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TV News South Africa

TV 3 rides an entertainment wave and infomercials that are as boring as some documentaries

SABC 3 recently found an interesting method of advertising their channel. They put their own ad together and flighted it only on 3.

This sounds bizarre as it doesn't target new viewers but it reinforces their existing viewers and they can show it as many times a night as they please.

It is not the greatest ad to hit TV viewers of late but it gets a point across. The ad provides a laugh as well as entertainment and that's exactly what they say their channel does.

They have even showed the making of the ad behind the scenes and have benefited from utilising every possible marketing aspect. So simple it's frightening that nobody thought of this approach before now.

Infomercials are a factor that doesn't seem to go away. They are lengthy, lack all credibility with celebrities talking knowledgeably about things like insurance and they batter the viewer repetitiously showing no respect for viewer intelligence.

The presentation is never slick (often looking like a home video) and everything important is usually said in the first two minutes. They are also flighted in the mornings when most professional people are either at work, meetings or business appointments.

The word infomercial is nonsensical. A commercial should rely on speed of delivery with the focus on a few key ideas. Most people just don't have time or inclination to sit and watch a documentary on life insurance.

Shades of sitting through a boring lecture by timeshare salespeople simply to gain a 'free' weekend away.

About Richard Clarke

Richard Clarke founded Just Ideas, an ideas factory and implementation unit. He specialises in spotting opportunities, building ideas and watching them fly. Richard is also a freelance writer.



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