Marketing & Advertising Are Critical

            Almost every episode of The Apprentice involved marketing.  Those tasks that did not consist of a marketing task, still often included a marketing component.  Regardless of your business, you are dependant upon successful sales and marketing.  Every business exists because of customers willing to purchase goods or services from it.  Marketing and advertising attract new customers and help retain existing ones.  Without them, the business could not succeed.  This chapter will look at a few episodes from the three seasons and examine a couple marketing and advertising basics for every business.

Marketing

            Season three had a marketing star, and some of the worst marketing imaginable.  The very first episode illustrated the latter.  Danny’s marketing and promotional efforts for the new Burger King sandwich was horrendous.  In the boardroom, Carolyn said she thought the promotion was horrific, and that Danny looked like a street performer.  George said he could not tell what the team was trying to promote.  It was downright awful, but not nearly as bad as it would become in another three episodes. 

One of the most disappointing episodes in terms of the way the teams performed their tasks was episode four of season three.  The two teams worked with Donny Deutsch to create a television commercial for Dove.  The ad campaign was to highlight Dove’s new product, Dove Cool Moisture Body Wash.   Deutsch wanted to be “wowed” by the commercial, stating, “the regular, typical, 30 second T.V. commercial doesn’t cut it any more.  I want you to blow me away in terms of wow, this is different, I have to watch this.”  Deutsch went on to tell the teams, “This product, this new body wash, is about refreshment.  Those with the most creative, most out of the box approach, are going to win.”

So what would make Donny Deutsch say, “You both missed big.  You both sucked.”?  Apex created a semi-adult movie ad, with the female lead assisting a young man wash a cucumber, and then disappointedly watch him leave with the body wash and his homosexual partner.  Net worth’s ad portrayed runners with one male athlete smearing body wash on his face and wiping it off with a towel to go and win the race.  Watching the ads, Donny and his assistants in judging did not look amused.  In fact they were disgusted with both commercials.  Deutsch told Trump that with Magna’s commercial he did not understand what the product was and that the gay bit at the end was not the right positioning for a mass product such as Dove’s Cool Moisture Body Wash.   He told Trump that Magna not understanding what the product was about was a big miss.  Regarding Net Worth, Trump heard an equally unflattering report as Deutsch told him that it was an equally big miss.  Deutsch could not get over the guy rubbing body wash on his face, and said it was the most un-refreshing thing in the world.

This episode illustrated a perfect example of missing the mark.  Both teams tried to be creative, but completely missed the mark with the audience for their product.  While trying to be creative, the teams neglected the purpose of the commercial, to make people want to purchase the body wash.  Deutsch summed it up perfectly when he stated that neither advertisement made him want to purchase the product, in fact they repelled people from the product.

In the boardroom, Trump told Apex, “Dove is a huge product sold all over the world.  You must have been crazy to think this stupid cucumber idea wouldn’t offend anyone.”  After watching Net Worth’s commercial, Trump told them, “That’s terrible.”  Carolyn chimed in with, “It’s disgusting, it repels you from buying this product.”  Marketing and advertising must convey a message to the consumer that will influence them to make a purchase.  Just being creative is not enough.  There are many creative ads on television that people remember, but cannot remember what the advertisement was pitching.  It does you no good if people do not buy the product because of the marketing.

            Two weeks later, Tara had not learned the lesson.  As Project Manager, she failed the marketing task and was fired.  She opted to create a graffiti ad that emphasized the Harlem community as she perceived it, rather than emphasize selling the Sony Playstation game they were assigned to sell.  Marketing is one of the most important things a business can do.  In a nutshell, marketing, in all its varied forms, focuses on attracting customers, getting them to buy, and making sure they are happy enough with their purchase to come back for more and tell their friends.  A business will not last long without customers, so yes, marketing is extremely important.  Because a comprehensive marketing plan involves so many components, rather than define what you should do to market, this section will expand on the mistakes above and discuss a few more common marketing mistakes to avoid.

            Create a Campaign Appropriate for the Product

            The Dove ads from episode four of the third season were perfect illustrations of this mistake.  The sexual themes of the one ad were completely inappropriate for Dove’s market.  Nothing in that ad would appeal to those that purchase Dove Body Wash.   The racing ad was just as inappropriate because of the way they were using the product.  You do not rub body wash all over your face and then just wipe it off with a towel.  Both ads missed the mark with appropriateness.

            Create a Campaign that Sells

            Marketing and advertising have one major purpose, and that is determining how to sell product as fast as possible to as many people as possible.  Tara forgot this simple fact during episode six of the third season.  She placed her emphasis on the community, rather than on selling.  You must reach your potential buyers and convince them to buy.  If the campaign does not sell, and people do not purchase, the business will not last for long.

