Agnes Czesak, Lucas Farias, Merdzana Covic, Kevin Lyons, Cameron SiegleMGT 373GundryMarch 19, 2015Team Project

Crea-T.V.-ty

I. The Opportunity

A. Background (what lead to the discovery)

There is a lot of reality TV nowadays with most of it being used solely to unwind and take our minds off of things. This practice may feel rewarding, but it is one hundred percent pointless and intelligence hindering. What if there was a show young professionals could watch that was productive and yet relaxing? A way to allow them to unwind from a hard days work, but inspire creativity and intelligence. That is what Crea-T.V.-ty is all about.Our team came together with similar frustrations. There real is a lack of educational TV. We realized that there was an opportunity to create a better reality TV show that bridged the gap between often boring educational TV and mind numbing reality TV. Since we had a seed of an idea, we had to do something to distill it into a marketable concept. Before we began to brainstorm, we decided to find out what our assumptions were about Reality TV and how we could reverse them into something positive. This is called assumption reversal. We used four steps: assumptions, reversal of these assumptions, select a favorite and its advantages, and what are the opportunity solutions one can derive. The steps are shown below.

The next step leading to the final discovery of our concept was a WIBNI exercise. This includes taking todays situation and turning it into tomorrows solution. We took certain criteria that we learned from the assumption reversal exercise and further distilled them into a better idea of what we were after.The criteria and solutions to the problem of bad TV are as follows: originality, engaging, thought-provoking, educational, entertaining, relatable, realistic, and fun. Once we had these, we started to brainstorm and group ideas and TV shows that had similar criteria. Most shows that lack the above, were not something we enjoyed. We knew this was a good place to start.From here we all sat around our table with a large sheet of paper. We began to shout out big ideas, while following healthy brainstorming guidelines. These guidelines were preset. We would group all of the similar ideas in circles. Being visual helps get to the bigger concepts. Then we would branch out from these ideas into sub ideas. In this stage, there are no wrong ideas, so everything said is encouraged. It is often the craziest ideas that lead to the biggest discoveries. At the end of this, we had a few themes that we knew we had to incorporate into our concept.We knew it had to be relatable to an age group target, but open to appeal to many people. We were after people looking for something different in TV, but younger, fresh out of college, with a creative spark. This would give a broad range of viewers. The second large theme was a adaptation of key concepts from successful and educationally entertaining TV shows. A few that we touched on in the brainstorming session were Junkyard Wars, The Apprentice, Shark Tank, and Chopped. Each of these is a creative show that includes a dramatic spin on a task.Junkyard Wars concept is that they have a set amount of time to design and build an object that fulfills the objective provided to them. The Apprentice includes the dramatic aspect to business. Shark Tank is a good place to adapt from because it already includes entrepreneurs and a similar audience that we are looking for. All the teams in Crea-T.V.-Ty will have a certain budget to help start their business as well as a panel of professional entrepreneurs that have already been successful to seek advice from. From the Shark Tank panel, we decided that each team could be led by its own already successful entrepreneur.Finally, we have Chopped. Chopped gave us the idea to give everyone the initial starting ingredients and a pantry of which everyone has access to. This relates to our show by giving everyone a uniform goal and a uniform scenario. It leaves room for creativity and methodology in how each team and person goes about completing their goals.By the end of all of this we had settled on parameters for designing a show that focuses on entrepreneurial business building.

B. Problems it Solves

The problem that Crea-T.V.-ty will solve is providing young professionals the opportunity to unwind and relax all while inspiring creativity and inspiration. It has long been known that creativity is hindered as an age group develops because of negative criticism and demand for individuals entering an industry to just fall in line and follow common practices. This show will renew and enhance the creative potential of young adults, and hopefully inspire the people still holding onto their creative edge. Crea-T.V.-ty aims to end the frustration and negative impact of existing reality TV by encouraging the audience to seek a new form of entertainment. We want to fill the gap between education and entertainment.

