Another episode of the popular Discovery Channel’s Pitchmen aired last night and this time also featured another famous Pitchwoman, Forbes Riley with her Spin Gym® weight loss product.
Forbes has promoted many products in her time on TV but had never had a product of her own until now.
Forbes Riley introduced and pitched her product the Spin Gym to Billy and Sully and they really liked it. Billy and Sully brought the product to the streets and other’s liked it as well, so it was time to pitch the product to Telebrands for further backing.
After things were a go with Telebrands backing, it was time to shoot the infomercial. Just before shooting, there was a problem. Another "Naming" issue (Jupitor Jack, was the first product that had naming issues) had come about as somebody already owned a Trademark for the the Spin Gym term. I am not 100% sure the naming issue was the "trademark" as Forbes talked about "all the URL’s she checked were taken" as well, which of course grabbed my eye, but I’m pretty sure the major issue was the TM.
Talking with Billy Mays, Forbes was told by Billy to offer "10 Grand" and that was her final offer. In the end, the naming issue were taken care of and an agreement was reached. It was time to shoot the infomercial.
Problems again came when it was time to shoot price points as Forbes wanted nothing to do with a price point lower then $19.95, but agreed to shoot a $14.95 and $10 price point.
Now it was time for product launch and test the market with not only the product, but different price points. Both the $29.95 and $19.95 price points were used in different infomercials and the product flopped! It ended up costing the company about $250 to Sell each Spin Gym. Clearly not the ROI they were looking for. This was the end for Telebrands backing and Sully said it was time to cut ties.
Forbes Riley was and still is very passionate about her product (as most inventors are) and she is still pushing forward.
What domain name did Forbes use for the product? It took me a bit to find it, but it’s MySpinGym.com . I was a little sad to see this, as the Exact Match domain name SpinGym.com is currently a dead page and likely could of been purchased. As many of us know, after a product launch is not the best time to purchase the exact match domain as it’s likely the price tag will be higher or simply harder to purchase.
As of a couple days ago, MySpinGym.com was simply collecting interested parties contact info for pre-orders and stated they would be taking orders soon. Now that the TV show aired, the site has gone Live.
Forbes is also using Google Adwords for at least the terms Forbes Riley and SpinGym, but NOT for the term "as most will search for it" with a space Spin Gym ????
MySpinGym.com does not rank well in the search engines that I searched for the product. Not even the term spingym.
So in my eyes, some things were done right, but several things were missed as well for online marketing. The website should of been launched awhile ago, which would of helped SERP’s (search engine rank placements) so it would be easier for interested parties to find the site. The Adwords (advertising) will clearly be more expensive with poor SERP. The exact match product name should be used for the domain. This will and would prevent missed direct navigation traffic (the most likely to convert) and would also help SERP’s. No social networking appears to be used, as no links are on the products site.
Pitchmen has not has the best of luck IMO with several of it’s last products pitched. Stain Sucker or whatever it was called, never made it out of Prototype during the show. Grab-it which is a stripped screw removing tool had Huge amounts of money spent (about $13 Million) by the time it was aired on Pitchmen. $13 Million spent and they decided the best domain name for them to use was 4grabit.com? OMG!
Two of the more recent products to be pitched that I think have been doing well are What Odor?® which is an odor eliminating spray and Tool Band-it® which is a magnetic arm band that holds nails, tools etc. It even holds a 25LB weight, so clearly the magnets used are pretty darn strong! The inventor stuck in about $250,000 into the Tool Bandit by the time he arrived to Pitchmen.
I’m still a big fan of the show, and it’s interesting to see how each product is launched and how online advertising is used, domain names etc.
Tony
About the spingym, I was making toys like that out of knitting yarn and a bottle cap when I was 10 years old. That “invention” is ridiculous. I can’t be the only kid that made things like that. A weak product and she should’ve listened to Billy and offered it for $10.
