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Hairshark featured in major Netflix movie

Hairshark the #1 volumizing hair styling brush commercial appeared in the movie Bruised starring Halle Berry. The synergy of the product‘s commercial and award winning performances zoomed the movie to the #2 movie on Netflix. The product, latest in a long series of Top Dog Direct tv hits, is the leading volumizing hair styling brush soon to be available at mass merchants such as Walmart and currently in major catalogs and at Hairshark.com

Campbell Posture Cane
Promoting Success: Top Dog featured in Courier Times giving entrepreneurs new avenues to succeed
Rebecca Rescate has become an expert in marketing products that no one needs, but everyone wants. A toilet training kit for cats. A pillow with a hood, A blanket with a "tail" that turns in wearer into a mermaid. Rescate has thrived as a promoter and marketer of unusual products, thanks to a keen sense of what people want - and buoyed by success on two appearances on "Shark Tank" the reality TV show in which inventors pitch their products to investors. "It did not occur to me until recently that I've created a career in launching products," said Rescate, who lives in Lower Makefield, "I can just create another product line and fill another need within the marketplace and continue going. Yea, this is what I'm doing for a living." Rescate has succeeded where countless others have failed. An inventor's path to success has always been a rocky one. It takes a combination of marketing savvy, financial prowess and technical skill to successfully bring a product to the masses. While social media and crowdfunding campaigns have made it easier to reach an audience, that same audience is being bombarded by more information than ever before. experts said. "Taking a product to market is not an easy task," said Nicole Lininger, director of communications for InventHelp, a Pittsburgh company that helps inventors nationwide patent their products. "The success rate from taking an invention from an idea stage to getting distribution is a long process. It doesn't happen for everyone." Despite that, the number of patents for U.S. inventors has risen steadily over the years. Read the full article here
Top Dog Gives $50K Prize to At-Home Inventor Following Virtual Pitch Event
Read the full story here Read full story on Yahoo Finance
Bill's Interview on Positive Phil
Listen to the full interview here
Watch Top Dog products Featured on Good Morning America
Snuggle Up Wins Housewares TV Spot of the Year Award
Feberuary 25, 2016: Tustin California.   The JW Greensheets has announced today the the Snuggle Up recliner cover is 2015- 2016 Housewares Product of the Year.  The product was chosen because of its unique creative TV spot, innovative product and substantial media spending driving the product both on TV, internet and at major mass retailers across the country.  When asked about the product's success, Top Dog's Chief Marketing Officer Steve Silbiger said, "Our customer spends a lot of time in their recliner, and it was obvious that they might want to upgrade their environment with the snuggly warmth and feel of fleece.  
Top Dog nominated for Marketer of the Year again!
Top Dog Direct has been nominated for the Seventh Annual DRMA Marketer of the Year Award. Click here to read the full article.
Newtown Athletic Club Ice Bucket Challenge with NAC Member, Bill McAlister


 

Bill McAlister takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge!


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Top Dog Direct sponsors DRMA Inventors Pavillion - NBC Today Show


