For marketers who rely on infomercials to pitch their wares, the saying “there are only so many hours in a day” means there are only so many spots available to buy. But fledgling cable TV network Expo TV is offering advertisers the equivalent of a 25-hour day: It is dedicated exclusively to infomercials.
Expo TV, which is positioning itself as a cross between “Consumer Reports” and QVC, is beginning a push to gain distribution through cable systems beyond the 400,000 households that subscribe to Insight Communications and rent digital set-top boxes.
Expo TV CEO Daphne Kwan says that the network, which is due to go broad in the third quarter of the year, will offer, in addition to infomercials, a heavy dose of product demonstrations and advice on how to select products. “What we’re trying to create is a place where you’ll want to learn about a product,” Kwan says. “The thing you probably do now is just turn to your computer to get it done.”
Don’t expect to see products panned on Expo TV, however. The network will not slam bad products, but simply ignore them, according to Kwan. “If a product is not good, we will not have it on,” she says. “We will research the products that they are selling. We will research the manufacturers. We will look to see how they long they have been around. We will look at Better Business Bureau information. We will look for any online feedback we can find.”
But “Consumer Reports” most likely will not be among the sources referred to by Expo TV. “When ‘Consumer Reports’ comes out with a number-one ranking, [the item reviewed is] not usually an instant best-seller,” Kwan says. “‘Consumer Reports’ tests for certain things your dad is looking for, not things you’re looking for.”
For instance, the magazine opined that most fitness equipment advertised on television was a waste of money because users could obtain the same benefits without spending any money. “We found that biking or walking provides the same — or better — benefits,” “Consumer Reports” wrote about the Gazelle Freestyle Elite from Canton, OH-based Fitness Quest.
The magazine, counters Kwan, missed the point: that those products make “buyers more motivated to exercise than just doing crunches, largely because they are more fun and easier to do.”
And in fact, according to “Ohio’s Smart Business” magazine, infomercials for the Gazelle product line have generated $500 million in sales. When it comes to at least some sorts of merchandise, a paid commercial spot will trump a review from an ad-free magazine almost any time.
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