Mrs Hooper-Kelly, "You're fired!"

I'm a great fan of Donald Trump. So, when the latest series of "The Apprentice" started, last night, I was eagerly looking forward to seeing it.

As the program was scheduled for the wee small hours and I'm an "early to bed, early to rise" type, I decided to videotape the program to watch it the following day.

So I carefully programmed the VCR and went to bed - my wife following very shortly after.
This morning, it became apparent, my wife - due to force of habit - had done her usual environmentally conscious routine and turned off the power to the TV/VCR array!

Fortunately the program is repeated tonight. Needless to say, I will be cordoning off the area around the power sockets, with razor wire, tonight!

I don't watch "The Apprentice" for the entertainment value, and nor should you. It is a double master class in business success, for these two reasons.

First there is the obvious factor of how the apprentices tackle each progressively harder task. These are real world situations, which can translate directly to marketing on-line. For example, I vividly remember when the two groups were tasked with publicizing a new bridal shop.
The losing group, made the cardinal error of simply standing in Grand Central Station, handing out flyers to anyone who would take them.

It's easy sitting in your armchair, instead of being there, but a second's thought should have made them realize the numbers were not on their side: how many people walking out of the station on that particular day would likely be getting married in the near future. Very few.

The other team, meanwhile, got themselves an opt-in e-mail list of people about to get married.
No prizes for guessing who won, in this master class for targeted marketing. It was buckshot versus sniper's rifle.

And in every program, you get another master class: how you should brand yourself.

From the moment the opening credits roll and you get a shot of Donald Trump's private jet with "Trump" in huge letters, to the closing credits, you are bombarded with the Trump Brand. One program, as I recall, even involved the two teams vying to sell the highest quantities of Trump Ice - a brand of water with a picture of you know who on the label.

Of course, the very name "Trump" is an asset, so you get the mimeonic of Trump Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower, plus Trump Mortgage and Trump Restaurants.

And if you log onto the Trump web site, guess whose picture greets you?

It's all brilliant branding in a world that is getting increasingly more personal.
So, if you want to give your business a unique and personal face, you would do well to study "The Apprentice" and Donald Trump and then go and do it even better.

In the meantime, I won't mention the faux pas to my wife - I don't want her to do an Ivana on me!

copyright 2006 Paul Hooper-Kelly and InternetMarketingMagician.com