Top Dog Direct sponsors the Inventors Pavilion at the Direct Response Marketing Association ( DRMA ) Expo in San Diego April 21- 23 2015.  Many inventors presented their inventions to the As Seen on TV industry.  Our  Jacklyn Bloemker appears in the segment trying out a new exercise seat cushion.
Top Dog Direct's Bill McAlister on Fox5 News San Diego
Akiva Shmidman, Top Dog Inventor of the BeActive Brace on Got Invention Radio
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TOP DOG DIRECT TAKES #1 SPOT FROM SNUGGIE
BeActive Brace RECOGNIZED AS MOST SUCCESSFUL “AS SEEN ON TV” PRODUCT IN NATION TREVOSE, PA –Top Dog Direct, the state’s leading manufacturer and marketer of “As Seen on TV” products, has been recognized for its BeActive Brace with the DirayTV #1 Award for the #1 media roll-out for short-form (2-minute) infomercial in 2014, according to DirayTV, the largest media buying agency in the direct response television (DRTV) industry.  BeActive Brace hit store shelves in late Fall 2014, and has been consistently the top selling direct response television (DRTV) item.  This acknowledgement puts BeActive Brace ahead in cumulative ad spending of some of DRTV’s all-time mega hits such as Snuggie and Flex Seal. “We’re proud that DirayTV and the public have welcomed BeActive Brace into the marketplace,” said Top Dog Direct President Bill McAlister.  “This recognition shows that BeActive has taken over a spot formerly held by products such as Flex Seal and Snuggie.  BeActive Brace continues to grow and television airings are a testament to its success.” BeActive Brace is an adjustable sleeve that naturally alleviates lower-back pain. More than 30-million Americans experience lower-back pain and spend on average $50 billion a year to reduce discomfort. BeActive Brace is an affordable working alternative. The product was invented by Akiva Shmidman of Baltimore, MD, who traveled to an inventor’s speed pitch at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, where a panel of judges selected the product for a test. After initial success, the product was rolled out nationally and has become a blockbuster success by industry standards. Top Dog Direct headquartered in Trevose, PA, is credited with the successful development and innovative TV marketing formats for many of today’s hottest “As Seen on TV” products including BeActive Brace, Sobokawa Pillow, Urine Gone, Stream Clean, and Tag Away and NightView Glasses. Top Dog Direct products are sold through major retail chains nationwide.  For more information, visit www.TopDogDirect.com and www.BeActiveBrace.com. For over 25 years, DirayTV has been a top media buying agency in the direct response television (DRTV) industry.  Based in Wilton, Connecticut, DirayTV is one of America’s most successful media buying and campaign management companies, known for media clout, maximum buying power and exception deals for clients.  Visit www.DirayTV.com.
BeActive Brace - Does it Work? CBS News
Top Dog Speed Pitch Event in Austin, Texas a Success
    February 11, 2015, Austin, Texas:  Top Dog Direct lands in Texas for an Inventors Speed Pitch event.  The Top Dog team met with over a dozen inventors at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in downtown Austin.  The inventors  were inspired by a great degree of creativity and enthusiasm.  Each inventor was enjoyed a private pitch session with the judges, Erica, Jackie, Bill and Steve.  A panel worthy of any Shark Tank show.  One item was selected as meeting the strict criteria for a successful Tv product and negotiations proceeded quickly to secure the item for Top Dog.  The other items received high marks for their efforts and some were referred to Top Dog contacts for further research by the inventors for manufacturing, retail, catalog and home shopping distribution.  Not all products fit the TV mold, but we were happy to provide our help and expertise so that their inventions could find a proper home.  Above all, Top Dog Direct is inventor friendly.  

