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| Sweden is Euphoric with their Winning Entry |
When the BBC announced earlier this year that the UK's entry would be sung by Engelbert Humperdinck I was genuinely upset. As a long time Eurovision fan, I have been watching the show since the age of 5. The winning act that year was Bucks Fizz with Making your Mind Up. And it certainly made my mind up. Eurovision was a programme all about singing, dancing, and music. What's not to like?
But, at its heart, it's a contest.
And like any contest, there are judges. In this case, those judges are the great European public. A fact that seems to have escaped the powers that be in the British Eurovision Entry Management Team for the past 10 years or so.
We like to blame it on the politics. Heck, this year we're even blaming it on the placing in the show. But the fact of the matter is that our entries are so out of touch with the target audience, that we're never going to win.
Eurovision is a musical mass marketing contest as much as anything. And, just as in business, making sure your product meets the needs of the market is of critical importance.
That was why, as a former short term resident of Italy, when I heard Sweden's song performed at the semi-final on Thursday night, I immediately said to my husband "I bet that's a massive club hit right across Europe, that's bang on target market. There's your winner." - turns out I was right. Should have put a bet on.
So what business lessons can we take from the UK's miserable performance? Quite a few I think.
Firstly, know your market. The UK's arrogant, supercilious approach to Eurovision is what has left it out in the cold. The UK is failing to engage, and failing to understand who the voters are. Eurovision is Europe's X Factor. That means its voters are likely to be (largely) in the younger age brackets. Selling them an aged, albeit international superstar, as a cutting edge performer and they are bound to smell a rat. Treat them like musically inferior imbeciles and they'll punish you with votes or lack thereof. Which brings me nicely on to point number two.
Respect your market. The UK's sneering, jeering and childish assumption that it is musically superior to the other entries and, indeed, to the 300 million Europeans listening to them, is why it keeps languishing at the bottom of the results table time after time. If you want to be supremely successful in business sometimes the mass market is more effective than the niche market. Niche only works if you can charge more.
And finally, serve your market. Give them what they want. Europe likes dance. They like rock and metal. They like traditional ballads. Highly synthesised pop tunes may have worked for Bucks Fizz in the 1980s but the world has moved on. Give them something they can dance to. Something they can sing to. Give them something uplifting - half of Europe is practically bankrupt, it's no surprise that the winning song is entitled Euphoria.
So the next time you're tempted to blame the politics, the economy, your positioning in the market, take a long good look at your business and ask yourself: Do I really know my market?
