Spark into Marketing » susan boyle

8 Reasons why “Britain’s Got Talent” is important for your business.

jeanspark — Sun, 31 May 2009 08:26:58 +0000

The world wide figures for Britain’s Got Talent have been phenomenal. Susan Boyle’s videos have been watched more than those of Barack Obama. Something is going on and there are powerful lessons for your business.

1. It reminds you that it is all about the audience. Unlike the Apprentice (apparently about business but more of a soap opera) the audience decides. It is the same in your business. They decide who they want to have the budget, the cash or the vote.

2. Talent and hard work take you most of the way, so you are ready for the opportunity. Susan Boyle said the only reason she was not famous was because she had not had the opportunity.

3. Talent and a story that touches the heart get you further. In Susan Boyle’s case from an unknown village on to the Oprah show. Her story was the contrast between the appearance and the voice, for Diversity the dance troupe it was all about brothers and friends and inspired leadership, for Julian Smith it was that his saxophone his wife and his children were what he loved. Not a soundbite, but way of capturing the essence. We all need a peg to hang an idea on.

Most of the finalists had a wonderful story. The grandfather who got over the grief of his wife’s death and the grand-daughter who had more confidence when with him, the father and son who adored each other and the son knew his dad had not had a father in his own life, the little sister who ended up singing (not singing and dancing) and coped with her tears, the boy who learnt the moves in his bedroom…

Shaun had an amazing voice didn’t have a really appealing story, and did not finish in the top three.

4. Tears, tantrums and weakness do not mean the end. Susan’s tantrums and Hollie’s tears did not make the public or the judges reject them. In fact the opposite happened. Things go wrong. Recovering from a mistake is what matters.

5. Telling the truth makes a difference. When Simon Cowell makes a critical comment he may get boos, but you can feel the truth of it. Everyone listens to what Simon says with closer attention because he does not hold back. He provides leadership. He preferred Diversity to their closest competition, while Piers Morgan preferred Flawless. Diversity won. Leadership is important. You may be booed by some, but you will have more authority and more people will trust you.

6. Choose the right song at the final. Sing a whole range of songs to see what fits, but go with the right one at the end. Your song in business is a mix of what you do, how you do it and why it is right for you.

7. The name is important. Britain’s Got Talent proved to be even more accurate this year, as the finalists were a specially talented group. Call your business and your products and services the right name, and it will do the work for you.

8. What’s happening in the wider world can help. Piers Morgan told Susan Boyle she had given the world something to believe in. The doom and gloom all around probably contributed to Susan’s fame. Home cooking, home grown vegetables, and home grown talent are all part of a new ethos which has contributed to the unprecedented coverage of this year’s Britain’s Got Talent.

Britain’s Got Talent has been a fantastic free learning experience for all of us in business. Use it!

The chances are that your customers have seen it or heard about it, so in addition it gives you an experience to talk about with them.

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Twitter-inspired Fabulous Friday Feeling on Marlow FM

jeanspark — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:21:30 +0000

I have just left the recording studio for “That Fabulous Friday Feeling” which I hosted on Marlow FM.

The programme will run for the next three Fridays as well and the aim is to get more fun into Fridays and was inspired by the sharing of twitterluv on #followfriday.

When you are close to something of course it is too easy to see the faults, but I could feel it was going well when my two guests started to talk with each other, as well, and the conversation flowed naturally.

As the presenter is also technical assistant and producer as well as encourager-of-conversations this is a major bonus!

My guest from Marlow High Street was Carol Hill who runs Healthy Stuff a health food shop and complementary therapy rooms. Interestingly she has seen an upturn in business during the recession. Her thoughts on health were that we all need to get more sun at times when it is weak to help production of Vitamin D and a whole host of other benefits. Wearing Factor 40 is good, but we all do need some sun directly onto our skin.

My other guest was Debra Skeen a successful singer and music teacher who reported that she has had many more enquiries for singing lessons than is normal at this time of year. We played some tracks from Debra’s recordings with the Spanish-repertoire choir Coro Cervantes. Beautiful music and perfect for a feel-good Friday afternoon.

Even though neither guest has a traditional working-week holiday-weekend they both still love Fridays!

As well as the recession we discussed the Susan Boyle Factor and her recent outburst which has been headline news… and the fact that we are all glued to the TV screen! Debra told us about the joy of singing as well as the harsh realities of a life in the spotlight, and how important it is to be able to cope with rejection.

We also talked about “The Voice of Tomorrow” a reality musical theatre – not TV – opportunity. Russell Scott, the artistic director, phoned in and explained that the aim is to bring together young musical talent and the movers and shakers in the musical theatre world. Apart from the prizes which are obvious career benefits it is hoped that simply being in front of 9 different judges over the 3 nights which be a career boost.

