The Amazing Infomercial Called the Today Show

Most weekdays I wake up around 6:30 and watch Fox & Friends. But this is only until 7, when NBC's Today Show begins. The Today Show is the "Grand Poobah" of morning talk programs, having the best ratings than any other show of its kind. It has beautiful people, attractive sets, and lively discussions. In spite of all this, it has become little more than the most expensive infomercial on TV today. On a typical show you will hear disclaimers to the affect:

* "GE is the parent company of NBC and GE Finance"

* "GE is the parent company of NBC and Universal Pictures"

* "GE is the parent company of NBC and Universal Theme Park"

* "GE owns everything and such disclaimers are now silly"

Okay, the last point is an exaggeration, but I think you get the picture. GE is a monster. A conglomerate that is in everything from health care to washing machines, and they are promoted often (2-3 times an hour) in every program. iVillage alone is played at least once every hour of every show, it seems. How does NBC get to cover every Olympic game? They, too, are in relationship with GE. The Today Show is done very tastefully, but it is largely an infomercial, none the less.

The Today Show has very high ratings and I watch it myself. My observations are not critical, but almost in awe of this very sophisticated, product promoting, machine.

The "Today Show" Prepares to Become the "All Day Show"

We were recently informed that NBC's popular Today Show was about to add a fourth hour and, if it keeps it up, make take the rest of the day time programming (that is wild speculation on my part). The show consistently (as in years) remains the most popular each and every quarter, and since its parent company (GE see photo) has interests in virtually every type of business, the show is actually a very elaborate infomercial (an idea I discussed in the past), why wouldn't it move to all day? Millions sitting there being sold the latest product or service from the mind of GE, how can they not love such?

But they are getting prepared for the next hour by doing something I have never noticed as a regular Today watcher -- they are replaying stories later in the program from earlier in the show. They are recycling content. They may have done such before, but it flew past me. I guess they figure that, if we are willing to watch hours of infomercial, we might want to see the same things repeatedly on the same program. Those people are brilliant!

In the 1990s Today tried an idea called "Later Today" and it was a complete wash. In fact, I think it only survived a couple of months. The program was an hour or so after Today ended and had completely different personalities. Obviously, if the extended Today is going to work, it is going to have to be seamless. It is already the longest daily morning show of the networks, the bet is that it can be longer still and successful. This is something we will have to wait until September to see.

Meet the Accumulators and How to Reach Them

The economy and market place are changing rapidly. The growth of the Internet are making consumers more demanding than ever. As a result, marketers have begun to identify a class of people that is quickly being defined as the "Accumulator Class." This group is one of two major trends in marketing that this article will focus on and it has has the following unique characteristics:

• Typically, they are in their mid 30s to early 50s.
• They are one of the top income generating groups. They are affluent or are optimistic in their ability to be affluent and want to leverage their time towards that objective.
• They are at the point in their careers where earning income for their families and future are among their greatest goals.
• They have come to realize that the leveraging of their time is the most important thing they can do to increase their wealth. Therefore, unlike earlier generations that would be inclined to do it themselves, this group realizes it makes more sense to pay someone else to do it (whatever "it" is). They tend to center their lives around convenience and are very demanding.
• This group takes control over as much of their time as possible. No longer do they read stale weeklies with yesterday's news or agree to meet Brian Williams or even Katie Couric at a specific time for information. Many go to the web and tie a few video or audio programs into their own, customized, news broadcast (or podcast). In fact, the average viewer of nightly news is 60 years old. This group is still comfortable with being where its told to be to get the information they want, but they are of little interest to most marketers.
• If you are interested in reaching this group of Accumulators, you are going to have to design your marketing towards meeting the specific demands of these drivers.
  