            Do Not Sell To the Wrong Audience

            It would be a waste of time to pitch feminine hygiene products to a group of men, just as it would be a waste of time, money, and energy attempting to sell a men’s product to a group of women.  While this seems obvious, many advertisements and marketing schemes reach the wrong people, and are equally a waste of time, money and energy.  First eliminate the obvious mismatches, such as the gender issues above, and then narrow down the target group by such things as profession, activities, income range and a host of other demographics to eliminate lost-cause prospects so you do not waste resources on them.

            Do Not Offer What You Can Not Deliver

            Do not advertise or market a product or service until you can deliver it promptly and in working order.  In addition, do not advertise or market features that are nowhere near accurate.  We have all seen the ads that claim the unbelievable, and we all recognize that if it seems too good to be true it probably is.  Do not join the ranks of those that scam people or use over the top advertising and marketing campaigns.  Market honestly and build a solid reputation and brand recognition.  It will take you much farther in the long run.

          Do Not Stop

            When things are selling well, it is tempting to minimize marketing and save on costs.  Depending on your service or product, and how much of a loyal following and brand recognition you have, you may not notice a significant drop in sales.  At least for a while.  Time and time again, companies that let their marketing efforts diminish or stop during good times regret is when sales erode and slip away.  Do not stop marketing.  Keep the momentum going during the good time to continue growth and repeat business.  It is easier to keep business by doing what is right than try to gain new business or regain business that has left.

Advertising

            The second task of season one entailed working with Donny Deutsch’s Deutsch ad agency designing an advertising campaign for Marquis Jets.  An obvious lesson from the show is that Advertising is important.  We should look at a few advertising basics.

            One of the most important things a business must consider when advertising is how to get the most for your advertising dollars.  The purpose of advertising is to generate business.  If it is not helping you earn more, then why spend the money?  Therefore, you must identify which advertising tool is best for your type of business.  Certain businesses are fueled by classified ads, while others successfully use flyers.  Coupons attract business for some stores while television and radio are the preferred advertising mediums for other businesses.  So before you spend advertising dollars, scrutinize the effectiveness of the tool.  Ensure that the medium allows you to communicate your message as often as needed.  Make sure the format will allow you to communicate enough information to prompt people to call for an appointment, send in an order, or request additional information.  Determine the cost of the medium in relation to the number of people it will reach, and try to estimate how many of the distribution recipients will be your target audience.  Effective advertising reaches the right people, so one must be sure to know and reach the target audience.  A great ad, viewed by the wrong people, will have no effect.  With these in mind, you can identify which advertising tool is best for your type of business.  The tools you identify will then fit within your overall advertising campaign. 

            Creative advertising catches people’s attention, but it must also be effective to be considered successful.  Effective advertising is developed when your strategies are based on solid business practices such as competitive analysis, target markets, competitive positioning, budgets, and brand building vs. selling products or services.  Besides creativity, you must have advertising that delivers a sales message and drives traffic to your location.  You must have a message that influences your audience to act.  There are thousands of ways to generate creative advertising, and while creativity is important and commendable, effectiveness will build your business.  Your advertising messages should communicate what your audience wants and needs, and the messages should communicate this clearly, effectively, and frequently. 

            To be successful with an ad campaign, you should know what the product does for the consumer.  An example is when McCann-Erickson was asked to come up with a presentation for a new Coca-Cola ad campaign in 1979.  McCann-Erickson had handled Coca-Cola’s advertising for almost twenty-four years, and when researching ads as far back as 1900 they discovered that all Coke ads showed Coke Drinkers smiling.  Their new ads continued the old successful theme of “have a Coke and a smile.”  If you are not conveying what the consumer will benefit from your product, how are they going to be persuaded to try it out?  Federal Express learned this the hard way.  They had a very expensive commercial running on television that showed their beautiful fleet of airplanes sitting on an airport ramp.  What did that do for the viewer?  It didn’t do anything for Federal Express sales.  The replacement ads explained how Federal Express benefited the consumer by getting your packages to their destination overnight, and this was something the viewer could relate to and benefit from.  These ads effectively helped increased Federal Express’s business.  Do not try and sell features, sell benefits and solutions.

Advertising strategies, plans and techniques could fill volumes, and actually do.  There are texts, courses and multiple resources for those learning the advertising business.  Watching this week’s Apprentice pointed out the importance of advertising, and we got to see a little of what goes into developing a commercial and print advertisement.  That and the few basics here should open your eyes to its importance and a few of the basics that must be considered when developing your own advertising plan.

