“AS SEEN ON TV†MEETS AD:TECH AS LIVEMERCIAL BRINGS ONLINE INFOMERCIALS TO DIGITAL MARKETERS’ CONFERENCE
PRESS CONTACTS:
Patty Cox 586.817.5745 pcox@livemercial.com
Monte Doran 248.514.1458 mdoran@livemercial.com
Online Direct Response firm also introduces no-risk, pay-for-performance agreements, backed by 50 million visitors a month and more than $1 billion in online sales
SAN FRANCISCO, AD:TECH Booth 1572, April 21, 2009 – Infomercials seem to be everywhere today – from Super Bowl ads to Barack Obama’s 30 minutes to the new Discovery Channel “Pitchmen†reality TV series. Livemercial, the leading provider of online Direct Response marketing, is introducing the online infomercial to ad:tech San Francisco today, with a simple message:
“If you aren’t using Direct Response now, you will be soon,†says Livemercial CEO, Johnny Mathis, Jr. “While every other advertising and marketing sector seems to be falling, Direct Response is growing simply because it is the best method for bringing a new product to market.â€
Indeed, Nielsen Company estimates that infomercials, more formally called Direct Response Television, grew to $2.58 billion, up 9.2 percent from 2007 (http://directmag.com/vendors/news/direct-response-nielsen-0316/). Infomercials are only a part of the Direct Response industry, which is distinguished as marketing that inspires instant action or immediate purchase decision. Direct Response is particularly suited for online sales, where shoppers buy a product with the click of a mouse.
Since 2003, Livemercial has sold more than $1 billion of product online, for more than 3,000 clients. More than 100 of those individual offers have exceeded $1 million in online sales with Livemercial. This line of $1 million “As Sold on Livemercial†products range from one-off innovations to global brands, such as:
- Aqua Globes watering bulbs
- CriCut personal electronic cutter
- Debbie Meyer Green Bags
- Floam modeling compound
- Hercules Hook wall hanger
- Kodak EasyShare All-in-One printer
- Topsy Turvy tomato planter
- Zorbeez multi-purpose cloth
“Today, all of these products can be found in ‘As Seen On TV’ sections of Target, Wal-mart and Bed Bath & Beyond, in part due to Livemercial’s support,†says Mathis. “We offer the quickest, most cost-efficient way to launch a new product from the inventor’s Brain to the Bank. Many of our clients have leveraged the sales success and consumer awareness created through Livemercial’s online infomercials to secure nationwide retail placements.â€
Livemercial offers clients three incentives to try online Direct Response: proven microsite designs, one of the largest e-commerce networks in the industry, and no-risk pay-for-performance agreements.
E-commerce sites traditionally deliver several pages of product features and benefits before presenting a sales offer. But, in testing and development, the Livemercial team discovered that each page between the customer and the purchase decision resulted in an incremental drop in sales conversions. As such, Livemercial developed a single-page microsite template that contains the product benefits, video demonstration, and purchase opportunity. These Livemercial sites convert as high as 30 percent of traffic into sales, roughly three times the rate of shopping-cart sites such as Amazon.com. (ClickZ.com http://www.clickz.com/3628276)
Following the purchase decision, Livemercial’s adaptive technology provides added-value opportunities for the customer, such as accessories, complimentary items, or additional items at a reduced cost. Through this process, Livemercial is able to deliver transaction totals on average three times the single-item price, for example delivering an average checkout price of $60.00 for a $19.95 product.
“But, the best site in the world won’t produce results if no one can find it. The foundation of any e-commerce program is traffic,†says Mathis. “As such, Livemercial continues to develop and use the most effective tools placing our clients’ products in front of buyers.â€
Livemercial markets client’s products across the largest affiliate network in the Direct Response industry. Leveraging the AsSeenonTVNetwork.com as a network hub, Livemercial drives sales to client’s products through an estimated 10,000 affiliate websites. As a result, Livemercial’s network traffic averages more than 50 million unique visitors, and peaked at 96 million unique visitors in January of 2009 – more than eBay or Amazon.com.
That reach will continue to grow in 2009, following the introduction of Livemercial’s social-media marketing platform. The Social Response Pack (SRP) helps clients connect with online communities, engage online visitors, and increase conversion through branded channels on popular social media sites including YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Blogger. With social media traffic doubling in the past 12 months, these channels have become essential tools for raising awareness, driving traffic, and promoting sales across all marketing channels.
Livemercial offers most of their online marketing and sales services on a pay-for-performance model, meaning clients will only be charged for completed transactions rather than upfront charges or subscription fees.
“We launched with a pay-for-performance model to entice clients to work with an unproven company and an unproven concept at no risk,†says Mathis. “Six years, and $1 billion in online sales later, we have proven our approach to online direct-response marketing. However, we continue to use the pay-for-performance structure because of the unique partnership it creates between Livemercial and our clients. Simply put, our success is directly linked to the success of our clients.â€
To learn more about Livemercial, or to learn how online Direct Response can help you sell more products online, please visit our ad:tech booth 1572, or go to www.livemercial.com .
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About Livemercial Founded in 2003, Livemercial pioneered and is the largest provider of “instant on†streaming video for email, pop-ups, banners and direct response websites. The company leads the direct response industry in single product sales, utilizing cutting-edge technologies, social media and e-commerce solutions to design, deploy and manage strategic online marketing campaigns including email procurement, banner and pop-up placement, search engine optimization and contextual marketing.
