When I was a young lad, nobody in their right mind said, “When I grow up, I want to be in the infomercial business.” But nearly 25 years after starting in this industry, that’s just where I find myself. And boy, am I glad!
As Electronic Retailer magazine and ERA celebrate the 25th anniversary of the infomercial, we wanted to give all of our readers the opportunity to share their stories and memories.
Here are mine…
It was a snowy day in December of 1986 when I reported for duty on my first day as an inbound call agent for National Instant Consumer Exchange, then known as NICE Corporation. Today, it goes by the name Convergys, and it’s one of the largest contact centers in the world. At that time, I was a skinny teenager making minimum wage. NICE Corporation was a little company whose entire inbound call center fit in one room in Ogden, Utah. And the infomercial business was in its infancy…but just getting ready to explode to a scale few could have imagined.
In those days, the phones were ringing non-stop for blues records, stop smoking products, diet pills and a wide range of other products. The 30-minute “infomercial” format had just hit the airwaves one-year prior. New upstart cable networks had hours and hours of time to fill, and the long format gave them something to broadcast while adding to the bottom line. And the American consumer was enraptured with the whole idea of watching a 30-minute advertisement, then calling to order a product, which would be delivered right to their home. They were doing it by the millions.
Yes, the industry has grown by leaps and bounds since that time. So has my career. And my waistline…but that’s a different story.
In the 24 years I’ve been in the business, I’ve worked for call centers large and small. I’ve done creative production for short form and infomercials, product marketing, international distribution, product sourcing, e-commerce and more. Starting in 1999, I’m proud to have been (and continue to be) one of the pioneers on the forefront of new technologies in the electronic retailing space. My team was the first to stream infomercial video online (years before YouTube existed), was the winner of the very first “Best Website” award ever presented by ERA in 2001, and I’ve continued to introduce new tools and concepts to the industry through my articles in Electronic Retailer magazine, and speaking at dozens of industry conferences. Whether it’s the shift from “Call Now” to “Visit our website,” SEO, innovative shopping carts or social media marketing, this industry is always changing…and always fascinating.
Here are a few of my “remember when” memories from 1986:
- “COD” was the payment option of choice for most consumers calling to order.
- Orders were mailed or faxed from the call center to the fulfillment center. There was not data transfer!
- For really big clients, we sent a reel-to-reel magnetic tape every couple of days containing their orders.
- The “Golden Girls” were big on TV. (Twenty-five years later, Betty White is still hot on TV.)
- A gallon of gas was 89 cents.
- Richard Simmons made his FIRST appearance on QVC.
- When they weren’t watching infomercials on TV, people were watching “The Cosby Show” and “Magnum P.I.”
- There was only one “toll free” prefix…and it was 1-800.
- One last memory of the past 25 years: The friends I’ve made in the business are second to none. To this day, I have business relationships stretching back to the very earliest days of my career, and I’m proud to call these same people my friends these many years later.
So now it’s your turn. What are YOUR favorite memories of the DRTV / Infomercial / Electronic Retailing business? How did you get started? What “remember when” highlights would you add to the above list?
Please leave your thoughts in the Comment section below and let the reminiscing begin!
Marty M. Fahncke is a consultant, speaker and writer working with companies around the world to increase the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. Fahncke is a regular contributor to Electronic Retailer magazine, and is a member of the Magazine Advisory Board. Be sure to check out his blog at http://www.MartyFahncke.com.
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