A final thought on advertising is that of hiring a professional agency such as the Deutsch ad agency.  Donny Deutsch and his team of professionals will cost you, but many times not hiring a professional is far more expensive than hiring one.  Hiring a professional agency can often be the most cost effective method of putting a campaign together.  You will avoid the costly mistakes that professionals will not make. Remember, if you stick to qualified professionals, you will get what you pay for.

            A great example of where marketing or advertising paid off in an unusual way came during episode ten of season one.  The teams were competing to see which could make the most money managing a shift of a pedicab company.  Amy, of Versacorp, came up with the idea to sell advertising space on the sides and backs of the pedicabs.  The team then went out and sold several ads, including one to Marquis Jet, the company the company the teams produced ad campaigns for in episode two.

            Even though a couple of the advertising signs did not stay on correctly, with one falling completely off, deserving the $250.00 refund that Nick gave the owner back, the advertising paid off for Versacorp tremendously.  Protégé had a profit of just over $382.00, while Versacorp cleaned up with a total profit of $3,680.00.  The victory was a direct result of selling advertising.

            While the rest of this chapter focused on marketing and advertising to increase sales, this example shows the importance of advertising and how creativity can lead to victories in different arenas.  Assisting with other’s advertising and marketing needs can be profitable as well.  This internet is full of these opportunities with different banner placing and affiliate programs.  When it comes to marketing and advertising, everyone needs it, and a little creativity can mean profits in a variety of ways.

A Marketing Star

            One thing that really stood out about the third season’s winner, Kendra, was her marketing ideas.  Time and time again, she stood out for her marketing skills.  During the live grand finale, Trump focused on her marketing victories during the season recap of her journey to the final two, stating that part of the reason she was so successful was due to her, “smart marketing strategies.”  Here are a few of those strategies that we can learn from.

            The seventh episode task consisted of building a miniature golf course and managing the business for one day at the Chelsea Piers.  Stephanie was the Project Manager of Magna, and in an interview, Kendra wondered if she understood the extreme importance of marketing.  Kendra believed the task would be won or lost by marketing.  She then came up with the idea to target the kids who had lessons around the pier.  The team offered discounts to the local businesses that catered to kids, such as the skating rink.  Kendra also insisted that the cross-promotional marketing was exclusive.  They cut Net Worth off at the knees, because they could not market with those same businesses.  Magna beat Net Worth, $508 to $304, and Carolyn attributed the larger total to the flyers and coupons the team distributed.  Kendra was right, the task was won with marketing.

            Episode ten had the two to-be-finalists teamed up in charge of marketing for Magna.  The task was to create a brand-new type of pizza for Dominos, and sell the new pizzas from a mobile kitchen.  The marketing duo of Kendra and Tana solicited pizza orders from businesses and small shops in a five block radius around their location, selling Magna’s new Domino creation, the “Manga Meatball” pizza. (“manga” meaning “eat” in Italian)  Kendra again said the task would be won or lost on the marketing effort – that and the ability of Craig and Bren to fill the orders.  When the results were revealed, George reported Net Worth’s sales of $523.90.  Carolyn reported that Manga had taken in $653.12, thanks in large part to Kendra and Tana’s marketing effort.  Marketing paid off again for Kendra and her teammates.

During episode fourteen, Kendra and Craig did not have the best working relationship.  The two were paired up as the only remaining members of Magna.  The task was to design a commemorative T-shirt with the help of a pop culture artist and sell it for the most profit.  Kendra came up with the idea to leverage their artist, Romero Britto’s, fan base.  She asked Romero’s assistant to e-mail 3,000 collectors of Romero art and invite them to the sale of his new limited edition T-shirt design.  Craig and Kendra continued to butt heads throughout the task, but Kendra’s idea to tap into the artist’s known collectors and capitalize on the fact that it was a work of art and a limited edition t-shirt paid off and the two won the task.

We saw how Kendra pulled the all-nighter producing the Pontiac Solstice marketing brochure in the chapter Suck It Up.  The brochure was exactly what Pontiac was looking for, and the executives said they liked the brochure so much they planned on using it to market the hot new Solstice.  Tana made a big deal about coming up with the shape of the brochure during the live grand finale, but it is safe to say the marketing genius behind the brochure was the season three winner.  Kendra did a great job, and Tana could not steel her thunder during the grand finale.

Marketing and advertising are extremely important, regardless of your business.  Marketing and advertising attract new customers and help retain existing ones.  Without them, a business will not succeed.  Take Kendra’s lead, and study and implement marketing strategies for your business and climb toward greater heights and success.

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