"This business has legs": How I Used Infomercial Marketing to Create the$100,000,000 ThighMaster Craze (Paperback)

by Peter Bieler (Author) "We live in the Hollywood Hills, in the once illustrious neighborhood that boasted Gloria Swanson, Hedy Lamarr, and Cecil B. deMille..." (more)
Key Phrases: thigh exerciser, infomercial campaign, infomercial business, Los Angeles, Suzanne Somers, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The inside story of how Bieler started with no money, no product, and no experience, and somehow created a $100 million business selling the "Thighmaster" through infomercials. Far more entertaining and fun than any infomercial, and, in many ways, a mind-boggling book about how new industries are created in this modern world. Recommended.

From Publishers Weekly
The conventional wisdom used to be that a company needed at least $200 million in sales to afford a national TV ad campaign. Not anymore, claims Bieler, as he tells how he used TV infomercials to market an exercise machine and hit the jackpot with a relatively small cash outlay. He had this going for him: a hot product, Suzanne Somers to demonstrate it and business savvy. Although the sponsor shells out for the initial air time, which can be a half-hour or more, the money starts rolling as soon as customers begin phoning in orders. The program then becomes self-sustaining and continues to air until the product wins enough consumer acceptance to be sold in stores. This book is a good read, written in a breezy, offbeat style. Bieler describes himself as a monkish type who likes to meditate. He's also a practical guy who knows how to make a buck. Costas is an editor at Bloomberg Personal. First serial to Success magazine.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (May 14, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471147494
• ISBN-13: 978-0471147497
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #265,924 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must have" for any budding entrepreneur!, June 17, 1999

By A Customer

Peter Biehler has written not only a sensational book about infomercials, he has unwittingly written an entertaining and profound book on motivation and persevering to attain one's goals. He provides an indepth understanding of the key components of how to put together an infomerical and succeed. It was more like reading an engrossing novel than the uusal dreary business books.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb case study of bringing a product to market, February 1, 2005

By	Kenneth Calhoun "StockTradingSuccess.com" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent (and well-written!) case study of bringing a popular product to market with infomercial marketing. I liked it so much I read it cover to cover, which is rare for me. I am recommending it to all my students at copywriting university.

Emphasis on marketing, typical business production/legal issues, plus very motivating on persistence while being an entrepreneur.
I liked the testing details, copywriting and media buy numbers.. very eye-opening to me, and extremely insightful.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but left some questions, February 2, 2009

By	Shane R. Wicklund "shane wicklund" (st. louis, mo) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Overall the book is pretty informative and interesting, although it did leave some questions in my head:

1. The cover says "$100,000,000 craze" but he never actually goes into how much money he walked away with in profit after it was all said and done. I was really looking forward to getting detailed numbers on how much he spent and how much he made total but never got it.

2. Also, Im still kind of confused about why he left the company and what stage the business was in when he left. Were they still running infomercials? Were they still breaking even on them to support retail sales?

3. He said the company went bankrupt after he left and he doesn't know why. I would think he would have some kind of an idea of why, was the product/fad cycle just over? Or does he think it was being managed poorly?

Good read, I recommend it to anyone interested in marketing, particularly direct-response and infomercials.