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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Infomercials: Take Two

Though you may not have heard of the Valencia-based marketing firm, Superfriends Marketing and Promotions Group Inc., you’ve likely heard some of the advertisements that they’ve created for their clients. In fact, the company prides itself on having penned some of the more creative advertisements to have appeared on such big name programs as Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Howard Stern, Al Franken and Tom Leykis. According to company founder and President Steve Pollak, the company has been able to boost its revenues from a meager $60,000 in 2001 (its first year in business) to grossing $1.1 million this year. “I believe that the secret is to take things way out of the box. Most people settle for the mundane,” Pollak said. “When I used to work in radio, I was commonly accused of being too creative and looking out for the advertiser more than the station. That’s exactly the wrong approach. I like to get as much value for my clients as possible. I want to make things different.” Pollak spent the previous 12 years before founding Superfriends working in the radio industry, including seven years at CBS/Infinity Broadcasting. At CBS/Infinity, he worked with many of the company’s major national radio personalities and was responsible for bringing the Howard Stern show to Las Vegas twice. But eventually, Pollak chafed at the limitations that he found in the industry. “My clients said that they wanted to do more than just the properties that I was representing for the properties that I represented,” Pollak said. “They wanted me to help them but I couldn’t while staying at Infinity. I got the idea to go out on my own and start the company.” Naming it the Superfriends Marketing and Promotion Group, Pollak wanted his company to feature different specialists each with their own marketing niche. Shortly after founding Superfriends, Pollak touched on a unique twist for marketing, one that has separated his company from other marketing firms. Called the sponsor driven television or radio show, Pollak and Superfriends have created a hybrid between an infomercial and entertainment. Striving to be more than just a shill for a company’s products, Superfriends tries to create for its clients, well-written, produced and formatted radio and television programs that can attract an audience on its own merits, as well as advertise a firm’s wares. “We realize that most people that watch infomercials on television and radio can detect that they’re being blatantly marketed to,” Pollak said. “But the shows that we produce are new and fresh every week and the audience returns and learns something new each time. They trust the advertisers so that they’ll want to partake in their services and products. We Internet stream our content, do podcasts, and in general cater to younger audiences, as opposed to many of these shows that are geared to older crowds.” Popular programs The programs have been quite popular with Superfriends’ clients as they have managed to drive revenues and customers to the business. Among the programs that Superfriends has produced include a show called “Mortgage Makeovers,” that airs locally on 93.9 KZLA-FM. Hosted by Ken Michaels, the president of Valencia-based First Nationwide Lending of America Inc., the show appears in a dozens of cities nationwide. Another program that has found success for Superfriends and its client, Cutter Motors, is Ohana Road, a television sponsored ad program that airs in Hawaii. “The show is about cars and they go in-depth about the subject. They have a celebrity section with interviews with stars like Jay Leno and A.J. Foyt, but it’s also a travelogue program too,” Pollak said. “We’re going to bring it to the mainland. We’ve talked to several auto manufacturers, as well as AAA and Pleasant Holidays to be sponsors.” Pollak expects the program to air on either KCAL-9 locally or on one of the Fox Sports Stations. He claims that the program will not air in the middle of the night or in the early morning. “They air at decent times. We get the cooperation of the station because they don’t sound like infomercials,” Pollak said. “All of our shows are modeled after the old television programs that radio and television began with, such as the Texaco Hour. They aren’t blatantly in your face. They have segments with the sponsors but we don’t want to make it so in your face that no one will enjoy it.” Volume grows The number of hybrid advertainment programs that Superfriends is producing has grown markedly of late, as the company is currently in talks to bring programs on the mortgage, real estate and insurance industry to the air. Perhaps the most interesting program they have in their pipeline will be sponsored for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority, entitled The Las Vegas Radio Network. “We hope it will launch in the first quarter of next year. We’ve attracted a lot of attention already,” Pollak said. “It’s going to be about what’s happening in Las Vegas every week. We’ve already lined up some op notch name hosts who will conduct interviews every week with different acts in Las Vegas. We’re hoping to have it in 15 major markets across the country, along with satellite radio and the Cable Radio Network.” While this type of sponsored programming has been a fast growing segment of the company, most of Superfriends’ clients rely on traditional advertising. One of these clients, Greg Pavlov, CEO of the Las Vegas-based United Trade Network, gave Superfriends high marks. “They’ve put together all of my radio advertising nationwide and they’ve helped me place the ads on XM Radio and other venues,” Pavlov said. “The company has helped me develop my commercials and steered me towards the right spots. They’ve been very effective and they’re very honest. It’s certainly paid dividends for my business.” The company is still in its early stages, having been in business just four years, but Pollack already has big dreams of taking it to the next level. “I’d like to see Superfriends in a lot of major cities across the country where you can go into a strip mall, find one of our branches and our specialists can help out our clients,” Pollack said. “We want companies that want to take their business to the next level. We know that we can help them.” Superfriends Marketing and Promotions Group Inc. Founded 2001 Revenues 2001: $60,000 Revenues 2005: $1.1 million Employees 2001: 1 Employees 2005: 9 Goal: To help companies get increased recognition and sales in a cost-effective way Driving Force: The convergence of television, radio and the Internet to create new platforms for advertising

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