Wirraway
1st Dec 2004, 14:56
Thurs "Sydney Morning Herald"
Sir Richard's victory, Trump or no Trump
By Paul McIntyre
December 2, 2004
The verbal punch-up last week between billionaires Donald Trump and Sir Richard Branson over their reality TV shows was a ripper.
Trump is the big lion in The Apprentice, a show where he gets to use lots of hairspray and sack people trying to become legends in business with poxy strategies for Procter & Gamble's Crest toothpaste - essentially a product placement deal.
Here lies a lesson for just about every multinational and large local firm now contemplating the coming boom in "branded content", funded by marketers. If you're going to do it, do it Branson's way.
Trump was crowing last week about Branson's show tanking on debut on the Fox network in the US. Trump was right in that The Apprentice is pulling upwards of 15 million viewers while Branson "bombed" with an opening line-up of 5 million.
But think about this: Rebel Billionaire, as Branson's show is called, had 5 million viewers on its opening night and that's a big whack of potential airline passengers and mobile phone customers which Branson gets for nothing in a market he's trying to crack - the US.
Yes, there's plenty of disdain for Branson as a publicity tart. But his show is engaging.
Rebel Billionaire is a very smart branding tactic. Virgin is everywhere in the show: Virgin Atlantic planes, Virgin Atlantic routes, Virgin hot air balloons and so-on but it's not tacky. In fact, the show basically creams Trump's The Apprentice, particularly when Trump sits in his boardroom looking like some actor out of Days of Our Lives.
Australian viewers agree. Seven launched Rebel Billionaire here late on Monday night and although hardly a mega hit with 748,000 viewers, the first showing topped both The Apprentice's debut in Australia on Nine (701,000) and the current number of 670,000.
Rebel Billionaire won its time slot for 16-24 year-olds, 25-39 year-olds and all those aged between 18 and 49. That's a good result, particularly so given the Brit is out here next week to launch his Virgin Atlantic Australian service.
Rebel Billionaire was not a branded content initiative funded by Virgin - Fox ended up underwriting the costs. But how the show works is exactly how companies should be thinking if they want to deal themselves into funding content beyond traditional advertising.
Interestingly, Virgin Group's Australian headquarters is rather predisposed to developing a new series in Australia, with Australians, for Australians ... and the rest of the world.
"I think we'll do an Australian one," says Virgin Group's marketing and PR director Danielle Keighery.
"Australians are well up for it."
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Sir Richard's victory, Trump or no Trump
By Paul McIntyre
December 2, 2004
The verbal punch-up last week between billionaires Donald Trump and Sir Richard Branson over their reality TV shows was a ripper.
Trump is the big lion in The Apprentice, a show where he gets to use lots of hairspray and sack people trying to become legends in business with poxy strategies for Procter & Gamble's Crest toothpaste - essentially a product placement deal.
Here lies a lesson for just about every multinational and large local firm now contemplating the coming boom in "branded content", funded by marketers. If you're going to do it, do it Branson's way.
Trump was crowing last week about Branson's show tanking on debut on the Fox network in the US. Trump was right in that The Apprentice is pulling upwards of 15 million viewers while Branson "bombed" with an opening line-up of 5 million.
But think about this: Rebel Billionaire, as Branson's show is called, had 5 million viewers on its opening night and that's a big whack of potential airline passengers and mobile phone customers which Branson gets for nothing in a market he's trying to crack - the US.
Yes, there's plenty of disdain for Branson as a publicity tart. But his show is engaging.
Rebel Billionaire is a very smart branding tactic. Virgin is everywhere in the show: Virgin Atlantic planes, Virgin Atlantic routes, Virgin hot air balloons and so-on but it's not tacky. In fact, the show basically creams Trump's The Apprentice, particularly when Trump sits in his boardroom looking like some actor out of Days of Our Lives.
Australian viewers agree. Seven launched Rebel Billionaire here late on Monday night and although hardly a mega hit with 748,000 viewers, the first showing topped both The Apprentice's debut in Australia on Nine (701,000) and the current number of 670,000.
Rebel Billionaire won its time slot for 16-24 year-olds, 25-39 year-olds and all those aged between 18 and 49. That's a good result, particularly so given the Brit is out here next week to launch his Virgin Atlantic Australian service.
Rebel Billionaire was not a branded content initiative funded by Virgin - Fox ended up underwriting the costs. But how the show works is exactly how companies should be thinking if they want to deal themselves into funding content beyond traditional advertising.
Interestingly, Virgin Group's Australian headquarters is rather predisposed to developing a new series in Australia, with Australians, for Australians ... and the rest of the world.
"I think we'll do an Australian one," says Virgin Group's marketing and PR director Danielle Keighery.
"Australians are well up for it."
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