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'Planet of the Apps' Star Gary Vaynerchuk Blames Show's Failure on Apple's Poor Marketing

MacRumors said:



Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, who starred in Apple's first original TV show "Planet of the Apps" as a mentor and investor, recently shared some insight into why he thinks the show ultimately failed, blaming Apple's marketing efforts.

Vaynerchuk made the comments in a recent episode of AskGaryVee, where he spoke with The Grill Dads from Food Network (via Business Insider). In the video, Vaynerchuk says that Apple did "everything" wrong when marketing "Planet of the Apps," and that he sat through Apple marketing meetings metaphorically "bleeding profusely from his mouth" from biting his cheeks to keep quiet on Apple's decisions.

Vaynerchuk's "Planet of the Apps" comments begin right around 27 minutes into the video.​
Vaynerchuk didn't go into specific detail on what he thought Apple did wrong, but he did say that he felt Jimmy Iovine was not involved enough in the marketing of the show. Apple limited "Planet of the Apps" to its Apple Music subscribers as a perk, which undoubtedly had an impact on its popularity, but given the response to the show, it's doubtful more expansive marketing would have improved the ultimate outcome.

"Planet of the Apps" launched in the summer of 2017 and received rather mixed reviews. Engadget, for example, called it Planet of the Naps and said it was lousy TV, The Guardian said it "won't be a fun watch for anyone except maybe venture capitalists," and Variety said it was a "bland, tepid, barely competent knock-off of 'Shark Tank.'"

The unscripted series was meant to be about apps and the developers who make them. It featured several app developers who pitched different app ideas for a chance to be mentored by influencers and entrepreneurs that included Vaynerchuk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Will.i.am, and Jessica Alba.

Mentors helped their chosen candidates build out their apps and prepared them to ask for funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners.


"Planet of the Apps" wasn't universally hated and some viewers did enjoy it as it earned 3.5 stars on iTunes, but unlike Apple's second original TV show, "Carpool Karaoke: The Series," "Planet of the Apps" did not get renewed for a second season and Apple has not continued on with the series.

Article Link: 'Planet of the Apps' Star Gary Vaynerchuk Blames Show's Failure on Apple's Poor Marketing
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I couldn't even watch the trailer. What is he bleating on about?

Besides, there's a legion of Fandroids out there who's mantra is "Apple's not a tech company, it's a marketing company".
;)
 
Shows like this are exactly why I stopped watching TV post-reality-TV. Repulsive, preening people, no drama. Kardashians, Trumps and ***** from end to end. Give me Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu, HBO-- anything where I don't have to watch broadcast channels, and especially not cable channels. It's brought down American IQ by 40 points.
 
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SoyCapitanSoyCapitan said:
Celebs lend their names for a percentage of profit. The real people who run businesses like these are the silent partners and suppliers. Take Arnold for example. Finally came out with his own 'supplements' a few years ago. He had lent his name to MusclePharm and when they got sued for fraud Arnold quickly pulled his name from their products. But Gwyneth is too dumb to pull her name from quack therapies and bogus products. She is also too vacuous to notice the same suppliers also supply Alex Jones with some of his scam products. She's inadvertently funding cult wackos and rightwing extremists somewhere in the supply chain while claiming to support 'Me Too', human rights and so on.
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Alba doesn't really have a name though, which is what makes this surprising. I doubt many people even know she is behind the Honest company.
 
Wait it already aired? I just remember there being lots of talk of them making it, I had no idea it was released...

The concept didn’t grab me, but boy howdy did they miss out on any kind of push to get people to see it!
 
I’m sure they realized the show was awful. Why market it if the concept is pathetic and the talent is untalented? Not every show will be good. There’s a lot of crap tv out there, and Apple will have its share of duds.
 
Yeah, their marketing must be terrible, I didn't even realize any episodes had actually released - although I had heard it "was coming soon" quite a while ago.
 
Apple is just not good in this space. Original content is not their skill.
 