Austin Judges PanelAustin Judges Panel
Austin Texas Speed Pitch -
Jimmy Kimmel Honors Bananalicious as Best of 2014
As Seen on TV Gift Guide 2014 Every year countless products are advertised on TV and it can be overwhelming to keep track of all the new and exciting items that are out there. So with Christmas fast approaching, we thought we’d help out. We combed through every infomercial on television and whittled it down to the cream of the holiday crop.  Top Dog is honored to have one of its not so successful products honored on Jimmy Kimmel on ABC late night.  The excellent spot was produced by Hutton Miller and starred the amazing Taylor Baldwin.  Although it was a triumph of production and acting, the product did not resonate with the TV buying public for Top Dog Direct.  However with all our projects, we gave it our 110%, it addressed many of our key criteria for success, but if it were destined for TV greatness, that spot would have sold the goods for sure. http://abc.go.com/shows/jimmy-kimmel-live/video/featured/VDKA0_i6bze9iz  
Top Dog Direct sponsors 2014 World Cup Meet and Greet with Olympian Jamie Greubel
Top Dog Direct, a joint venture of two companies that discover and create new "as seen on tv" products, hosted a meet and greet at Awards Plaza in support of Bobsledder, Jamie Greubel. Greubel met with fans, autographed apparel and images for a day of fun and inspiration. In 2014, Greubel won the Olympic Bronze Medal in the two - women Bobsleigh event. http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1197668
Jamie Takes Bob Sled Bronze At World Cup for Top Dog Direct
McAlister likened the sponsorship of Greubel to what the company does: finding people with an invention or an idea and helping them sell it. #“What makes America great is invention and the spirit of adventure,” added Steve Silbiger, chief marketing officer of the company. “That’s what she does. She had a dream to be a competitive and we got to support that.” #For athletes like Greubel, a sticker on a helmet can be the difference between the next 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and leaving bobsledding behind. But in the end, it’s the sport that matters most. http://www.denpubs.com/news/2014/dec/16/us-women-bobsledders-sweep-podium-lake-placid/?page=2&sports
University of Virginia Innovation Lab Invites Top Dog Direct
November 13, 2014:  The University of Virginia's iLab class on new product development invited Steve Silbiger, Top Dog Direct Chief Marketing Officer, to speak to a class of Darden MBA students about new product development and market introduction.  Professor Raul Chou invited the 1990 Darden grad to speak about his experiences with his new productions launches using direct response television commercials as a driver to mass merchants.  The new blockbuster BeActive Brace, Tag Away and Urine Gone were used as examples of Top Dog's inventor friendly environment, focused 7 criteria approach and the resulting million dollar sales as a result.  Questions about how inventors participate in the development process and compensation excited the budding entrepreneurs.  With their new Darden connection, they were excited that they had the  "right" connection to make things happen if they had the "right" product.       iLabClassiLabClass
Inventors Pitching Great Ideas! Top Dog Direct on Boston Fox 25 News
Top Dog Speaks to the Inventors Network of the Capital Area (INCA)
August 25, 2014:  Steve Silbiger, CMO of Top Dog Direct, informally met with inventors and then spoke to a group of about 20 inventors of The Inventors Network of the Capital Area (INCA).  It meets monthly outside Washington DC at Falls Church, MD at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library.  Glen Kotapish, President of the group and of iPatent invited Steve to speak to the group about ways to get to market through the TV channel of distribution without the need for a heavy investment of capital.  Steve went through the criteria for products that are TV friendly, as well as the benefits and pitfalls of the TV marketing business for marketers such as Top Dog Direct as well as inventors.  He told a notable story of their latest item, the BeActive brace coming from a local Maryland inventor that Top Dog Direct found at a recent inventors' "speed pitch" event in Philadelphia. It went to a full TV rollout in just a few months to become a noted "as seen on tv" hit item because it met the right criteria for success as outlined. The Inventors Network of the Capital Area™ was founded over a decade ago by a small band of dedicated inventors. INCA’s mission is to help new and veteran inventors network and share information in all aspects of inventing – the creative process, prototyping, patenting, and marketing. Since its founding, INCA has made great strides and currently hosts twelve meetings a year. These meetings cover a range of topics and speakers are invited from a variety of backgrounds to share their insights in the various aspects of inventing.
Boston Inventors pitch for infomercial glory