Jamie Zoch
@Tony,
Yah, as several said in the show, the product kind of seemed more like a toy. I’m not a huge fan of “workout” equipment. Your feet hitting the street is a darn good one and it’s free
Lyndsy
Funny thing about it looking like a toy — trampoline is a toy, but the Urban Rebounder trampoline sells for $100, jump rope is a toy – but I watched a pro-boxer wail on his, even a bike is a toy — you both don’t get it — I love this product — forbes didn’t invent it — she is just marketing it… and its genius… bet she sells millions cause its portable – I carry mine in my purse and 5 minutes is about all I’ve been able to do — so much harder than it looks — my arms burned the first time I tried it… don’t think that tv show on discovery did the product justice… anyway…
forbesriley
some quotes from last week
· “I absolutely love it…It’s got so much going for it that it’s hard to know where to begin. My big problem is flabby arms. I like the Overhead Spin for this reason. My arms tend to lose blood after a bit so I switch it up to another position. I’m working my arms at the gym, too, so this is the perfect marriage. I find that if I “concentrate” on what muscle the specific exercise is targeting, and really work it and squeeze it, it’s even better. One of the hidden and fun things about the SG is the feeling of “controlling the inertia” of the unit. You sort of get this “rhythm” going and it adds to the enjoyment and satisfaction if that makes sense. IT SITS ON MY COFFEE TABLE AS A PIECE OF ART, TOO! FABULOUS.”
Rita S.
Los Angeles, CA
· “I will be buying more for Christmas gifts etc and will be more than happy to pay $39.99!”
Deborah D.
Richmond, VA
· “I want to say thank you for such great service and commitment to customers! I appreciate the great service I received as well as the awesome workout. I am going to buy SpinGym’s for my friends and family as well as spread the word about your product! Keep up the great work and thank you!”
Sarah D.
Havelock, NC
· “Dear staff at spingym,
I have been using my Spingym just about every day for about 2 weeks
and LOVE IT!!!! I already see my arms toning up! I have tried for
years to thin my arms down to no avail and this little machine, in two
weeks, have already started toning them! I am now looking to buy
sleeveless shirts!
Yesterday I was talking to a cashier telling her about my spingym
and happened to have it in my purse. I whipped it out and showed her
the workout and she loved it! She said she was going to look into
buying one for herself. I love the compact design and the fact I can
take it with me everywhere I go. Thank you for making such a
wonderful product and for having a wonderful staff!”
Your biggest Spingym fan,
Sarah D.
Havelock, NC
· Love my SpinGym. It was worth the wait. Thank you so much!
Sheryl S.
Lexington, SC
jackie
Met Forbes on the beach in St. Petersburg a few days ago. She walked up to me and asked me to try the SpinGym. I had previously seen the Pitch Men episode and was curious about the product which she was so passionate about. I sat next to my husband watching the sun set while doing the spin gym. I loved it!!! I felt it all over: arms, back, lats and I must admit my arms were sore the next day.
BTW, Forbes has a rockin body and arms to die for. She looks great for a woman of any age not to mention her 49 years!
Lisa
jackie:
Met Forbes on the beach in St. Petersburg a few days ago. She walked up to me and asked me to try the SpinGym. I had previously seen the Pitch Men episode and was curious about the product which she was so passionate about. I sat next to my husband watching the sun set while doing the spin gym. I loved it!!! I felt it all over: arms, back, lats and I must admit my arms were sore the next day.
BTW, Forbes has a rockin body and arms to die for. She looks great for a woman of any age not to mention her 49 years!
Nice post Forbes, I mean “Jackie”……..
Toronto Boot Camp
It’s like having a toy from a rocket scientist! The exercise routine seems to be innovative and very different compared to conventional workout routines.
Elaine Wanko
I just received mine & wanted to use it. The instructions said to hold it in front of you & rotate it for 20 turns to tighten it. I have done it a hundred times, twirling it or spinning it in from of me & it will not twist or tighten up…………not doing anything wrong…it is self explanatory to do, but just will not twist tight???