Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor have changed the face of Saturday night TV. Simon Cowell has revitalised the talent show format and turned it into an engaging collaboration with the audience.
Crucial to the success of these programs has been Cowell himself, who is the key brand filter for his audience. Indeed the hook of the early rounds in these shows is down to the producers of them getting in acts that are so bad Cowell has to filter them out to dramatic effect, the audience love this, they love the truth.
I’m only saying what everybody else is thinking”
Simon Cowell 2009
Cowell can’t lose on The X Factor because he filters out the chaff and allows people to vote on the acts they are most likely to invest in. This is good for him and good for his audience, there’s a mutual value in this relationship. This value reveals the truth in talent and the talent is then honestly recognised as a result of the the brand’s collaboration with its audience.
Key to the success of this formula is the brutal upfront honesty which Cowell indulges in to the delight of the audience, addressing the contestants head-on means the audience respect his opinion as the figure head of the brand, they then desperately want to be part of the collaborative process later down the line and engage with the brand frequently.
Audiences are often asked to do too much work when brands want them to engage with a vote. Completely open votes initiated by a brand with a target audience don’t work, people aren’t that interested in them. The brand’s involvement is irrelevant and it doesn’t resonate; people want to know what the brand thinks, otherwise what is the brand’s value in this equation? Enablement? Devices enable, brands filter.
If both parties, the brand and the audience, are on the same wave length a relationship is formed that can both parties can act on, working together like this means the experience of narrative; which results from the voting process is more tangible, meaningful and valuable.
The value of a brand is increasingly in its ability to collaboratively filter the world for its target audience so they are completely engaged with the values the brand holds, Cowell recognised this early and has utilised it to devastating effect.