 |
 |
|
"Koeppel Direct's media buying expertise has played an integral role in making my company successful. Koeppel generated so much business for our company, occasionally we have to limit their media buys, in order to handle all of the new business." | |
| - R. Gregg Marketer of Senior Products |
|
MEDIA BUYING DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) ARTICLE ...... |
The Spirit of Inventiveness is Alive and Well in America
By: Peter Koeppel
Published: 08/06 - ERA |
| |
It was an uplifting experience to have the privilege of sponsoring the Invention Showcase
program for young inventors in conjunction with ERA and the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). The
competition produced many great inventions and provided the inventors with a terrific learning experience
about the process of taking an idea and turning it into a marketable product.
Maintaining America's Edge in Ideas and Creativity
After meeting the winners at the awards presentation at the Press Club in Washington, DC, I came away awed by
their creativity, poise and ability to follow through and produce an award winning product. These are
exceptional young people and they represent two key areas where I believe America still has an edge versus
rest of the world. Those areas are the ability to generate new ideas/products and think creatively. The
U.S. will not continue to maintain an edge in these areas without programs like the one developed by
ERA and FBLA.
Encouraging More Young Inventors
The top direct response television shows according to the Jordan Whitney and IMS TV rankings seem to vary
little from year to year. That's why it's very important for our industry to encourage more young inventors
to enter our business. There's a strong interest among young people to start their own business and become
an entrepreneur. We need to foster that interest and create an environment where the best young minds
consider entering the direct response business instead of going to work for Google or a hedge fund.
Grand Prize Winners
It was also encouraging to see that the two Grand Prize winners were young women. I would estimate that
80% of the entrepreneurs we work with are men, so it was wonderful to see two accomplished young women
win the Grand Prize. Sisters Julia and Caroline La Roche developed two unique pet products, including a
natural remedy that kills fleas called "Flea Tea", which won the Grand Prize and "Doggy Den/Kitty Cave", which
is a home for your family pet that looks like a landscape boulder and has a heated floor for keeping your
pet warm in the winter. The latter product won a runner-up prize.
Succeeding as Entrepreneurs
I had the opportunity to spend time with the six finalists and was able to advise them on how to most
effectively market their products. Their stories, questions and comments further demonstrated their talents
and determination to succeed as entrepreneurs. The broad range of products developed by the winners was
impressive. It was inspiring for me to be able to contribute to this worthwhile program and I look forward
to seeing these young people succeed in marketing their inventions. Perhaps next year "Flea Tea" or "Doggy Den/
Kitty Cave" will be at the top of the industry rankings.
Click Here to view the entire article
|
| |
|
|
|
