Microsoft won this evenings Apprentice hands down. In today’s Tivo happy world content integrated marketing is the future and we all better get used to it.
Not just for TV either. The Web is the king of integrated marketing. We do it at Murdok all the time where sponsor messages are presented in our normal content style. Apprentice, which is one of televisions highest rated shows, has embraced this advertiser/content mix illustrating the power of content integrated marketing.
Tonight’s episode featured the final four Apprentice applicants in a task to prepare a 60 sec video for Microsoft showcasing Microsoft Office Live Meeting. Judging the videos was Janice Kapner, marketing director in the business unit that makes Microsoft Office Live Meeting and Dustin Grosse, general manager of sales and marketing in the company’s Real-Time Collaboration Business Unit, which offers the Live Meeting service.
In the end Donald Trump fired both team members of “Capital Edge”, accusing 29 year old Felisha of “not being strong enough for this city” and scolding the aggressive Alla to “stop brow beating” her opponent. It is the second time this season Trump fired more than one Apprentice in an episode. Their video was very simplistic … very much like a Power Point presentation instead of a polished promotional video. The statement voiced over in the beginning of the video, “Simply use your name and password to log in” gives you a clear picture where this promotion was headed. Not good.
The winning team Excel did a much better job focusing on a video story line showing the power of the service. I think it fit better with the tag line Microsoft has for the service; The service that gives you the power to hold live meetings anytime … anywhere.
Microsoft will receive a powerful boost from this show … much more convincing and interest-holding than the standard commercial. Interestingly, Microsoft has a top banner running on the Apprentice site and then features the TV show prominently on the Office Live website.
Any thoughts on this? Comment Here.
murdok is the CEO of Murdok, Inc. which publishes over 200 websites and email newsletters.
Rich also publishes his blog WebProBlog which focuses on internet business and marketing trends.