I saw the show yesterday and was most impressed with the talent which is a mix of music plus ability to hold the space and act. Ceris was the outright winner of the first night, both from the judges and the public, but the public voters did not follow the judge’s enthusiasm for one of the other male singers. It will be interesting to see what happens each night.

Some email feedback to the show was that it was a fun upbeat preparation for the weekend .. and very professional and that we sounded as though it was our normal job. (Hurrah!)

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7 Reasons why Susan Boyle’s got talent

jeanspark — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:11:53 +0000

Susan Boyle has qualified for the finals of “Britain’s Got Talent.”

What is special about her? After all there are plenty of dowdy middle-aged women with good voices who do well in the first rounds of a competition but never qualify for the final.

Why has Susan Boyle’s video been downloaded 58 million times? Why has she appeared on Oprah?

1. The contrast between the audience’s expectation that she had no talent and her amazingly talented singing told a dramatic and compelling story.

It is part of myth and fairy tale. The ugly ducking who turns into a swan, the “stupid” son who turns out to be powerful as well as good, the sister who suffers at the hands of others and ends up with a happy life and a handsome prince. Rags to riches, incompetence to competence, despair to hope, dreams to reality … these are the stories that speak to our soul.

Before she sang Susan looked dowdy, was obviously considered untalented, and her confidence was judged by the audience as mis-placed arrogance. Once she had sung a few notes the audience and judges could dare to believe in a fairy tale.

2. She has musical skill and her voice has a warm emotional quality which adds to her technical skill. She connect with people musically and emotionally.

3. She had confidence even before she sang a note. Simon Cowell asked her why she hadn’t made it before and she answered very matter of factly that she hadn’t had the opportunity before. She had the confidence to stand her ground.

When Simon said afterwards that she was a “tiger” .. she barely responded to the comment and gave it no space at all. A less confident person might have wanted that attention (and agreed or felt complimented) or rejected what he said and felt patronised. She did neither.

4. She has clarity and a sense of purpose. Her goal was to be as well-known as Elaine Paige. Her songs from “Les Miserables” have been sung by Elaine Paige, and the songs are full of passion and heartache which suits her voice. There is clarity about who she is, who she would be benchmarked against, and the niche she has chosen.

5. She has been disarmingly honest and vulnerable. She said she has not been kissed. Rather than feeling sorry for herself, she added with enormous glee that she wasn’t advertising.

6. The makeup is more pronunced, but she has had a tidy-up not a makeover. The second dress was a more approriate colour and had a more flattering neckline, but it was still a traditional dress. We know where we are with her, and we recognise her.

7. She is courageous and exciting to watch. She could have been overawed by Piers Morgan thanking her from the whole world for being good news among the bad.

What did she do instead? Gave some exuberant shimmy-wiggles for “Piers-y baby!”

Who knows what she will do on the night of the finals?

What ever it is we will be on the edge of our seats and laughing with her not at her.

Susan Boyle’s talents would bring a spark to any small business so they become a winner.

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Susan Boyle – branding branding

jeanspark — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:57:09 +0000

So Susan Boyle who made such impact on the Britain’s Got Talent TV show for being ordinary and having an extraordinary voice wants to look less ordinary.

If you don’t know about her watch this video.

Susan Boyle on \"Britain\'s Got Talent\"

She’s lively, funny, disarmingly honest (never been kissed), and what I found really amazing was the way she did not respond when Simon Cowell called her a tiger. She wasn’t going to be pushed in any kind of box. And the voice – amazing.

In terms of branding – which had never crossed her mind I imagine – she was talented, modest and natural. Now she has had her hair dyed brown and her eyebrows plucked. The question is – does it matter? Well the voice will carry her through the competition and I imagine the hair will make her more attractive. The pity is that there are pictures of her in the paper today with a shawl on her head. So she is covering up the change when what we really associate with her is authenticity. The compromise position I suppose would have been to keep the hair grey but get it cut more flatteringly.

Her biggest battle was over: she already had the standing ovation, she already heard that nobody had been on her side. There will be lots of people watching the finals who want to support their decision to see her as an uncorrupted star waiting to be discovered, and see her as the underdog who can win without artifice. It would have been easier if she had stayed just as she was. It has all become a bit more complicated now.

So for a £ 35 hair cut she has lost something valuable. But who can blame her? There aren’t many women who would not have done the same. As the audience we wanted someone to effortlessly believe in amongst the doom and gloom. We wanted to put her in the branding pigeonhole which says “Natural and talented.”

She will of course be an inspiration to journalists, bloggers and image consultants and hairdressers everywhere. The most watched YouTube video to date is likely to be replaced by her next performance on the show… but we will be watching for something else as well, this time.

But who can blame her?

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