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The Power of the Infomercial: Three Reasons You Can’t Say, “No!”

Posted April 21, 2011, by Lindsey Whitehill

Television ads interest me more than most people; I sometimes even “shush” people during commercials, rather than the actual program. Now that I work in advertising, I find myself digging even deeper into commercials to locate the strategies and techniques used to sell products. I am fully capable of removing myself from the audience in order to dissect a regular TV advertisement, but when it comes to the infomercial, I am powerless.

Here is a short list of items I own due to watching infomercials:

I took it upon myself to locate the three tactics that (I believe) are accountable for my illogical spending on infomercial products.

The Attention-Grabbing Introduction

For the most part, a direct question is raised such as, “Are you tired of going through the pain and torture of shaving?” Accompanied by footage of individuals massively struggling with life prior to owning that particular product.

The personal questions and relatable footage sparks a connection between the infomercial and its viewer. The product now has the viewer’s full attention.

Length of Advertisement

Regular TV advertisements are typically five, 10, 15 or 30 seconds. An infomercial, on the other hand, can range anywhere from two minutes to hours on end. At first I thought the ShamWow was just a fancy paper towel, but after two minutes I was completely sold. The ShamWow picked up what the ordinary paper towel left behind, dried dishes, pets, clothes, a boat, a car and removed Coca-Cola from white carpet! I also learned that the ShamWow holds 12 times its own weight in liquid. WOW! With the time allotted, the advertisement demonstrated many of the reasons in which the ShamWow is way more useful than a stupid paper towel.

Incentives

Because infomercials require the audience to take an action, such as pick up the phone or order online, they use incentives to put people in motion. For example, if you order your Perfect Fit Buttons in the next 20 minutes you will receive another set absolutely free! And that’s not all, if you order now they will also throw in a bonus Shoes Under (a shoe container that fits perfectly under your bed). What do Perfect Fit Buttons and shoe storage have in common? Nothing, but it allows the audience to feel as though they are getting a bargain! Leaving no time to stop and think about the actual purchase.

These three strategies add up to be what I consider the killer combo. A combo I plan to put into action … right after these very important messages …

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The New Adventures of an Old(er) Intern – Part 2

Posted February 23, 2011, by Lindsey Whitehill

This post is part two of a two-part blog post by M3’s newest team member The Sparkler. Check out part one here.

Check your e-mails and attitude before leaving the house

White blouse, black pencil skirt and five-inch stilettos. This was the outfit of choice for my first day as an intern at Motion Marketing & Media.

If only I had checked my e-mail before leaving my house, I would have read, “Wear comfortable clothes and shoes – today you will be walking around various neighborhoods in Lansing distributing invitations to all houses.”

As I’m walking door-to-door, sweating, and tripping over every crack in the cement, I remind myself, “Starting at the bottom is the only way to make it to the top, so be positive!”  I was walking with another intern (I had great company), I was getting to know the streets of downtown Lansing (always a plus) and I was burning calories (I could have Big Mac for lunch). Great first day!

Take the initiative

Not long after day one, I was assigned to help coordinate an event for a very important client, in a very short amount of time. I would be working under a woman they brought in to oversee the project. This was great news! This would be my chance to prove my worth to this company!

The woman I was working under was very precise with her work and paid close attention to detail; she taught me a great deal about event planning. Such as, you should always take it upon yourself to proofread ALL materials. I mean, you would hate to discover that all of the signs read, “Motion Markering & Media” the day of the event.

As it turns out, my supervisor was moving out of the country one week prior to the event, meaning that it was up to me to carry out the event and make sure everything ran smoothly. I couldn’t believe they would assign such a significant task to an intern. When Tiffany told me she’d give me hands-on experience in the field, she wasn’t kidding!

Communication between my supervisor and myself was key. Because I was only interning two days a week, there was a good chance I would miss pertinent information on the other three days I was out. I could’ve depended on my supervisor to relay all of the information to me, but what if she forgot? There would be no one else to blame but myself for being unprepared the day of the event. Therefore, it was absolutely vital that I took the initiative to check in with my supervisor consistently to be sure that I was up-to-date on all of the event details.

