Infomercials aren’t just on TV any more. They often run as broadband videos on the Web, with sales made online instead of via toll-free telephone numbers.
Livemercial, based in Valparaiso, Indiana, streams direct response advertising online for a range of companies. The infomercials, which originally ran on TV in long-form or short-form versions, appear on the Web in all their splendor, demonstrating the products and asking for a sale. The TV infomercials are repurposed slightly, with “Order Online” instructions replacing the toll-free number at the end.
The broadband infomercial for PackMate, CA, which can be seen here, features the program in a screen on top of the home page, with a Stack & Vac Demo in a smaller box on the left and a series of testimonials underneath the main screen that can be clicked to play.
“We developed our own streaming platform,” said Jeff O’Connor, VP of sales and media at Livemercial. “We’ve done 900 broadband infomercials and we currently host 475 Web sites. The products have a life cycle of 90 to 120 days and 85 percent of the sites have infomercials.
“The sites act as a place where they can view the infomercial, the testimonials and the product descriptions, and a shopping cart where they can make a purchase,” O’Connor said.
The broadband infomercials are supported by the TV versions, which are “tagged with a url so viewers can come to the site where the infomercial is restreamed with a call to action,” O’Connor said. “They can capture sales this way instead of a toll-free number. Half of all infomercials have it now.”
Jordan Pine, VP of marketing at IdeaVillage, Fairfield, NJ, said his company uses Livemercial and one of its competitors Permission Interactive, to run broadband infomercials. “We launch six to 12 products per year in retail categories like household items, tools and pet products,” he said. “The products have a short life cycle of up to two years and the Web site with the infomercial stays up for the full term,” he said.
Not all companies put their infomercials on line immediately, he said. “They don’t build a site until they run the TV commercial in a test phase for a month. They buy a few strategic cable stations and do a small media plan. If it’s a good response, they expand it, put up the site and run the infomercial. But we do it fast, so the site is up and running when we start. The percent who buy online varies by product and you don’t know how many sales you’ll get from the Web, but with some campaigns it’s higher than 50 percent, so we want to be there from the start,” Pine said.
Andrew Gordon, president of Direct Impact Group, a direct response firm in Newton, MA, that specializes in broadcast lead generation, said broadband informercials can be successful because they are fully watched. “Traditional TV infomercials are 28-1/2 minutes long and most people don’t watch the whole program, it’s not appointment TV,” he said. “So marketers are taking the programs and streaming them on their sites to refresh them and provide another viewing opportunity. In the old days, marketers were in control, but today consumers are, so this allows consumers to view them at their leisure.”
New 2025 Laws Hit Hot Topics–From AI In Movies To Social Media
Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another.
Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed this year. Others stem from ballot measures approved by voters. Some face legal challenges.
On the entertainment and social media fronts there are several notable state laws taking effect, including:
Hollywood stars and child influencers
California, home to Hollywood and some of the largest technology companies, is seeking to rein in the artificial intelligence industry and put some parameters around social media stars. New laws seek to prevent the use of digital replicas of Hollywood actors and performers without permission and allow the estates of dead performers to sue over unauthorized AI use.
Parents who profit from social media posts featuring their children will be required to set aside some earnings for their young influencers. A new law also allows children to sue their parents for failing to do so.
Social media limits
New social media restrictions in several states face court challenges.
A Florida law bans children under 14 from having social media accounts and requires parental consent for ages 14 and 15. But enforcement is being delayed because of a lawsuit filed by two associations for online companies, with a hearing scheduled for late February.
A new Tennessee law also requires parental consent for minors to open accounts on social media. NetChoice, an industry group for online businesses, is challenging the law. Another new state law requires porn websites to verify that visitors are at least 18 years old. But the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult... Read More