Paula Abdul leaving American Idol changes the AI product

There are rumors that Paula Abdul may be leaving the hit show American Idol. Now I must say this is not an endorsement of Ms Abdul but she is a key part of the American Idol product. She is goofy, sweet and a shrewd business women. That is right she is a shrewd business women. She knows that the show is hot and that she is key. She is part of the product. Her arguing and flirting with Simon adds a dimension to the show. Every once in a while when she does say something not pleasant, she shocks everyone.

As a marketing professional lets look at the product called American Idol. It is made up of many ingredients and sub components. Paula Abdul is a key part of that product. If she goes, the product will change. Will American Idol survive without her? If its about the singing contest, then yes. But anyone who watches it knows that the singing contest ends when the top 10 or 12 are selected. The weekly audience vote is nothing more than a money making machine. The best singer does not always win. And the "losers" that do not get crowned the American Idol still have received tremendous exposure. The ones that are motivated and have real talent go on to bigger and better things. Look at Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry.

Is Paula contributing to that success? Absolutely not...kind of sort of. Do her silly yet compassionate advisory statements help refocus some of the losers. The three mentioned above would say absolutely YES! So losing Paula Abdul changes the product which may turn off many customers aka viewers.

So if you were giving marketing advice to American Idol, what would you advice?