SAN MARCOS ---- Walking into a cavernous Fry's Electronics store, = customers=20 find themselves immediately wading through a sea of bins holding = products whose=20 packaging is littered with the iconic "As Seen On TV" advertisements for = everything ranging from a sandal-like foot scrubber to a Fushigi = anti-gravity=20 ball that appears to "float" in the air.
That includes "Pillow Pets" ---- made by an Oceanside company ---- = that=20 unfold for kids to cuddle up with. This was one of the hottest-selling = toy items=20 for Amazon.com last holiday = season.
In previous years, pitchmen on TV would sell products like these late = at=20 night or early Sunday, when time slots on television were cheap. But = there has=20 been a shift in how these sometimes wacky, niche items are marketed and=20 sold.
A bevy of companies in North San Diego County and Southwest Riverside = is=20 opening a second front here to participate in this marketing shift, and = it's=20 getting bigger.
Some industry insiders have even labeled the area as "Infomercial = Alley,"=20 referring to a 35-mile long corridor that stretches from Carlsbad and = Oceanside=20 on the coast to San Marcos and Temecula on the inland side.
An estimated dozen or so companies are situated along the corridor = and may=20 generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue, according to estimates = provided=20 by many of the businesses. These firms range from developers of specific = products ---- like the Pillow Pets ---- to warehouse distributors and = media=20 producers of the commercials.
The retail space set aside for these products ---- such as at Fry's = ---- says=20 a lot about the changing infomercial industry that made pitchmen like = Billy Mays=20 as much of a household name as the products they sold on late-night and = early=20 Sunday morning television.
Infomercials are one form of the so-called direct-response marketing=20 industry, and involve all kinds of media marketing, including YouTube = and social=20 interactive media. Bottom line: The ubiquitous "call now" ads still = exist, but=20 infomercial viewers are now being urged to pull out a credit card and = buy=20 something online or in a store such as Fry's.
Temecula-based eLocal works with search engine giant Google Inc. to = place=20 related YouTube videos and other marketing content online when consumers = search=20 for anything from a tire store in Beijing to a plumber in Carlsbad. "You = don't=20 have to be in proximity to Madison Avenue (in New York) to do what we = are=20 doing," said Tim Judd, president and chief executive of eLocal.
Revshare, another Temecula-based business, which got an infusion of = $20=20 million from private equity giants Carlyle Group and H.I.G. Ventures in = late=20 2007, helps aggregate unsold commercial time on television stations in = local=20 markets to sell to advertisers to get viewers to call, or go online, to = plan=20 such things as reserving a hotel room, or anything else.
Several insiders interviewed couldn't cite specific reasons why these = infomercial-related companies are here, but most say that it may relate = to the=20 balmy weather, and the trove of advertising and marketing experts living = here as=20 well.
It may also be related to the desire to live elsewhere instead of = less-tony=20 infomercial meccas established in Florida and New Jersey ----- = considered by=20 many to be the birthplace of the industry ---- or Riverside County's = sweltering=20 Coachella Valley, where leaders Guthy-Renker LLC and Thane International = Inc.=20 are based.
"It's probably the great weather," said A.J. Khubani, president and = chief=20 executive of direct response giant TeleBrands Corp. in Fairfield, N.J., = and who=20 created the iconic catch phrase, "As Seen On TV."
"In times where there's economic hardships, people are looking for = some fun,"=20 said Khubani, who agreed that the North County area is coming into its = own.
Khubani, known in the industry as the "king of infomercials," has = made many=20 visits to Southern California. His cousin, Dean Israni, is a wholesale=20 distributor of infomercial products in San Marcos and ships them to = big-box=20 retailers. He's next door to an even larger warehouse run by Ontel = Products=20 Corp., a Fairfield, N.J.-based distributor of infomercial items, run by=20 Khubani's brother, Chuck Khubani.
"People get tired of the hustle and bustle of the East (Coast) or = LA," said=20 RevShare CEO Brendan Condon, who uses the area's strengths to recruit = experts=20 burned out by living in big cities.
Greg Johnson, president and chief operating officer of Carlsbad-based = Euro=20 RSCG Edge, which does about $600 million in billings annually in the=20 direct-response industry, recently uprooted his young family from Boston = to move=20 to Rancho Santa Fe.
"If you look at the evolution of the industry, it has been expanding = more=20 into online and mobile (phone) areas. I decided to move here as we = continue to=20 be a leader in the space."
Still others said the area's growth may have something to do with the = industry's Response Expo, a convention for industry networking in the=20 infomercial field, which has been held annually in San Diego since 2007. = Attendance at the Response event, which is scheduled May 3-5, has = tripled to=20 3,000 since its inception.
"San Diego has seen a little bit of an explosion of successful = marketers,"=20 said Tom Haire, editor of Response magazine, an industry trade = publication=20 involved in the Response Expo event. "You know what you're getting in = Vegas.=20 It's constantly in your face. When I come to San Diego, we are in a = hotel in a=20 beautiful place."
Israni, who is CEO of In Demand Marketing in San Marcos, handles = distribution=20 of many products sold by infomercial companies, especially those managed = by=20 family ---- Telebrands, Ontel, and Wayne, N.J.-based IdeaVillage = Products Corp.,=20 run by Andy Khubani, yet another brother in the Khubani clan.
A prominent item in Israni's warehouse on Mata Way is the Pillow Pet. = These=20 pillows were the invention of Jennifer Telfer, who had marketed Pillow = Pets=20 until 2009 at county fairs, kiosks and specialty retailers at shopping = malls. In=20 late 2009, she produced an infomercial that ran on TV, and which today = can be=20 found on the Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and other kid-niche TV=20 stations.
Her sales exploded to $300 million last year, according to Larry = Boisjolie,=20 chief operating officer of Oceanside-based CJ Products LLC. The pillows = are sold=20 in Walmart, Fry's and Amazon.com, = among other=20 retail channels.
Other infomercial products created by locally based companies are = visible in=20 Israni's warehouse. These include boxes of flash cards, DVDs, games and = other=20 learning aids launched by Carlsbad-based Your Baby Can, and Shake = Weights, a=20 dumbbell-like contraption that tones up muscles in arms and shoulders = when it is=20 pumped back and forth. The Shake Weight is the chief product of = Vista-based JH=20 Direct / Fitness IQ.
"This is a very tight-knit community," said Israni. "My hope is to = put=20 together a map of these companies (locally) and attract more of these = companies=20 to our region." He sees opportunities to build scale with more = businesses based=20 locally.
Call staff writer Pat Maio at 760-740-3527.