The+Reality+TV+Model

With advertising, entertainment has always been integrally tied to the business community. However, as product placements became an invaluable business tool, the line between entertainment and business accelerated. Reality TV, however, removes all remaining lines between entertainment and business. As television viewers, we are entertained by the very process of business, and businesses operate under the guise of entertainment. This phenomenon is natural, in that business satisfies needs and wants, and the focus has always been on wants more than needs. In other words, people spend their money on what gives them pleasure. Nevertheless, this shift is a dramatic one, with significant consequences for how businesses operate.

//The Apprentice// is the most notable example of this phenomenon, being purely about the business of business. However, each industry has its own reality opportunities. The music industry now focuses on programs like //American Idol// as a primary vehicle for not just promotion, but for all aspects of the industry. Talent at all levels is consumed, evaluated by the consumer, and ultimately shaped into viable products. In a way like never before, the public helps to define the products.

While businesses have long used a variety of games to entice consumers, there will be numerous opportunities for businesses to draw consumers into one big reality game that massively integrates the purchase and use of products and services by end users into a single, extended entertainment event.

The reality event does not take place within the confines of a regular television program, but rather day to day, as businesses interact with their customers. You may have a difficult time visualizing this, but be on the lookout for opportunities to participate. Living Widgets itself will offer several such opportunities.

The Reality TV model is complementary with the Car Insurance model, in that the competitors need each other to play the game, which will generate the revenue. The Wedding Planner model is one clean way to implement this. Although independent judges in the event could decide the superior product or service, the Reality TV model is best driven by a third party seeking out and then promoting the superior products and services.

Complementary models: Car Insurance, Wedding Planner

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