Air Swimmers on BBC News
By Matthew Wall, Business reporter, BBC News -
Inflatable flying clown fish This inflatable flying clown fish "swims" past a fish tank in Air Swimmers' hit viral video
How do you tell the world about your remote-controlled flying fish toys?
Go the traditional route of advertising in print, on TV and online at potentially great expense, or simply make a video?
Inflatable flying clown fish This inflatable flying clown fish "swims" past a fish tank in Air Swimmers' hit viral video
How do you tell the world about your remote-controlled flying fish toys?Go the traditional route of advertising in print, on TV and online at potentially great expense, or simply make a video?
Air Swimmers chose the latter and racked up more than 11 million views on YouTube over three years.
"It took about a week to film," says Mark Forti, of William Mark Corporation, the California-based company behind the toys. "And it really didn't cost anything. We just went around town doing pranks with our inflatable shark."
The video attracted millions of views in the first few weeks, he says.
"All of a sudden, the entire world knew about our product - we were flooded with emails and sales soared," says Mr Forti.
"If the video gets traction, there is no better return on investment. For almost no money, you can reach the world.
"It took about a week to film," says Mark Forti, of William Mark Corporation, the California-based company behind the toys. "And it really didn't cost anything. We just went around town doing pranks with our inflatable shark."
The video attracted millions of views in the first few weeks, he says.
"All of a sudden, the entire world knew about our product - we were flooded with emails and sales soared," says Mr Forti.
"If the video gets traction, there is no better return on investment. For almost no money, you can reach the world.
Read the full article on the BBC website:
CalCoast Toys, LLC was founded by Patrick Ross, the co-creator of Feisty Pets®. For years, Patrick worked with Mark Forti of the William Mark Corporation (WMC) as a distributor of all WMC products. Mark Forti is the genius inventor and creator behind Feisty Pets, X-Zylo®, Air Swimmers®, Flitter Fairies™, and all WMC® branded flying toys. William Mark Corporation was founded in 1991 when Mark Forti invented its first flying toy: the X-Zylo flying gyroscope. Patrick started in online sales at the age of 12 and opened his own toy business in college. Patrick and Mark started working together after discovering at the New York Toy Fair that they both had the same