C. To Whom This Will Be Attractive

Crea-T.V.-ty can be attractive to three main groups. The first group is newly graduated individuals either interested in starting their own business, or students who studied entrepreneurship. While studying entrepreneurship, students are often asked to show off their creativity, but once they graduate they set their creativity aside for repetitive business cycles in the corporate setting. Coming onto this show will allow the contestants to use their creativity and put it to the test.The second group that this innovation can be attractive to is to television networks. One of ABCs most popular show is Shark Tank, which is actually one of the shows that inspired this idea. Choosing a television network that many people tune to would be so beneficial for us. There are many networks that we would like to have which is great because we have many options and dont have to worry if one network will turn us down.The final group were hoping to attract is the audience of course! If we get a large audience, that means our show has been successful. ultimately, were not only hoping to inspire the contestants on the show, but were also hoping to inspire the people that watch our show.

D. Description

This innovation is hopefully one that will inspire other innovations to come underway. We are hoping to inspire ideas by challenging peoples creativity. We are innovating reality tv. What do most people think of when they think of reality tv? Without a doubt one of the first things people would think of is Jersey Shore or another tv show that really has no purpose. That is what is the problem of reality tv shows nowadays. Reality tv really is used for mere entertainment, and has no educational purposes. We wanted to fill that gap. Create something that can not only entertain our audiences, but also educate and hopefully inspire people to be mindful and creative. So we thought why not make a reality tv show, but one that not only can continue to entertain tv watchers, but can also educate them in the process.This show is going to be called Crea-T.V.-ty. It focuses on entertainment creativity teamwork. There will be four randomly assigned teams of four. Each team will have a mentor to lead them and aid them through the various challenges they will encounter. Instead of having eliminations, each person will stay from beginning to end in order to get the full experience of running a business. In the end there will be a $400,000 price (each person will get $100,000) and it will be funding for their own personal business.The premiere episode will show a period of two weeks, and in that two weeks the contestants will be meeting each other, since they are randomly going to be assigned. In that two weeks, the already formed teams will each be choosing their business. Every episode after that will be a period of 1 week. And every week the teams will have to face a challenge that everyone typically faces when starting their own businesses. Such challenges will include creating a business plan, gathering resources, finding a location for their businesses, starting to create the products or services, marketing and advertising, and finally, for the last few weeks, running their actual business.Every team will have to work with the same parameters. They will have the same target market, same amount of funding, same amount of time for each challenge, same resources, such as a panel of judges to ask for help, and each team will either have to build a product or a service. Because each team will start off with the same funding, the winning team will be determined by a company evaluation. Whichever team will increase their net worth the most, and whichever team did the best in each challenge will be the winning team.

II. The Industry AnalysisA. Industry it Applies To

Over the course of the last decade reality television has become more popular and has helped evolve television networks. It has become a part of the American culture and many people have become immune to its unpredictability and absurdity. Americans watch it so frequently that often time we forget to question its legitimacy. It has become the center of the American television and is now a part of our every day life. Reality television is completely unscripted in its nature and doesnt require actors but instead focuses on spontaneous and real life footage. The show itself is often run by a set of producers, a camera crew, and editors. This makes it very affordable because participants are paid next to nothing.Many people find a fascination when they are viewing their reality television show of choice. This is because individuals naturally compare and contrast what they would do in that certain given situation. What makes reality television different from any other kind of shows on the market is that individuals imagine themselves as the participants in the show.Many reality shows consist of participants being placed in exotic locations and being challenged by the elements around them. Other shows like The Bachelor showcase individuals engaging in common activities like dating. However, whether the reality show is on a creative or common basis, viewers are able to compare and contrast their own lives with those of the show. This creates a personal and intimate experience with watching the shows. It is assumed that viewers who engage in tuning into reality television are not gaining any type of value however it has been examined that watching reality television causes viewers to mentally challenge their own behavior against the shows participants. Viewers also enjoy watching shows that create a fantasy. For example, many watchers prefer to watch a show that is beyond a life that is their own. This creates entertainment and an engagement with the characters. A character engagement or interaction is created as a result of watching a show. As the series continues, viewers begin having favorite characters once viewers get to know them. Sometimes viewers even have characters that they enjoy rooting against hence making the show more interesting.

