Howie Mandel Inks Two-Year Deal With Buy.Com
- by Tanya Gazdik , November 29, 2007
Mandel, who says he was a customer and promoter of the e-commerce company before the deal, also will serve as a key contributor for developing commercial concepts for the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based company.
Of the multi-year commitment, Jeff Wisot, vice president of marketing at Buy.com, says: "We are so confident in Howie's ability to promote us by being himself, two years seems relatively short to us."
A longtime entertainment industry veteran, Mandel is currently the host of NBC's Deal or No Deal, which recently was nominated for "Favorite Game Show" for the People's Choice Awards.
Mandel will appear in TV, radio, online and print ads. The first TV spots will begin airing nationally this weekend.
The spots will run during Mandel's show, as well as during many national buys on most networks, Wisot tells Online Media Daily. "We are still in the planning phase," he says. "Several national spots will run this weekend, for example, on ESPN, several football and basketball games." The print media buy still is being finalized, he adds.
Different enhancements that benefit the customer will be emphasized over the course of the two-year campaign, Wisot says, such as the company's marketplace platform which enables customers to always find what they want; Buy.com's price comparison shopping feature, so customers can do all of their comparison shopping in one place; rich content like BuyTV, product video spotlights and customer video reviews; selection and categories with an offering of several million products; free Shipping offers on most products; special pricing on most products and a wide range of categories.
The 10-year-old Buy.com has more than 10 million customer accounts and offers millions of products in categories including consumer electronics, computer hardware and software, cell phones, books, music, videos, games, digital music downloads, toys, bags, home and outdoor, baby, jewelry and sporting goods.