Inventors pitch for infomercial glory By Callum Borchers | GLOBE STAFF OCTOBER 03, 2014 Share via e-mail Top Dog Direct founder Bill McAlister has mined some promising product pitches. Below, local inventors awaited the opportunity to present their ideas. PHOTOS BY DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF Top Dog Direct founder Bill McAlister has mined some promising product pitches. Boston was the site of yet another business pitch contest Thursday. But wait, there’s more! This wasn’t your typical Shark Tank knockoff featuring a bunch of high-tech whiz kids attempting to woo venture capitalists with their disruptive, gamified mobile apps. This was a stream of about 20 amateur inventors convinced that their product is the next as-seen-on-TV sensation. Winning ideas would have a chance to be featured in one of those loud infomercials that dot cable TV channels. Read More >
National Fusion TV Catches Top Dog in the Hunt For Inventions
To search for fresh ideas, Top Dog recently invited inventors to pitch their ideas to the company. At a speed pitch event in Boca Raton, Florida, dozens of inventors showed up, hoping to get their product on TV and share in the profits. Ideas ranged from exercise machines to kitchen gadgets to fashion accessories.  Read More See Video > 
Bill McAlister has short answers to big DRTV industry issues
Bill featured in HFN Housewares Show Dailies.  Find out about Bill's Guilty Food Pleasure.  View PDF >
Bill's Search unending for the next 'As seen on TV' product
Search unending for the next 'As seen on TV' product. Never in doubt was the presence of creativity. What Bill McAlister wondered was whether a sales sensation was in the room. Something, say, like Hot Buns - the miracle worker for hair, mind you, not sagging buttocks. Or the buckwheat-filled Sobokawa Pillow. Or Urine Gone. Or Mighty Putty. They're behind the more than $2 billion in "As Seen on TV" sales that McAlister, president of Top Dog Direct in Trevose, has helped ring up by bringing products from inventors' workshops to shoppers' carts during his more than 25 years in the direct-response-television industry. Read More >
Company News: Jaime Wins Bronze!
Jaime wins bronze on Team 2 USA!!! JUST CALL HER the Bronze Dragon. Jamie Greubel, of Newtown, Bucks County, and brakeman Aja Evans drove USA-2 to a third-place finish in the women's bobsled in a collective time of 3:51.61 yesterday. Their performance, coupled with a silver-medal finish by Summer Games sprinter Lauryn Williams and Elana Meyers, gave the U.S. two Olympic women's bobsled medal winners for the first time. Read More >
Today Show on NBC- Mighty Putty Purple Pulls a 747
Mighty Putty Pulled a 300,000 lb 747 Jumbo Jet in the Mohave Desert of California, Oct 18, 2013. There is so much that goes into creating a winning infomercial. Gimmicks only go so far. Your product has to really work. Go behind the scenes on the Mighty Putty™ Purple infomercial video shoot and watch the amazing things they did to show this product really does work. Read More View Video >
Steve talks to the Inventors Association of New England
Steve talks to the Inventors Association of New England.  In this video presentation he outlines Top Dog's  7 criteria for TV success.  It spells out  exactly what Top Dog is looking for in products and how they related to Top Dog's past and current winners. View Video > | PDF Link >
Company News: Top Dog Direct Sponsors Winter Olympian Jamie Greubel
LEADING "AS SEEN ON TV" MARKETER TOP DOG DIRECT SPONSORS #1 OLYMPIC WOMEN’S BOBSLED TEAM MEMBER JAMIE GREUBEL TREVOSE, PA – Pennsylvania-based Top Dog Direct, the state's leading manufacturer and marketer of "As Seen on TV" products, is proud to announce that they are sponsoring Olympic Women's Bobsled team member Jamie Greubel as she looks to bring home Olympic Gold this February in Sochi. Greubel won the gold medal in the World Cup on Sunday, January 19 and was awarded the #1 spot on the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team. Now ranked second in the world, Greubel is a Newtown, PA native and has been a member of the World Cup Bobsledding team since 2007. Displaying a Top Dog Direct logo on her helmet, she is proud to represent the U.S. in the upcoming Olympic Games. "As a former athlete myself, I know the importance of community support and investment in helping someone like Jamie grow and develop. When we learned of her story, we felt that there were many qualities relative to performance and competition between athletics and the business world. We really could see an analogy with her quest and with what our people do everyday. We are so proud to sponsor Jamie on her road to Olympic gold. Her strength, determination and ambition are exactly the type of qualities we want to associate with Top Dog Direct," said Top Dog Direct President Bill McAlister. "We are honored to be a part of Jamie’s team and we, along with everyone else in the community, will be rooting her on as she competes for national pride in Sochi this February." Top Dog Direct is a newly formed entity that combines two direct response television (DRTV) leaders, Media Enterprises, Inc. and Plymouth Direct. Together they are credited with the successful development of innovative TV marketing formats for a host of popular new products, such as Urine Gone, Mighty Putty, Mighty Mend-it and Mighty Fixit, Stream Clean, and Tag Away. Top Dog Direct has unveiled Might Putty Purple (www.MightyPuttyPurple.com) and Night View NV Glasses (www.BuyNightView.com) for 2014.
Pitch-a-thon Puts South Florida Inventors In The Spotlight
There was no shortage of nifty ideas in the room. But would the products sell on TV? The inventors temporarily left their day jobs in real estate, construction, technology and homemaking to sell what they dream will be multimillion-dollar consumer products. Read More See Video>
Top Dog Direct Hosts Inventors Speed Pitch in South Florida