Be stubborn when the situation calls for it

The day of the event arrived, and everyone was looking to me for direction. I had the schedule memorized, I was organized and I was prepared for anything and everything to go awry. It had only been an hour into the day, and I already found myself in a conundrum. The client wanted to rearrange the set-up (mind you, we had been planning this for six weeks and had everything placed where it was for a reason). There were two ways in which I could handle this situation:

  • Nod and smile. After all, he is the client and it is his event … I should let him have his way.
  • Respectfully object. Explain why it is more beneficial to keep it the way we originally planned. He should stick to his job and let me stick to mine.

I went with the latter of the two. As it turns out, I not only impressed our client, but I proved to my boss that I could stand on my own. It can be difficult to know when to stick to your guns, but at some point, you need to display confidence and prove that you can bring your own sparkle to the table.

So, here I am writing to you, from my desk, in my office at Motion Marketing & Media (and yes, I am now getting paid). What felt like a low point after college turned into the beginning of my career. Just because you take a different route than most other people, doesn’t mean you won’t end up right where you are supposed to. Have faith that you made the right decisions along the way and trust that everything will work out in your favor. After all, if you follow in everyone else’s plain footsteps, then you won’t have any new adventures to write about. I didn’t, and now I have my own high-heeled Manolo Blahnik footprints in the world.

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The New Adventures of an Old(er) Intern – Part 1

Posted February 9, 2011, by Lindsey Whitehill

This post is part one of a two-part blog post by M3’s newest team member The Sparkler.

One year at Michigan State University studying journalism + one year at Lansing Community College studying business +  one semester at Hillsdale College studying medicine = PANIC!

All that came to mind was a classic line from “Tommy Boy”:

Tommy: “Hey, a lot of people go to college for seven years.”

Richard: “Yeah.  They’re called doctors.”

Once I found my niche in the field of communications, I spent every winter, spring and summer break enrolled in classes to finish my degree in a somewhat timely manner. With a grand total of four and a half years of college under my belt, I graduated.  Phew!

Now what?!

I had one college degree, zero contacts and zero experience. I had been so consumed with school that I forgot to look ahead and think about my life after college. After calling everyone I knew, I finally had a lead … I booked an interview with Tiffany Dowling to discuss an internship at her (very successful) marketing firm in Lansing. I was thrilled, ecstatic … I even picked out my interview outfit a week in advance. Six days later I received a voicemail that immediately threw me to tears. I missed the interview.

Months prior to the interview, I became a nanny for a family with two kids to make some money while I searched for a job. When I told the mother I would be needing an afternoon off, I mixed up the days and told her the wrong one. When I listened to the voicemail I was holding the two-month old baby trying to get him to stop screaming while at the same time the four-year-old girl was climbing on me (also crying) because she accidentally put her shirt on backwards and didn’t know how to fix it.

The way I saw it, I had two options:

  • Dwell on the negative. Kick myself for not taking the time to build my resume. Feel mortified that the one great opportunity that came my way in six months just went out the window. Reach the conclusion that my two main job responsibilities were (and could possibly always be) changing diapers and cleaning spit-up off of myself
  • Fight. Demand another interview. Prove to M3 that I am, in fact,  reliable and that I can do this job with flying colors.

I went with the latter of the two, and apparently made quite an impression on Ms. Dowling because she agreed to bring me on as an intern for one semester (I’m sure my 6-inch Jessica Simpson nude pumps with red lace tied up the heels didn’t hurt, either). 3087

By this time, my college associates were spread across the country working for high-end companies making a monthly paycheck (and probably a pretty good one, at that); and there I was – 23 years old, about to start my first unpaid internship. It’s true, had I done the internship while in school I would have received class credit (saving me hundreds of dollars), but this way was great, too.

Come back in two weeks for part two and read about my exciting adventures and lessons learned as an M3 intern. You might be surprised at how this one turns out …

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