Thursday, Nov 29, 2007    Text size: 

Tantus CEO Mike Smith said that the comapny is offering a $300 product credit to any store that displays it.

The 90-second looping video was made by a videographer who's done work for Spike TV and MTV networks, Smith said, and it's clear from the video's bright colors, flashy effects and hip design that it is meant to appeal to the next generation of adult toy shopper.

"It's really the only thing that's ever been done like that in this industry and I really think its pioneering," Smith told XBIZ. "We broke it down into market segments. What is our demographic? Females or couples between the ages of 25 and 55."

The next step was to determine how much time the average shopper cares to give to stop, watch and leave with knowledge of a product's benefits. And because the video has no dialog, only a techno-style soundtrack, it works just as well with the sound off to avoid having too many audio distractions in stores.

"I bet you don't find yourself in front of something for more than 30 seconds," Smith said, "so you need to hit someone fast and strong. To watch a video that's an hour and half long isn't going to do it for you."

Smith said that adult product manufacturer Sportsheets led the way with in-store videos with its training series, which acted as an educational tool. What Tantus has done differently, he said, was to create a quick-paced visual that, in text, displays product benefits. The video is meant to drive sales, not extensively educate.

But realizing the need for in-store product education, Smith said Tantus is developing video vignettes on the company's website that are easily downloaded as Flash or Quicktime files, so when an employee needs to learn about a particular Tantus toy, the 20-second video quickly tells him or her the main points — ingredients, usage, storage and purpose.

"Most stores have the Internet," Smith said, "so the clerk would go behind counter, go to our site and watch the video that talks about the item. Not every store carries the full line of Tantus, so you can train yourself on what you have in your store."

Smith said the educational series will be ready by the end of the first quarter of next year.

"The sky's the limit in this industry," Smith said.