SPECIAL REPORT
Before wearable tech was a thing and IoT devices existed, one man had a vision to improve the guest experience; 10 years later he accomplished it. JOHN PADGETT, Chief Experience and Innovation Officer at Carnival Corp., started working on the technology that would ultimately inspire the OceanMedallion while he was employed at another company famous for its ability to give consumers worldclass experiences: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “Magic Kingdom is one of the best experiences in the world, but it’s a commodity experience. Everyone who pays to go there gets the same experience,” Padgett says. “And there was a tremendous amount of complication. Guests needed tickets, fast pass tickets, meal coupons, vouchers, etc.” So, Padgett set out to offer guests a truly personalized experience that would also eliminate some of that friction. That’s when Padgett and a highly focused team created the MagicBand. “When I envisioned the MagicBand, the wearable category didn’t even exist yet and the iPhone 1 was just being released. It ultimately solved half of the original problem — it eliminated friction and simplified the experience, which made it incredibly popular with guests, but it did not achieve the original vision of creating a unique experience for every single guest,” Padgett explains.
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It took 10 years of hard work and dedication before John Padgett, CXO, Carnival Corp., was able to realize his dream of personalizing the vacation experience.