SoyCapitanSoyCapitan said:
Bingo. He just yammers on with motivation bullsh1t speeches because he knows people 'Share' and 'Like' that crap without really paying attention to all the empty phrases and word salad.
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Your quick take on him is your own preference, but just because you're not familiar with what he does, his backstory and his successes (Like apparently MANY people in the comments here), doesn't mean he's a loser.

Most of you are also confusing marketing with advertising. Advertising is just one small aspect of promotion which is one small aspect of marketing. Marketing is also the actual development of the product, along with many other aspects.

Gary can be thee most critical person of himself and never one to pass the buck. Considering how Apple and Jimmy Iovine so badly effed up the first iteration of Apple Music, I'm not surprised at all this was handled badly. The concept actually sounds good. I bet if Gary took the same concept and did his own take on it, it would be way better.

But for $*# sake, dumping on Gary as being a loser is just plain ignorant. Mulitple best selling books, a 100+ Million agency with top clients, a line of shoes that stores can't keep in stock and endless other successes... as well as being a damn nice guy.
 
fuchsdh said:
Guy who sells marketing services blames failure of something on failure to use his marketing services. news at 11.
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Typical argument when you attack the messenger. Grow up. Maybe he's right because, shocker, he's a professional that has a company in that industry. But you're right, Apple is perfect and can do no wrong. Hey, where can I get you a refill on your drink? kool-aid you say?
 
SoyCapitanSoyCapitan said:
The show failed because:

Gary Vaynerchuk is annoying. Nobody can figure out what he does or why he thinks he is the man. Whenever his videos come up on social media I just hit the 'Report' button and choose the 'Spam' or 'Scam' option.

Gwyneth Paltrow is privileged out-of-touch rich chick who used her fame to build a brand that defrauds women and encourages women to be stupid by selling complete quackery like Jade Eggs to strengthen their vaginas.

Same as above with Jessica Alba. So far this casting is a disaster and would offend most real entrepreneurs who had no fame and worked to the bone from poverty.

Then we add Will.I.Am to the mix. Overexposed, overrated, overpaid, and has an annoying name.

The only way this show could have been a bigger failure would be to add Ashton Kutcher to the mix.
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If you see him ever, or even in his twitter account, just call him willi as he looks like the sort of guy that would hate it haha!
 
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jmh600cbr said:
blame everyone except yourself
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Very much this. Biting his cheek and tongue through the meeting? What a waste of space he was then. If he was invited to the meeting, he should of been speaking up, that is kind of the point of having a meeting to discuss plans... not throwing shade later. What a putz.
 
strik said:
Your quick take on him is your own preference, but just because you're not familiar with what he does, his backstory and his successes (Like apparently MANY people in the comments here), doesn't mean he's a loser.

Most of you are also confusing marketing with advertising. Advertising is just one small aspect of promotion which is one small aspect of marketing. Marketing is also the actual development of the product, along with many other aspects.

Gary can be thee most critical person of himself and never one to pass the buck. Considering how Apple and Jimmy Iovine so badly effed up the first iteration of Apple Music, I'm not surprised at all this was handled badly. The concept actually sounds good. I bet if Gary took the same concept and did his own take on it, it would be way better.

But for $*# sake, dumping on Gary as being a loser is just plain ignorant. Mulitple best selling books, a 100+ Million agency with top clients, a line of shoes that stores can't keep in stock and endless other successes... as well as being a damn nice guy.
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Hate to state the obvious but I didn't call him a loser. I called him annoying just like I would call all the other marketeers and motivation gurus who sell bullsh1t self-help and success books. It's preachy sound-good nonsense that statistically doesn't help the people who it is supposed to help. The figures are in. Most people who read success and motivation books aren't helped. They just lose $20.
 
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These people were worth listening to regarding apps why?

Terrible from start to finish.

Ill-conceived concept, poorly executed.

I may be addicted to Apple hardware, but if this is the caliber of content they're going to turn out then Netflix, Hulu, HBO and Amazon have very little to worry about.
 
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It was a bad idea for a show. It bombed.
Another studio would’ve pulled the plug after the first episode. But Apple is still relatively new to this market. They would have been better off partnering with a major studio, and then branch off on their own.
 
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