Comments by Simon Cowell in the semi-finals of X Factor last weekend suggested to me that he thought Danyl was the best contender to win the competition.  Evidence?  He said that his was the best first audition ever, and seemed a little warmer in his approval of him than the other three contestants.

My personal view was that the only person with a chance of winning was Danyl.  But what did the audience think?

They voted him out.

That means 2 “experts” are wrong ( I include myself) and the audience is  right.

The audience has the power.  They can vote and will – at a later stage – buy the CD’s, DVD’s go to the live shows…and effectively create success.

You can say that the voting audience is mostly young girls which is why there are more boys in the final, and could explain why JedWard stayed in the competition so long.  Who is the buying audience for pop music?  Young girls.

As the expert in our own business it is as well to remember that it is the audience who decides.  They decide to give you money, and if they like you and want to see you next week.  Whatever you are selling – therapy sessions, gigs at the O2 arena, consultancy services or books and CD’s – it is the audience who decides.

And the message is:

Know your audience  (demographics  will help)

Find out what they want (X Factor showed us week after week)

Be good at something (singing) but also be appealing

Test with different choices (Stacey Solomon, Olly Murs or Joe McElderry)

Know you can be wrong

Throw in some excitement  by associating with bigger names – (George Michael, Michael Buble and Robbie Williams)(which could alter the voting demographics)

Then make the record and hope that it sells as well as Susan Boyle’s 4.5 million copies shipped to the US – breaking all records.

Let the X Factor inspire you in your marketing!