'Today' & QVC Are Going to Make Your Fashion Invention Dreams Come True
Jill Martin. Photo: Courtesy
Have you been dying to get the brilliant product or invention you’ve been sitting on out into the public sphere, but find your ambitions stifled by your paralyzing fear of Shark Tanks? You’re in luck—because Today’s got you covered.
Along with QVC, the long-running NBC morning show is introducing “Today’s Next Big Thing”—an opportunity for one lucky and talented entrepreneur to win a spot on QVC and sell his or her product to the masses.
Submissions must fit into one of three categories: home and pets, fashion and accessories, and gadgets. Nine finalists will appear on Today, and their submissions will be judged by weatherman extraordinaire Al Roker, Today contributor and QVC vet Jill Martin, executives from QVC, and viewers at home via an online vote.
Martin, who sells her own line of fashion products, GILI, on QVC, calls ‘Next Big Thing’ “the chance of a lifetime.” “We’re not only changing somebody’s life, but we’re also learning about a new product,” she told Yahoo Style.
She says that, while the competition to sell on QVC is oftentimes fierce (she, herself, was turned down six times before getting approved), the outcome is worth it: “Anybody who has come out with a product knows how big they can make it by getting in there.”
Selling via QVC, which reaches 100 million households in the U.S. and 340 million globally, has some major advantages over brick-and-mortars and online e-tailers. “QVC customers are very dedicated because of the quality and the variety—and you reach so many people at once,” explains Martin. “In a store, there are so many items. You might have 1,000 people come in in a day, or you might have one person.
“With QVC, people tune in when they know it’s a fashion show, or when they know it’s a food show… and they know they’re getting those items. So not only do you reach such a mass audience, but you’re also tuning into the demographic. It gives you the ability to reach so many people, and the volume is astronomical.”
So what will she and the other judges be looking for? Naturally, it varies. Says Martin, “Things that are unique, things that—when you look at the shelf, there are similar items, and yet, it stands out for a particular reason, things that are useful. I always say, if you have an idea, and you tell eight out 10 of your friends about it, and they say, ‘Oh, I would use it!’ or, ‘I would refer that to someone I know who’d use it,’ then it’ll be a hit.”
The deadline on submissions, which are currently being accepted, is August 21. Finalists will pitch their products on Today from September 29 to October 1, with the winner accompanying Martin on QVC. So if you and your product are ready to have your moment, you’d better get applying.
“Sometimes in life, you just need a break and a little luck, and [Today’s Next Big Thing] combines all of that,” Martin says. “I believe in hard work, and I believe in ingenuity, but sometimes, you just need a little bit of sparkle. I feel like that’s what this is.”
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