Balanced Body Technologies, a health products company, is using direct response television to expand its sales into the consumer market. The 4-year-old company will launch by mid-December a long-form infomercial promoting an acupressure pillow labeled The Relax Station.
Balanced Body Technologies up to this point has marketed its flagship acupressure pillow exclusively to hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers.
“We are not getting out of the BTB market, but we are expanding to consumer sales because the consumer market is so much larger than that of business-to-business,” said Scott Myler, president of Balanced Body Technologies, Orem, UT.
The infomercial features Myler touting the chronic headache-relieving effects of The Relax Station. The long-form spot includes testimonials from wide demographics of product users and physical therapists. The ad also features a video filmed with heat-sensing technology documenting increased circulation to the head as a result of pillow usage.
“The Relax Station is very much dependent on testimonials. Unlike weight loss or cleaning products, there is no visible transformation, and therefore it relies heavily on an emotional sell,” said Gerald Bagg, executive vice president at Century DR, Santa Monica, CA, the DRTV agency responsible for the media placement and tracking of the campaign.
Balanced Body Technologies ran a test of the infomercial over the Thanksgiving weekend, Bagg said, adding that it is too early to disclose results.
“We chose long form, because it gives us the time to educate the public on the benefits of acupressure,” Myler said. Bagg added that short-form ads do not provide the adequate time to show the “heat-sensing shots” and the variety of testimonials that Balanced Body Technologies wanted to demonstrate.
Century DR, a full-service DRTV agency, produces, manages and tracks short- and long-form infomercials for financial services companies, healthcare organizations and motivational speakers.
“We chose Century because they were interested in serving the end-user, not just in the money,” Myler said.
The company is primarily targeting 22- to 45-year-old females with the product. Myler claimed that females are three times more likely to suffer from chronic headaches because of various hormonal factors. He added that during the test run the company experienced a 4-to-1 call-in rate of females vs. males.
The infomercial will run on national cable and local broadcast stations, Bagg said, adding it is too early to specify day parts.
The infomercial directs consumers to a Web site, at www.relaxstation.com, and a toll-free phone number.
“Our main objective is to direct people to the phone. Not many people have a TV and a computer on in the same room, at the same time,” Myler said. He added that while consumers can order the product via the Web site, its primary purpose is to provide them with further information.
The Relax Station retails for $79.95. Phone operators will upsell a relaxation music compact disc and a second pillow, which includes the CD and a travel mat for the pillow at a reduced price of $59.95. Myler did not specify sales goals for the product.
Balanced Body Technologies is developing a pillow designed to reduce menstrual discomfort and back pain. It is expected to be released early next year in conjunction with a long-form infomercial campaign.
