

Ryan Mentzer
Founder of Imagine If Media & member of The Innovator Lab