Celebrity Apprentice saved Yellow Brick Road $50 million: Mark Bouris

Yellow Brick Road would have had to embark on a $50 million marketing campaign over an 18-month period to generate the increase in brand recognition the company has achieved following its close association with Channel 9’s Celebrity Apprentice, according to founder and show host Mark Bouris.

The mortgage and wealth advice business featured in all episodes of the 2011 series, which rated among the most successful new shows for the network, drawing in more than 1 million viewers per episode, culminating in 1.6 million tuning in for the finale on November 21.

Few would argue that Bouris, who also hosted the show, failed to extract the maximum possible leverage from its prime time television slot – for the final challenge contestants were tasked with creating a Yellow Brick Road marketing campaign including a 30-second TV commercial, in-store marketing poster, brochure, cardboard cut-out and a corporate launch event.

Contestants were also gushing in their praise of the Yellow Brick Road business and its staff.

Former Miss Australia Jessinta Campbell described every member of Yellow Brick Road as “passionate, dedicated and devoted to providing their customers with the best financial advice possible”.

It wasn’t enough that comedian and series winner called Bouris a “heavenly man” but she also made Australian prime-time viewers aware that the depth of her respect for him “stems from his passion for helping average Australians, like my family, to carve out a stable financial future, no matter what you earn”.

It seems Australian prime-time television audiences lapped it up.

According to Bouris, enquiries about Yellow Brick Road’s home loans and term deposit products are up 200% above normal levels.

“I really don’t think you could build a national brand in such a short period with a relatively small dollar spend,” Bouris told The Australian Financial Review.

Bouris says he spent around $100 million building the Wizard brand and that it took about three years to build up enquiries to the level of interest currently being experienced by Yellow Brick Road.

Channel 9 acquired a 19.99% stake in Yellow Brick Road for $13 million in September. Bouris is the majority shareholder.