Blog Outline
Describe:
On July 16th at 8:00pm,
I watched CNBC’s reality TV show, “The
Profit” hosted by Marcus Lemonis. This particular episode involved Mr.
Lemonis helping a customized drum company SJC
Drums with their manufacturing and margin problems. The main characters Mike and Scott are
brothers and equity stakeholders. The
plot of the episode – a wealthy entrepreneur, Marcus Lemonis, comes into the
struggling business headquarters and analyzes the business’s model. After a bad
breakup between the brothers, Marcus helps Scott reemerge into the business and
invests $400,000 into the company. After months of intensive repair, SJC Drums learns how to manufacture
their products quicker and scale their business to make it profitable.
After doing some research on The Profit, I actually
found a couple articles raving about the show. Ken McCarthy, a television
blogger wrote:
“But good news…this show is the real deal.
Why?
Because, lo and behold, it’s not about
celebrities. It’s not a dramatized corporate press release. It’s not CEO
worship. It’s about a guy who goes into businesses, figures out how they work,
and rolls up his sleeves and makes them more profitable.
What a concept! I don’t
know why it took so long for something like this to hit the tube, but better
late than never and I’m grateful for it.”
Realityblurred.com said:
“It’s a good fit for those
who want entertainment, too, because the show, while it offers a lot of
information about what makes effective businesses, is really compelling. Most
of that is because you just don’t know how it’s going to end, because each
story wraps up differently.”
Advertisements
during the shows airtime varied. Some of the spots had local advertisements
such as MOR “furniture for less” in
Salem and another ad selling tickets for Portland
Timber games. However, most of the commercials were just shows partnered by
CNBC’s network such as Shark Tank, Texas
Investors, etc. These repeated throughout the scheduled programming.
Analyze:
Due
to the format of the show, there really isn’t a consistent attitude or style
and locations of filming is determined by where each business is located.
However, different episodes involving different businesses might attract a
certain audience more so than others. For example, this episode regarding SJC Drums might attract the musical
audience. But overall, I think the show in general, attracts anybody with an
entrepreneurial spirit.
Despite
the unique format of the show, there are both similarities and differences in
comparison to other reality TV shows. I think the main similarity would be the
production of the show. Filming and dialogue seem to have the typical reality
entertainment approach, in each episode, including the one I viewed, had an antagonist
and a hero. In the SJC Drums episode,
Chris and his brother Scott are polar opposites; Chris being the stubborn
co-owner, while Scott being the hero to save their business from closing. The
difference I think would be the role that Marcus Lemonis plays in the series.
As a mediator to struggling businesses, Lemonis’s tasks change the dynamic of
the series in each episode. For example, some episodes Lemonis is hardly
featured in it (even though it’s his show) because he’s simply an investor as
opposed to other episodes were he’s fully engaged with the employees and the
business’s rebuilding plans. Another thing I would say that is similar to other
shows are the commercial breaks, almost every time there is a climatic event or
exchange it cuts straight to commercial…a classic television technique to keep
the viewer engaged and interested.
Evaluate:
As a fan of the show, I wouldn’t necessarily say there are any
weaknesses because there aren’t any repetitive episodes. Every single business
that Lemonis approaches has its own unique setting, which then, influences the
dialogue of each episode. In contrast, I think one of the many strengths of the
show is Lemonis himself. His honest and uncut manner makes the show very
engaging. Furthermore, the show’s purpose of helping struggling businesses
reflects real life issues. Unlike the Survivor,
American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, etc. people aren’t getting voted
off, there are no Hollywood actors or scripts, just hardworking people looking
for alternatives to help either grow or maintain their business.
One author from Wallstreetoasis.com
weighed in on his thoughts about the highly rated CNBC show, “Product, Process, and People. These are
Marcus’ magical 3 P’s of analyzing and fixing a business. Some might say this is
business 101 but I think there is a lot to learn from this mentality.”
Again, unlike other reality shows, The Profit actually holds some value for
real life situations, especially in business.
Engage:
I
would say I watch The Profit about 2
to 3 times a week depending on my schedule. I’ve actually have gotten my fiancé
interested in the show. As far as social media, I do not follow the shows
Facebook or Twitter page, however, after looking at their social platforms,
their pages seem up to date with all their episodes and advertisements. One
thing I did like was that in some of their post, they take memorable quotes
from certain episodes and use them as inspiration for their fan base.
Conclusion:
After
analyzing The Profit, it seemed
pretty evident that the purpose of the show is to help inform, inspire and
motivate people about their businesses. Even the ads during the scheduled
programming were related to some type of business planning. Overall, the shows
ability to help or entertain their targeted audience is what I found most
significant. As a person who likes to consider himself an entrepreneur, The Profit has very useful tips and
guidance for soon-to-be business owners.
Work Cited:
http://kenmccarthy.com/blog/the-new-entrepreneurs-show-on-cnbc-with-marcus-lemonis-the-profit
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2013/08/the-profit-marcus-lemonis-interview-review/
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/my-review-of-the-profitA
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