TV Shopping in Brazil
Introduced to the country in the 90's, programs selling goods and services through television have multiplied, now broadcasting to all Brazilian regions. From little infomercials to big network channels, let us see how this segment is operating in Brazil and what makes it so effective on stimulating local consumption.
Brazilians are world champions when it comes to spending time in front of the TV. It is estimated that we lose an average of five hours a day zapping between channels. No wonder there are more televisions in the country than fridges or ovens.
Television's voice in here is stronger than any other vehicle's. Translating the thoughts of Brazilians: if it is on TV, it is hot. With all this fascination for the “magic box” it is easy to understand why sales TV shows have reached a great success in the country.
It goes more than 20 years since infomercials and tele-shopping arrived in Brazil copying the American model. Firstly they were only transmitted in B channels, occupying little spaces of time in the programming. Prices in main TV channels and during peak audience were still impossible.
Even though these programs were too short and broadcast mostly at dawn, they showed results. Companies started to see their names spreading around without having to pay abnormal amounts of money to advertise in regular TV channels.
With more and more professionals seeking to have their own show, sales shows productions multiplied, starting to be broadcast in main stations, until they turned into TV channels of their own. And thus, there was born the sales TV channels in open and paid Brazilian programming.
Brazilian ways of TV sales
There are basically two kinds of sales TV shows in Brazilian television:
Channels that actually sell things they announce, directly. You have to call the channel or buy the product they advertise through their website.
Other channels only suggest places where you can go to buy products or services, like a consult guide. They do not sell anything they are announcing, they only advertise. If people want to purchase what was announced they have to go to the correspondent store. Most of the videos' lasts from 10 seconds to 3 minutes. They are like advertisements, with the plus of having a host and someone that speaks for the company working as a sales consultant.
A Different Approach
There is one peculiar thing about TV shopping in Brazil. If you have watched the videos above you already know what I am talking about: the existence of presenters exhibiting the programs.
In the case of indirect sales, channels contracts very charismatic hosts/hostess, armed in suits (the most credible clothing in the Brazilian imaginary) to conduce a sort of outgoing interview with the company's spokesperson, showing their products or services, as we can see in the video.
Direct sales TV channels also have hosts that conduce the product's exhibition. Most of them reproduce an entire scenario to the exhibition, as it happens with the kitchen and beauty products. The intention is to make viewers feel at home. Ops, they already are at home. I mean, sales people want to make them feel cozy.
An advantageous thing about this kind of approach is the host's capacity of motivating potential consumers that are watching the show. Normally they are excellent communicators, that decisively have influence in the purchase.
Also, the hosts turn (or at least they try to) the whole environment surrounding the sales into a neighbor’s talk, which contribute for costumers to trust the product is really good.
Sales channels: another possibility for business
Sales channels do not live only on advertising and products sales; they also sell themselves. The biggest sales TV stations, such as Shop Tour, are putting franchises to sale. If a person has interest in opening a local affiliate, the possibility is on.