B. Competitive Analysis

The direct competitors of Crea-T.V.-ty include other reality television shows that incorporate entrepreneurial aspects such as Shark Tank, The Profit, The Apprentice and Bar Rescue.Shark Tank is a show in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of shark investors. These shark investors then evaluate the idea and the potential for the business and then decide whether or not they want to invest in return for a stake in the company. Shark Tank is by far our biggest competitor since it currently attracts the highest audience (Last live + same day audience = 8.5 million viewers). One big advantage Shark Tank has is the sharks. The investors include Mark Cuban, Kevin OLeary, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec and some others who make occasional appearances, but the reason why this is such an advantage is because all of these investors are self-made millionaires or billionaires. These sharks give Shark Tank an extreme amount of credibility due to the fact that a lot of them are already well-respected and widely-known in the business world. Another advantage that Shark Tank has is that they air on ABC, which is one of most widely viewed networks since it is on basic cable (reaches 97% of households). The only disadvantages that Shark Tank has is that they air at 8pm on Fridays, which is a bad time since a lot of people are out on Friday nights, and that their popularity will can cause extreme amounts of exposure that some may not be ready for.The Profit is another competitor in the entrepreneurial reality television market. The Profit is a show about struggling business that seek advice and capital investments from Marcus Lemonis. Marcus, Chairman and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises, is widely known for turning around companies. In 10 years before the show started, Marcus turned around over 100 companies, which is a huge plus for the show. One big disadvantage for The Profit though is the fact that they air on CNBC during primetime. CNBC is known for daytime when the market is open and not for prime time television.The next competitor is The Celebrity Apprentice, which is a show about celebrities being put into teams and competing for a chance to win $250,000 for their choice of charity. Some big advantages that they have are that Donald Trump created the show, they air on NBC at prime time and they have brand recognition. The one big problem with the show is that it has had a huge dip in numbers since the airing of the first apprentice episode.The last direct competitor we see is Bar Rescue. This is a show about struggling bar and club owners who seek advice from the well respected bar consultant, Jon Taffer. Jon, Owner and chairman of Taffer Dynamics, is known for his expertise in the food and beverage industry as he has started, flipped, and owned over 800 companies. While Bar Rescue does air on spike, which is not necessarily known for quality programming, they do air on Sundays at 8pm.One big trend that we saw in our competitors is that they have credible hosts, judges or experts. Being able to have credibility right off the bat could be huge for the success of our show, so finding someone who is likeable and experienced is something that may be a necessity. Other trends that we saw include basic lessons in business, investments or cash rewards, and drama and suspense. Crea-T.V.-ty is going to be able to provide everything that each of these shows provides, but we want to be able provide much more of an educational aspect.

C. Impacts on the Idea

Two huge aspects that can positively affect the success of our show is the fact that both entrepreneurship and reality television are on the rise. So, why not combine these two escalating ideas into one great, educational program? We saw those two factors and the opportunity gap of the lack of educational and mind stimulating reality television and decided that this would be a great fit for todays population.

III.The Evaluation

A. Evaluation Method

In order to evaluate how successful the concept of Crea-T.V.-ty would be we needed to apply an evaluation method to it. Some common evaluation methods for ideas and concepts include ALUO, PMI, an Idea Grid. For our concept of Creat-T.V.-ty, we used an ALUO evaluation method to test the feasibility because it was more indepth than the others and would be more beneficial. For those that dont know, ALUO stands for advantages, limitations, uniqueness, and opportunities. After completing the evaluation we should have a better understanding of how successful the idea of Creat-T.V.ity could become.

