By Thomas J. Sheeran
OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio — Their products can slice and dice your vegetables, flatten your belly and clean your colon! But will you be able to find them if the much-maligned TV infomercial doesn't get right with the social media revolution?
The Vitamix Corp. is trying. The maker of high-end blenders and accessories marked the 60th anniversary of its clunky infomercial featuring founder William G. "Papa" Barnard with a contest to find a new pitch-meister. It's also trying to figure out how to carve out a presence online while not losing its late-night, couch-dwelling television audience.
"I believe that there is a new method that we can develop that takes the best of television, the best of online, the best of all the technologies that we know and really give a customized experience but starts out on television," said Dan Kleps, marketing manager for Vitamix. "It's not completely developed yet."
The idea is to gauge how many people can be attracted to a product by, say, a blog, a live demonstration or online reviews and figure out how to link potential buyers to promote product buzz and close the sale. One example: Using niche "social community sites" where diabetics or runners can size up the latest Vitamix product and how they can use it for their particular dietary needs.
"We want to really increase the odds (of selling) and do it in a very, very controlled fashion," Kleps said.
Kleps and his boss, company president Jodi Berg, who's the great-granddaughter of "Papa" Barnard, know the infomercial carries a lot of disparaging baggage as the choice for insomniacs who can't find a decent movie to watch.
The irritation level depends on the content, Berg said in an interview in the company's chalet-style headquarters, tucked in a wooded suburb outside Cleveland. And people don't need to put up with an aggravating infomercial that shows up on the tube around-the-clock.
"You have the remote control," Berg said.
Vitamix, which has thrived on selling through live demonstrations such as county fairs, is proud of its infomercial history. But it hasn't broadcast one since the 1980s, instead sticking with its demonstrations at more than 2,000 venues a year.
