Now, having been pitched by just about every infomercial company out there, I was leery, but curious at the same time. So, I returned their call and asked if they were trying to sell me an infomercial (typical costs range $25-70,000), advertising or banner space. The appointment setter assured me that they were not an infomercial house and that they were not trying to sell me anything, they simply wanted to speak with me to see if Action Wipes would make for a good story line. So we proceeded to arrange a conference call with one of the shows producers.
The call with the producer lasted 40 minutes today. In that time, we spoke about the history of Action Wipes, why they were perfect for women on the go, how we've been using social media (Twitter specifically) to get the word out, how the show could give us exposure and more. She was enthused and advised that the product would fit really well, however...
- Being on the show was by invitation only.
- Though she was an executive producer, she still had to go through an internal approval process.
- If approved, they would then create a 3-5 minute editorial piece.
- I would then be considered a content partner and thus I had to ensure them I would contribute to script.
- The script would be written with an educational tone, as this was NOT an infomercial, NOR a commercial.
- "If" they decided to promote me, their PR team would begin writing press releases immediately, I would get exposure via their half million daily viewers and 800 thousand email subscribers and, through their magazine partner, Women's Day.
As she walked me through each of these steps I could hear the excitement in her voice rise. I just listened silently simply saying "ok" after each sentence and thinking "here it comes"...
And, here it is... "All" that is expected from me is to work with the PR team, cross promote through our mutual websites and pay a "scheduling" fee of $39,700.00.
So while they did not "lie" when they advised they were not selling me an infomercial, they did deceive me. Deception is as bad as a lie, it's dishonest and it sucks. Big time.If you want truthful, honest reviews on Action Wipes, just go to the following blogs. We did not pay for their view... with some however, we did send them the product to test, but with a note that stated "Please, be honest. Good or otherwise, we want to hear your feedback". Others purchased the product from our website and posted a review. So here they are - good and otherwise :)
Girl Meets Bike
Commute by Bike
The Bike Diva
Karl McCracken
Mike Martin Racing
Jill Will Run
SoCalCycling.Com
Jack and Adams Bicycles
Healthiest Life 4 Me
Bike World News
KiltRunner
BikeCommuters.Com
Joe Jacobi
Camping Blogger
Bicycle Frenzy
Naturally Savvy
Bike Skirt
Ultrarob
RunnerDude's Blog
Mike On His Bike
Iron Man Past and Future
Bike Jax
Transparent Racing
Running Relays
Of Blogs & Bulls
Boneshakerbike
Sonya Looney
Academichic
Glastonbury Festival Essentials
Heeb
The Gear Caster
Bike Commuting in Columbus
Bicycle.net
Ontri.com
Dirt 4 Life
Climbing
LA Cycling Examiner
PROBIKEWRENCH
Bikejuju
Lets Go Ride a Bike
MTB Law Girl
Bike Date
How utterly slimy of them. Thanks for the list of reputable sources.
ReplyDeleteClearly they are not protecting a brand themselves..they are using shady, tinseltown vaccum cleaner salesmen tactics to make a buck. They are not concerned about your brand...they are looking for content to feed their beast. If they were interested in quality programming, they would pay for it themselves. What a crock!. Good job Martha for exposing their hypocrisy. Go Action Wipes! --a satisfied customer
ReplyDeleteI've had many infomercial calls and will stop them with, "if I have to pay you, then this call doesn't need to proceed."
ReplyDeleteNext time, I will use "if I have to pay you..." The interesting part was after the producer, Maureen, finished, I said to her "I specifically asked Micheal (appt setter)if there was going to be a fee and he said no." Know what she said? She said "I didn't know you had asked him. However, I don't always let him know what I'm doing, so I may not have mentioned it to him". There you go... more lies.
ReplyDeleteWorking in multiple PR agencies, I have to fend off d-bags like these on behalf of my clients on a regular basis. Total scum. It is sad how many suckers actually fall for their little scam.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me, I don't think I have bloged about ActionWipes yet! I've tweeted, but no whole posts. I feel ashamed and must fix this.
I sympathize. Our hackles go up the moment anyone mentions TV. But of course none of us wants to miss out on the possibility that one day one of these calls might be genuine. They're vermin.
ReplyDeleteI admire the way you do business. Looking forward to trying any new scents you have in the works! Great blog.
ReplyDelete