B. Advantages

Successful Components: Creat-T.V.-ity has a tremendous amount of advantages when it comes to the competition in the reality tv show genre. To begin, our show is built upon successful t.v. shows that already exists from numerous different genres. Junkyard Wars was targeted to a blue collar audience and focused on creativity and teamwork. The Apprentice, which is widely successful and on their 14th season, demonstrates a challenge structure that we are going to apply into our own show. Shark Tank, yet another highly successful business tv show, centers on financial funding for start-ups. From this show, were incorporating the concept of start-up funding and business evaluation. Finally, Chopped is a show that is successful in the food show genre. Were taking the concept of having set parameters and using it in our show to make it more competitive.Famous Entrepreneurs: Yet another advantage of Creat-T.V.-ity is that there will be a board of famous entrepreneurs that the teams can seek advice from. Entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Mark Cuban, or Donald Trump will add credibility to our show and will provide real life experience of what works and what doesnt work to our young entrepreneurial minded contestants. This aspect of the show will greatly influence the productivity of watching our reality tv show. This will separate us from others in that our board of successful entrepreneurs will be providing information on our show that can be useful to not only the contestants, but also the whole viewing audience.Large Target Market: A benefit of having a show focused on business and creativity is that there is a large target audience that would be drawn to the concept. Entrepreneurship is a growing field of study and there is always a steady flow of bright individuals studying business. This show would take advantage of the size of such a market and inspire them to be creative in their everyday lives.

C. Limitations

Evolving Target Market: Although its a large target market, the core market that were focusing on is still evolving. Entrepreneurship has been around for ages, but is still growing. More importantly, the link between creativity and entrepreneurship is becoming more relevant as times go on. Large universities with award winning entrepreneurship programs like DePaul University in Chicago, IL have already adopted the idea of business creativity and have worked it into their coursework. Recent graduates from programs such as theirs will be looking for inspiration when it comes to their own entrepreneurial escapades. Low Initial Budget: Just like all tv shows that make their way to primetime t.v. there is only a set amount of money that can be spent on the show per season. Of course, t.v. shows make money off of having an audience and thus if a show is successful they will have more money in their budget for following seasons. The extra money in the budget after a couple of successful seasons could be used to bring on larger entrepreneurs or more intricate challenges.

D. Uniqueness

First Of Its Kind: As stated earlier, Crea-T.V.-ity is built off of already successful tv shows, but it is also one of a kind. The unique concept that is underlying this whole show is the creation of a reality tv show that stimulates a positive reaction from the audience. Unlike shows that were created just to allow the audience to unwind, our tv show will allow our audience to be educated while enjoying an entertaining and relaxing reality tv show. Our hopes are that the audience can then take what they learned from an episode and apply it to their own entrepreneurial undertakings.

E. Opportunities

Highly Saturated Market: Although having a lot of competitors can often be negative force on the market, we see it as an opportunity. We believe this because reality tv has become such a norm in primetime television that it is sub par at best. Every major broadcasting channel has some form of reality t.v. whether it be Survivor, The Bachelor, or The Amazing Race just to name a few. We believe that with Crea-T.V.-ity we can easily capture a large share of the marketplace because the major broadcasting channels have fallen into the trap of offering a large amount of reality tv shows at a low quality knowing that any new show will initially get a substantial audience. This is where having something to offer back to the audience, other than just entertainment, will allow our show to excel. We will be able to offer high retention rates of our audience as they continue to return to learn more about entrepreneurship. Broad Range of Broadcasting Channels: Although we have expanded on the idea of our show to give a good visual of what we imagine, our main goal would be to sell the rights of the show to a major broadcasting channel. ABC would be the biggest target for us as they already broadcast the successful business show Shark Tank. On the other side, our show would be a good opportunity for other major broadcasting channels like CBS and NBC to compete with ABC for that overlapping target market.

F. ConclusionTo conclude, we believe that Crea-T.V.-ity will be quite successful in the saturated reality t.v. market. We believe this because it offers more that than the typical relaxation and unwinding aspect of what the general audience has become use to. Our show will provide them with entertainment and education all while influencing them to be creative in all that they do.

Our main goal would be to implement this show by selling off the rights to a major broadcasting channel like ABC, CBS, or NBC. We believe that they would be best suited to produce it because of their large budgets and availability to access already existing ties with successful entrepreneurs. However, if this task proves to be difficult we can always produce it on our own in a smaller setting. Many colleges are implementing entrepreneurship programs and most already have some sort of broadcasting station. Using DePaul University as an example, we would be able to have local students be contestants on the show. The budget of course would be smaller and thus the prizes that they would be competing for would be pretty minimal. However, the lessons learned from some of the top entrepreneurs in Chicago would be extremely beneficial to their own businesses. After having a test season or two of the show we will be able to reapproach the major broadcasting channels with more evidence of how successful our concept for a show will be.