Ken Kerry isn’t your typical Hollywood director.
The co-founder of infomercial maker Script to Screen LLC can direct a story as short as a few seconds or as long as 30 minutes.
“We are storytellers,” he said in an interview at his Santa Ana office near the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway. “We’re telling a story about a product or service and why it will solve your problem.
“It’s a very sophisticated, proven selling system that we’ve mastered. We’ve been in business 31 years doing it. We’ve generated billions of dollars in sales for our clients.”
The company has made infomercials for 500 clients as diverse as singer Sheryl Crow, sprinter Usain Bolt and talk show host Montel Williams. It’s promoted the clubs of Adams Golf, the machines of SodaStream International Ltd. and the vacuum cleaners of SharkNinja Operating LLC.
Now Kerry’s about to publish a book co-written with Michael Ashley, “This Works! Marketing: Proven Strategies Generating Billions for Big Brands to Startups.”
The book’s forward was written by David Oreck, founder of the famous Oreck vacuum cleaners company.
“We collaborated on more than half a dozen rewarding direct-response campaigns for Oreck,” he wrote. “It was an immensely lucrative partnership that generated record-setting sales for our company and launched us into new product categories.”
Just Telling a Story
Kerry, 56, grew up in Irvine, where he was inspired by a high school course to pursue a career in media. While at San Diego State University, he got a job as a production assistant at ABC Sports and spent a few years working on events such as Monday Night Football and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He interviewed celebrities, including football legend Joe Montana, and worked alongside famous announcers, including Al Michaels.
“I could see how it all worked,” Kerry said. “In television and directing, you’re just telling a story of why things are happening.”
Since opportunities to become a director at ABC Sports were limited, he moved to KDOC TV in Anaheim, where he could better hone his directing skills. He directed syndicated show “Golf Journal” there, meeting numerous pro golfers around the world.
He also met a producer named Barbie, who jokingly said she didn’t want to date him because she didn’t want to hear the wisecracks about their doll names. He eventually convinced her to marry him, and Barbie Kerry is now chief executive and chairwoman at Script to Screen; Ken serves as executive creative director.
Bad Infomercials
Infomercials started to appear in the 1980s with the advent of cable TV channels and deregulation of television advertising.
“They were bad,” Kerry recalled. “We thought since we produced network television, we could do that.”
The couple received a $300,000 investment from a group of businessmen, including his future father-in-law, Bill Mitchell, who was a real estate developer for many years, including working in communications and marketing executive positions at the Irvine Co.
A foray into selling self-help audio books made in-house didn’t turn out well. So they kept “grinding and testing” on infomercials for others, and eventually their work caught the attention of executives who wanted a new way to sell products.
Kerry and his crew dive into marketing statistics and trends to find the best places to identify customers.
“Convincing consumers that your product is better than the competitors is a science,” Kerry said.
His firm employs a total of 15 and sometimes ramps up to 25 with contract help, working for five to seven clients at a time. Clients have annual sales of $10 million to $1 billion. Kerry said he sometimes takes a percentage if he believes in the product, such as Hooked on Phonics and Adams Golf. He wouldn’t disclose the agency’s own sales.
Over the years, famous business owners have given Kerry strategic insights, including Oreck, who said a product should solve a consumer’s problem; Montel Williams, who urged empathy; and Jake Steinfeld, founder of Body by Jake, who advised him to never insult customers, such as calling diet product customers fat, and to always have a positive message.
“There’s a specific methodology and strategic system of putting together the right message to sell a product,” Kerry said. “You have to take a potential customer, educate them with integrity and facts to turn them into a customer. There’s a specific psychological path to take them through.
“Once that machine is working, it’s very profitable.”
