Who let the Dogs out? The Apprentice Series 7 Episode 5

Right, first things first, I thought it best to get several clichés out of the way now so as not to make this article too predictable. Today I will not be mentioning... ‘made a dogs dinner out of it’, ‘top dog’, ‘cat who got the cream’ ‘nine lives’, ‘dogs b****cks’. Though to be fair I probably won’t need the last one to describe any of the accomplishments in Episode 5.

The ‘Pet Food’ task could prove to be the pivotal episode in this year’s Apprentice as we saw a double firing, bookies favourite Jedi Jim becoming a marked man and the quiet man of the group, Tom manoeuvring himself into the limelight.

The demise of one-time favourite Ellie was as sad as it was frustrating. Ellie had given the impression of being the kind of female powerhouse that grows into the show. Sadly she failed to take on board last week’s bashing from Lord Sugar and remained a silent, un-interested looking participant in a losing team. There wasn’t even any of the superb spark that marked last week’s boardroom appearance. And it was really put into context when in a losing group headed by Dogtanian himself, Vincent, who Lord Sugar was gunning for; she succumbed to the firing first.

Vincent - One for all, and all for One

Surprisingly still was big favourite Jedi Jim being set clearly in Lord Sugars firing line. It was a bad performance from Jim and perhaps we saw some of his real personality for the first time, and his Lordship certainly didn’t approve.

To the task itself, and in a week when it was marketing and not sales that was the key decision, Logic applied none of it to their product under Vincent’s leadership. They failed to find a niche and perhaps misunderstood the essence of the task. This being about creating a good brand and marketing campaign, that was key, the possibility of huge sales wasn’t. That is why Glenn and Venture succeeded where Logic failed (again). And even though Glenn did his best to make a good idea, backed by identifying a niche market, sound and look bad (a poor advert and see their light!!??) the principles were sound, as was the design of the packaging.

A superior ad was never going to be enough to save Logic who had failed to identify key trends in the market. That would never wash with Lord Sugar. This task was a marketing one, focused solely on the process of identifying and addressing a niche within a massive market. I’m sure marketers everywhere cringed when Vincent uttered the words ‘we are targeting everyone with this’. In the age of digital, niche and personalised marketing, these utterings meant Vincent wasn’t going to last.

Vincent did pipe up with the marketing mantra of the ‘4 P’s’ which is always amusing for an experienced marketer to hear, if I was getting marketing geeky at this point I would say that ‘7 P’s’ is generally more accepted these days. But whether it’s 4 or 7, Logic were on a hiding to nothing having embarked (see what I did there) down the wrong path. Perhaps the 6 P’s of the SAS may have been more appropriate (Proper Planning Prevents P**s Poor Performance).

As usual Venture was helped more by the failings of Team Logic than a dynamic project manager of their own. Glenn did himself no favours in leading the team with all the management skills of Frank Spencer and none of the charm. You can’t knock him for sticking to his guns in the face of some ridicule, but the lack of any management skills could not have escaped Karren Brady and her all seeing (cats)eyes.

One thing that has become clearer after the Pet Food task is that Lord Sugar is already looking to who he feels he can trust to work with – not just employ and it is a very different requirement.

Already it looks like Jim, Natasha, Edna and Zoe are all out, Jim’s hammering in his absence the final nail in his coffin. All of which leaves Melody, Leon, Susan, Tom, Glenn and the elusive Helen. So who will come out as leader of the pack, the top dog, the cat that got the cream...oh b......


Star of the Week: Tom Pellereau got it spot on with his concerns, and for the 2nd week running he got to the nub of the issue quickly and with no fuss.

Got Lucky: Jedi Jim Eastwood and Glenn Ward. Jim is in the firing line and Glenn was fortunate to be on the winning team after his leadership style.

Heading for a Fall: Natasha Scribbens, another boardroom appearance probably saved only by the presence of the other two.  Will she realise that, or begin to believe her own hype?

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