#372 - Heroes n Apprentice

ENGLISH

Heroes

Last Wednesday, Star World aired the last episode of Heroes. I like the TV Programme Heroes. It was probably one of the best TV-Series this year. I like the whole package of it and it was entertaining even though on some points it was a bit thrilling, especially when it came to the villain, Sylar.

However, the last episode which was supposed to be the most-waited episode was a bit disappointing I think. It was so easy to guess that it was Candice who used her power to form as Niki's alter-ego, Jessica. Then, it also appeared way too easy how Hiro stabbed Sylar. The "final battle" wasn't as exciting as I expected.

Overall, I still like the show, he3... :)

The Apprentice

Last week, Star World also aired the eight episode of The Apprentice 5. The task was to promote a new pizza-sandwich product of Seven-Eleven. Team who increased the sales with the highest percentage won. Synergy, led by Andrea sold the product $4 each and $6 for two, while Gold Rush, led by Leslie sold the product $7.99 each and $8.99 for two.

I can't analyze the task with Indonesia's perspective since the condition between the 2 countries was so different causing the very versatile variables came in. But I think, at the beginning, actually Gold Rush got a brighter concept by giving coolers as a promotional give-away while Synergy only used caps. However, Andrea's strategy by giving away flyers to many people on their way home on the night before the selling-day was great since the tendency of people to stop by (their chance to promote the product) after-work is bigger than before-work. Basically Synergy started the promotion one day earlier than Gold Rush. No comment about the price because I don't live in The USA, and I just can nod my head when they said Gold Rush's price was way too high. I think Leslie sticking with her price was still understandable since she probably considered the menu cost was too high. Lee's idea of selling 1,000 pieces was also brilliant but it didn't work because of pricing. And also, the trivia questions idea was also not so great. I dunno who came up with the idea (Tarek or Leslie) but it was useless and time-wasting.

The result: Synergy increased 997% on sales while Gold Rush "only" increased 608%. So unfortunate we don't know the actual revenues so we can't figure out whether Lee's deal would have made a difference or not if it had worked. Leslie then got fired because of the overpriced product.

Who do I think should have been fired?? Well, in this case, I think it was Leslie. She was the PM, and if we believe that price was the reason Gold Rush lost, then it's Leslie's Responsibility because of 2 things: first, she was the PM, and second she came up with the price.

Btw, Gold Rush's 7-11 store seemed to have more traffic than Synergy's. It seemingly appeared as an advantage. Similar on one episode of The Apprentice Indonesia where all teams had to promote pizza, it also appeared that one place was better than the other one. Well, eventually on both cases, the-seemingly-advantageous backfired. The team lost. Why?? Because it was the percentage which mattered not the ammount of increasement. Gold Rush increased 608%, in real numbers it could be bigger than Synergy's 997%. Hmmm, both sides have their own pros and cons though, but what's important is to focus on the task and determine which way really is the best way, not being trapped in a seemingly-best-but-actually-not best way.

::: Heroes' Characters minus Sylar

::: Sylar killing Eden

::: "Leslie, You Are Fired!"

BAHASA INDONESIA

Heroes

Rabu kemarin, Star World nayangin episode terakhir dari Heroes. Aku suka acara TV Heroes ini. Mungkin malah salah satu acara TV terbaik tahun ini loh. Aku suka penyajian acaranya secara keseluruhan dan menghibur juga tuh walau pada beberapa poin agak serem juga, terutama waktu berhubungan sama orang jahatnya, Sylar.

Bagaimanapun juga, episode terakhir yang seharusnya menjadi episode paling ditunggu malah agak mengecewakan nih menurutku. Gampang banget nebak kalo itu adalah Candice yang menggunakan kekuatannya untuk nyamar menjadi alter-ego dari Niki, Jessica. Trus, juga koq kayake gampang banget yah untuk Hiro nusuk Sylar. "Pertarungan terakhir"nya ternyata nggak seseru bayanganku deh.