A second major trend after recognizing the accumulators is the rise of educational marketing. In many respects, this is the corollary to the first point. People have grown impatient with advertising and will usually only trade their time for information. Currently, radio stations are trying to persuade listeners to stay with so-called free radio rather than paying for it. Currently, approximately 10 million Americans, most in the demanding Accumulator Class, have made the shift to XM or Sirius. They are willing to pay not to hear advertising. So how are advertisers reaching a reluctant audience? The following are a few examples:

• They are sponsoring shows and putting their name on it, like the old days.
• They are requiring the audience to look at advertising before they can get their information. Apparently, busy consumers are willing to make a trade off, since recent data has shown that the fastest growing way for getting news is through on-demand resources.
• Increasingly, businesses are buying air time in order to convey information, rather than merely doing an infomercial. Many of the radio and TV shows you now see are far more sophisticated than their infomercial ancestors. They know that people will not watch a 30 minute commercial any more than a 30 second one.
• These same sources take a multi-informational approach. They provide free newsletters, have programs on TV and/or radio, and virtually always have a website.
• Virtually every business is developing innovative ways to use educational marketing and find it essential to their future success.

In sum, highly sophisticated consumers are forcing advertisers to give them what they want, the way they want it, and when they want it. These individuals drive the new marketing environment. The only businesses that will thrive are those who develop a marketing plan that acknowledges such.

ABC Dabbles in Infomercials

One of my favorite news magazines is ABC's 20/20. The stories are excellent and the personalities (John Stossel and Elizabeth Vargas) are among the best in the industry, in my opinion.

On tonight's show the focus was a follow up on a story about Camden, NJ with an emphasis on the positive developments that the city has seen through the eyes of a particular family (sprinkled with many examples of a lack of progress). The story includes a family that lives in a horrible home and receive an Extreme Makeover on the ABC network program. That was followed with an interesting human interest story on a brother sister competing against each other on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

I don't know about you, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it is a duck. Tonight's 20/20 was a very interesting and well done infomercial. It was about other ABC programs. It was done in a tasteful and entertaining manner. Believe me, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have watched it. But one of the program's major objectives was to clearly sell other programming.

That is the future of media: advertising messages intertwined in the content. Most people won't even notice the smart shows that pursue this objective.

Request a free copy of an article by Kevin Price entitled Two Marketing Trends that Affect Your Business. In it he explains some of the most important trends in business marketing today.

Michelle Obama's Performance

On Monday night Michelle Obama took center stage in Denver, Colorado and tried to present a different and softer image from what voters had gotten use to. Furthermore, she tried to convey some specific messages to persuade voters going into November that Obama is their man. The reviews as to whether she achieved such objectives, thus far, have been mixed at best.

Democrat strategist James Carville had little good to say about the convention, saying “Well, if this party has a message it has done a hell of a job of hiding it tonight I promise you that,” Carville said on CNN Monday night. “Right now like I say we are playing hide the message pretty good.”

Michelle Obama has described the US as "mean" and, until her husband enjoyed national electoral success, she wasn't very proud of it. One of her main objectives was to placate the concerns of many over what type of First Lady would be in the White House. Historically, one of the prerequisites for being in the White House was being a fan of this country. Because of the statements above, people have had their doubts. She attempted to wipe out those concerns by announcing that she "loves this country." The jury seems to be out as to whether this statement alone will reverse concerns.

She jumped in with an effort to show that she and her family was like so many others around the country. A person who was concerned about her daughters and who wants to provide hope for all Americans who have been "left out." Her husband didn't take a fancy Wall Street job (typical of a fresh Ivy League graduate), but worked in the inner city and represented those who were largely without hope.

Although she loves this country, she also said there is the "America that is" and the "America that should be." The latter one seems markedly different than the ones we all know and makes many wonder what she loves about this country? That remained unanswered in her speech.

She spent part of her time doing an inventory of the many great things done by others. Joe Biden, who "represents" the working class and is a voice for so many Americans who have "no hope" and Hillary Clinton (whose delegates are still less than happy) was praised for the contributions the Senator has made for the advancement of women in politics.

In the end, the presentation was largely a family friendly infomercial. Michelle was articulate and passionate, but she expended energy in a speech that most will find of little lasting value. James Carville has said that the Republicans should be a party on the run and in total defensive mode. Neither Edward Kennedy nor Michelle Obama acted as people who saw the Democrats as a party on the move. Instead, Michelle Obama behaved as a woman who has a party and a husband that needs to be defended. That has Obama and the Democrats operating from a position of weakness instead of strength. That is not the way to begin a convention.

