Making the ... "Marketing" 4

Genius. That's all I can say... GENIUS. At first when I started watching "Making the Band" it was a little hood for my taste but still interesting - the artists trying to make it, the executives trying to deal with their nonsense and still meet their objectives, yadda, yadda, yadda and the short list goes on. However, when you really look at it from an entrepreneurial perspective, Puff has developed one of the best marketing schemes on television that a number of people are still trying to follow. Sure, it's not American Idol, but he has had 9 number one albums as proof and the ratings are ... obvious to say the least. They have one of the best and most passionate stories on television for a reality series, they have stellar web based traffic with the community site, artists blogs and the whole nine. Even better, Diddy invites you to follow him on twitter, and he keeps finding ways to keep it fresh, whether it's a multi-ethnic band in the pop genre, or he has smartly aligned his business with a presidential election, resulting in the sale of millions of t-shirts. Genius. I've never been a fan of his, but have always had respect for his accomplishments. Sometimes he's been a little over the top to me, ( okay, a lot ) but at this point in the game, (actually a while back ) he has taken his marketing and entrepreneurship to the level of an art form.

Futhermore, as a CEO myself, I can say that I now look forward to his weekly 'pitch meetings' with the viewer. I'm actually watching to learn something. He turns on the charm, delivers a few unapologetic laughs, and then digs in to the meat of what he needs us to do, and how we need to respond. Even better, yet I love it when he checks his employees. Don't get confused because they're artists or the fact that he has on a hoodie with a platinum chain. He let's them have it on national television in a way that's no where near as rehearsed as Heidi Klum's "Auf Wiedersehen" or Donald Trumps predictable weekly exit. He keeps it REAL. Frustrated curse words and all... Whew! How many CEO's would love to get away with knocking their employees in the head on national television. Better yet, to catch them red handed in their foolishness and make a few million off of it. Thank you Mtv.

You can keep up with his geniusness at www.twitter.com/iamdiddy .

I give him a triple landing ( times three ) with no skid marks...