Sales: Entertain to Engage

The advertisements are unmistakable, loud, deliberately tacky and “in your face” but inevitably entertaining. Frequently they include a live audience of true believers to re-enforce the “Wow!” factor for television viewers. During the “pitch process,” other satisfied customers proudly voice their pleasure at having had the good sense to buy what you, the viewer, are about to pick up the phone now to order. Some are “disguised” as news shows, others as mini-documentaries. They are called infomercials—part information, part commercial—and despite being frowned upon by mainstream advertisers, they have become extraordinarily popular with the consuming public.

The “Father of the Infomercial” is Ron Popeil. You may not have bought any of his “As seen on TV” products, but if you have ever watched American television you most assuredly have caught a glimpse of one of his infomercials. The Popeil Pocket Fisherman ("The biggest fishing invention since the hook... and still only $19.95!"), Vegomatic (“It slices! It dices!”), Dialomatic (successor to the Vegomatic) and GLH-9 Hair in a Can Spray are just a few of the “must have” innovations he has introduced to the American consumer over the last four decades in TV commercials aired at all hours of the day and night. Part of his approach is to be everywhere on television. And he puts his money where his mouth is. According to Popeil, he spent $300 million for TV airtime just on the Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue (“Set it and forget it!”). Along the way, he has become a very wealthy man worth around $100 million.

Why do consumers by the millions buy these products—some, which have, let’s face it, questionable value? The answer is not because of the rational benefits (“Set it and forget it!”) but in the entertainment value of the sales pitch. Just like P.T. Barnum, Buffalo Bill and the traveling elixir salesmen of the Old West, Popeil realizes the value of entertainment in communications. CNBC once replaced its Sunday lineup with a Popeil “GLH-9 Hair in a Can infomercial “marathon.” The audience doubled.

Successful marketers utilize entertainment—directly and indirectly—in their communications from the most basic direct mail piece to the most expensive television advertisement. The dictionary definition of entertainment says it all:

    
en-ter-tain-ment: To hold the attention of; amuse.
To extend hospitality toward.

Extend hospitality toward your customers. Hold their attention by entertaining them.