Secara keseluruhan, aku masih suka acaranya, he3... :)

The Apprentice

Minggu lalu, Star World juga nayangin episode kedelapan dari The Apprentice 5. Tugasnya adalah untuk mempromosikan pizza-sandwich baru buatan Seven-Eleven. Tim yang meningkatkan penjualan dengan persentase tertinggi menang. Synergy, dimpimpin oleh Andrea menjual produk dengan harga $4 per-piece dan $6 untuk dua, sementara Gold Rush, dipimpin Leslie menjual produk seharga $7.99 per-piece dan $8.99 untuk dua.

Aku nggak bisa menganalisa tugas dengan perspektif Indonesia soale kan kondisinya beda banget tuh antara 2 negara yang menyebabkan variabel yang masuk bermacam-macam sekali. tapi aku rasa, sebenernya Gold Rush punya konsep yang lebih baik loh dengan ngasi pendingin sebagai hadiah promosi sementara Synergy cuma ngasih topi. Namun, strateginya Andrea dengan ngasi selebaran ke orang-orang di malam sebelum hari penjualan juga cerdik soale kan kecenderungan orang untuk berhenti (dan ini kesempatan mereka untuk promosi) dalam perjalanan pulang kan lebih besar daripada sebelum kerja. Secara mendasar, Synergy mulai promosinya sehari lebih awal daripada Gold Rush. Nggak ada komentar masalah harga soale aku ga tinggal di Amerika, dan aku ya cuma bisa menganggukkan kepala waktu mereka bilang harganya Gold Rush terlalu mahal. Aku rasa Leslie tetap berkutat dengan harganya juga rada bisa dimengerti koq soale mungkin dia memiliki pertimbangan kalo menu cost-nya terlalu tinggi.Idenya Lee untuk menjual 1000 biji juga brilian, sayang gagal karena harga. Dan juga, pertanyaan2 trivia-nya juga ide yang kurang bagus deh. Gatau sapa yang muncul dengan ide tsb (Tarek atau Leslie) tapi ga idenya ga berguna dan membuang waktu.

Hasilnya: Synergy menikkan penjualan sebanyak 997% sementara Gold Rush "cuma" menaikkan 608%. Sayang kita gatau jumlah sebenernya jadi gabisa tahu kalo transaksinya Lee andai berhasil bakalan mengubah hasil ato enggak. Leslie trus dipecat karena menghargai produk terlalu tinggi.

Siapa yang menurutku yg seharusnya dipecat?? Hmm, dalam kasus ini aku rasa sih ya Leslie. Dia adalah PM-nya dan kalo kita percaya bahwa harga yang menyebabkan kekalahan Gold Rush, ya memang menjadi tanggung-jawabnya Leslie kan, karena dua hal: Pertama, dia adalah PM-nya, dan kedua dia yang dapet ide harganya.

Btw, toko 7-11-nya Gold Rush juga kayake traffic-nya lebih rame dari tokonya Synergy loh. Pertamanya hal ini keliatan seakan-akan seperti keuntungan. Mirip sama di salah satu episode The Apprentice Indonesia dimana tim harus mempromosikan pizza, juga muncul kasus satu tempat keliatan lebih menguntungkan daripada yang lain. Hmm, akhirnya di kedua kasus, yang-keliatan-menguntungkan jadi bumerang. Mereka kalah. Kenapa?? Karena persentase yang penting, bukan jumlah peningkatan. Gold Rush naikin 608%, dalam bilangan mungkin bisa jadi lebih besar daripada 997%-nya Synergy loh. Hmmm, keduanya tetep punya kelebihan dan kekurangan masing2 sih, tapi yang penting adalah fokus pada tugas dan menentukan mana yang bener-bener jalan terbaik, bukan terjebak dalam yang-sepertinya-terbaik-tapi-ternyata-bukan yang terbaik.