The Apprentice

[Vincent]

This evening I was watching The Apprentice and it got me thinking about this "reality TV show."
Some question that came to mind were:

1. Can I learn anything from a TV show, where the owner is out to promote his own company and his brand and the company of people who sponsor the show each week?
2. What would the results be if there were no cameras?
3. Because one team makes more money that their opponent, does it mean that their 'marketing' was more successful or was it that the team members sold the service more passionately?
4. Everyone has their own agenda, they want to win - they are not working for the benefit of the "company"
5. They are all looking out for Number ONE!
6. They all look like they could be TV or movie stars - How are they chosen?
7. This week was about marketing (I think) - very little was shown.

The one team marketed the service mainly to the people inside the gym. The other team marketed mainly to passing trade. The first team won. The first were told that they did a fantastic job - marketing to the right people, people inside the gym. They won by eleven dollars. Can one week gauge the success of a campaign?

I think this show does a disservice to some of the candidates, although I did read that most of the finalist were head-hunted by some large corporations. I suppose this is the up-side.

Come next week I'll be watching....

[Dave A]

I haven't been watching. Is this the reality show with Donald Trump?

[Vincent]

Yep that's the one. This show has more entertainment value than business content.

[Chatmaster]

Yep that's the one. This show has more entertainment value than business content.

I agree with you fully. I watched the previous season on and off and it is by far one of the most boring/frustrating shows on TV for me. Allot of the contestants will be successful in setting up the perfect fly by night, but they all seemed to lack marketing knowhow. Marketing is a long term project. It is a project that requires thorough planning. The contestants in The Apprentice often have to start something from scratch in a very short period of time, with little money and a whole lot of interference by means of contestants with agendas to win the game. I do not watch it anymore as it causes more frustration for me than anything else.

[Dave A]

OK. So that's the one.

I watched one episode last year. It was all very New York NY.

Allot of the contestants will be successful in setting up the perfect fly by night,

That was my impression too. Unfortunately even big business seems to have fallen into the short term strategy trap. Long term sustainability doesn't seem to count much anymore.

Even as entertainment - iffy.