In a 'Shark Tank'-like event, 20 inventors pitched new products to executives from the TV marketing company Top Dog Direct for a chance at their own infomercial.

The Trevose, Pa.-based company teamed up with Boca Raton's Hutton Miller studios to find one or more "As Seen on TV" products from South Floridians that could not only make a great commercial, but also sell well on shelves.

"We're looking for something that's unique, solves a major problem and something that's never been out there before," saidErica Meloni, Top Dog Direct director of new products.  Read More >

Testing out TV's newest stuff
Top Dog Direct sponsors the New Product Pavilion at the Direct Response Marketing Association show in San Diego, CA, April 29- May 1. Read More >
Response Magazine
Bill McAlister is president of Trevose, Pa.-based Top Dog Direct, a direct response television marketing company designed to bring successful products to TV and retail. The company’s list of successes during the past 10-plus years includes Mighty Putty, Smart Mop and recent market leaders Tag Away and Night View NV. Recently, we caught up with McAlister in advance of Response Expo (April 29-May 1), where Top Dog plans to have a powerful presence.

Q: What are the three most important things a marketer like Top Dog Direct looks for from industry trade groups and events?

A: The only thing we look for from trade groups and events are new products. That is all that matters to us. Our industry doesn’t move forward unless we have new items.

Q: Who is most important for your company to meet with when you attend an industry trade show and why?

A: Inventors! They are the lifeblood of our industry. We are always looking for new, interesting, problem-solving items. It is also important for us to meet with the individuals that handle media buying at channels such as Discovery, CNN, CNBC, etc. If media costs continue to rise, it will kill our business. We need to figure this out.

Q: What are the two most important topics facing the DR industry today and how can the industry band together to address them?

A: Number one: the cost of media. Media costs are through the roof, and we won’t be able to continue with TV if these costs continue to increase. Based on the amount of channels and 7 million fewer people watching TV this year, this is a major concern for us. Second: knockoffs are a major problem in our industry, and nobody wants to talk about 800-lb. gorilla in the room.

Q: What are Top Dog’s two biggest successes in the past year?

A: Tag Away and Nightview NV. Tag Away skin tag remover is a monster success and continues to do great. With Nightview NV, we found a category within the sunglass category that is huge.

Q: What do you consider the most successful campaign you’ve worked on in your career and why?

A: Tag Away was our most successful. It helped solve a sensitive problem that so many people have.

Q: Where would you like to see the direct response business five years from now?

A: I would like to see TV stations get some type of religion and get real with their pricing so we can continue to use TV to drive retail.

This content is taken from a report on Response Magazine's website. (http://www.responsemagazine.com/direct-response-marketing/field-reports-april-2014-7031)

Yahoo! Voices
President of Top Dog Direct, Bill McAlister Talks Inventions and as Seen on TV Products. Bill McAlister is the president of Top Dog Direct. Bill has been in the manufacturing and wholesale distribution field of consumer products for about 25 years. McAlister started out at QVC. There he was an importer of all non-clothing and non-jewelry items for QVC. Next he founded Media Enterprises and became a vendor at the Home Shopping Network. So far he brought that network some of the most successful products in its history. The Taplight sold over 2 million units and the Sobakawa pillow is the number one selling pillow. Bill has sold more than $1 billion worth of "As Seen on TV" products. I was lucky enough to pick Bill's brain about this industry and how he got his start. Read More >
WGN Morning News
Chicago inventors pitch their products, ‘Sharktank’ style. Seen on TV Products pro Bill McAlister takes a look at products by Chicago inventors with WGN Morning News anchors Robin and Larry. Find out who they think will be a success View Video >
USA Today
New Jersey's 'Infomercial Queen' reigns supreme. Liantonio, 63, has been called the "Infomercial Queen." With her 14-employee Boonton-based company, Concepts TV Productions, she's filmed more than 3,000 infomercials over a 30-year period. "If you're staying up late, you've seen my stuff. I do more two-minute infomercials than anyone in the industry," said Liantonio, whose ads typically run in half-hour or two-minute format. View Video >
The Jewish Link of Bergen County
Lower Back Pain Relief "As Seen on TV". Denville—If you found that a $20 product had the ability to lessen or even eliminate chronic or acute low back pain, would you buy it? A company called Top Dog Direct thinks so. To that end, they’ve licensed the BeActive Brace, a soft trigger point compression brace worn just below the knee that claims to ease low back pain that was invented by Teaneck native Akiva Shmidman, a physical therapist who now lives in Baltimore. Read More >