The truth may be in the numbers. Typically such speeches by potential First Ladies lead to a polling bump. Obama's Gallop Poll numbers are down two percent since the speech. Again, not the way to begin a convention.

Kevin Price's articles are found daily in national publications such as USA Today, Chicago Sun Times, and Reuters.

Subscribe to his newsletter here.Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review.

Today Show Sends Warning to Men

I have been a big fan of the Today Show and have mentioned it often in this blog. The wildly successful infomercial (how I refer to it and it is a compliment) that was already on an hour longer than similar shows, has decided to expand to 11 AM. In anticipation of this big move, they have brought on several correspondents. With the exception of former New York Giant great, Tiki Barber (photo), all of the new people are women and their focus has been on topics that clearly leans towards women -- female fashion, cooking, make up, etc. I can't name any of these other women because none of them played in the NFL, but all of them are going to bring largely female oriented topics to the program in light of the way they were introduced (yes, cooking is a female topic, in my opinion).

In addition, the Today Show is investing a small fortune in a new set devoted to cooking segments. With four ovens and several stoves, this kitchen is serious! This kind of investment indicates to me that they will be spending a great deal of time cooking. It seems to me the future of Today is with women and that they plan on making it a competitor to the other lifestyle programs that are so common in the morning. The future of Today has a strong feminine bent.

In the News: NBC becomes TSN

What if you woke up to the following headline: "NBC Becomes the Today Show Network?" Read more of this intriguing, if not authentic, story:

It's official, the National Broadcasting Network is becoming the Today Show Network. According to a spokesperson, the company's name is reflecting the realities of the network. On every evening after midnight NBC's airwaves are dominated by infomercials. At 7, the Today Show kicks in and continues to around lunch time. It is only a question of when, not if, the Today Show takes over the rest of the network...

It sounds silly now, but until a few years ago the Today Show was only two hours long. Slowly, it played around with a concept called "Later Today," but that was quickly shelved in favor of maintaining the continuity of the popular early program. Earlier this year they decided to extend the show to 11 AM starting in September. September is here and, true to their word, we have four hours of programming.

The Today Show works so well for NBC for several reasons:

* Personalities. Among the friendliest on TV and certainly with the best chemistry.

* Technical quality. NBC treats their morning show like a real program. They recognize that it provides a ratings bonanza and they honor such by making it very attractive, visually.

* Most important, it is a very high end infomercial to support the vast product line of its parent company, GE. Today belongs to NBC, which belongs to GE and its companies include iVillage, appliances, entertainment, financial services, aviation, etc., etc., etc. Virtually every hour has something from the vast GE empire and you will hear their disclaimer. Because of the shear promotion of product, Today can't help but make money.

Fortunately for NBC, the show has high ratings as well and is an excellent example of taking marketing to new and very creative heights.

Note: Order Kevin Price's audio program The Accumulators, which explains the impact that the Internet is having on marketing and consumer behavior. It is available online here for only $10 plus p and h. Receive the Houston Business Review e-zine free each week by clicking here.

A Strange Little Show called "The Millionaire Inside"

I don't normally watch CNBC during the weekend because it is usually a series of infomercials. Recently I stumbled upon the program and I decided to spend a little time with it. I don't know who is usually on the show, but tonight featured:

Erin Burnett. The regular host and a CNBC "Money Honey" in her own right (I think that term is trademarked by another Money Honey, so I hope I don't get sued).

Robert Kiyosaki. The author of one of my favorite books, Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Laura Morgan Roberts. This Harvard professor of organizational psychology described the mental and emotional capabilities of millionaires.

Keith Ferrazzi. Arguably one of the world's greatest networkers.

Larry Winget. One of the country's most reknown success coaches.

Clearly this was an impressive group at an interesting setting (it looked like a Zig Ziglar seminar audience). However, there was an informercial "quality" about the show that I wasn't completely comfortable with. It felt like it was possibly underwritten, but the people involved with the program (maybe an ad hoc version of Forbes on Fox). On the other hand, it could be an educational program designed to help the people who watch the infomercials on the weekend, become financially interested to watch the program during the rest of the week (which are made for serious investors).

I will say that I learned a little on today's program and my curiosity will have me coming back again, even if it is to figure out the angle. If it is an infomercial, it is an highly innovative one.