Experiential Branding

Brand Experience

Sarah Taylor 08018184

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Brand Experience See me, hear me, touch me, smell me and taste me There are various types of connections that brands can have with their consumers – some very rational while others can be extremely emotional. All organisations are aiming to achieve a common goal, that is, how best to serve the people who purchase their products and services. These people are the reason why brands are constantly undergoing improvements to help maintain and revive their relationships with customers.

The public can be true advocates of any brand, the power of word of mouth has now moved online, thanks to blogs and social networks. marketing.

This is known as buzz

It is becoming more and more apparent that brands have to build

relationships with their customers not just advertise to them.

http://gianfranconatale.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/loreal-australian-awardshd-2.jpg “Successful brands of the future will be those that connect on a real level – brands that don’t appear to be pushed at us, but discovered and created by the consumer.”

(Jonathan Sands, Chairman, Elmwood. Future of Brands p10)

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The newly recognised forward movement for brands is experiential marketing - the power of persuasion.

Brands are now looking to engage with their customers,

merely throwing information their way and expecting a connection with them is not effective deliverance, thus beginning the filtering out process. How can brands stand out from the masses of commercial clutter that is readily overloading the public today? How can they appeal to their senses?

“I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I experience and I understand” (Conficius, Hotcow.co.uk) Experiential marketing is all about showing a customer why they should love, trust, purchase and recommend your product and brand, creating a memorable, emotional and interactive occasion. This leads to boosts in sales and more importantly brand loyalty. Simply telling a customer that you are the best is no longer acceptable to gain competitive advantage.

“With the average person now seeing hundreds of seller-spun commercial messages per day, people just don’t trust advertising. We turn it off in our minds, if we notice it at all.” (New rules of marketing and PR p7) Traditional advertising methods are in decline and consumers are looking for brands to exceed their expectations, provide memorable experiences to create that unique buzz about them. Brands are feeling the need to go back to basics, build upon relationships with real people, communicate in a more casual, intimate and friendly way.

One outstandingly established brand has not been phased by the depersonalisation and overload of technology today.

It has kept its experientially led focus and

cohesive strategy that is to provide quality, satisfying and engaging experiences for its customers, or, in this brands lingo, its ‘guests’. Brands need to relate to their consumers and Walt Disney recognised this.

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i173.photobucket.com/.../Walt_Disney.jpg Walt Disney, ‘the pioneer of experiential branding and merchandising’ was a mastermind, “think beyond your lifetime, if you want to do something truly great.”

(Walt Disney, evancarmichael.com) Accompanying each experience came the merchandise campaign to follow. Disney do not underestimate the power of persuasion, the pressure one may feel to buy the corresponding product, prolonging the happiness and memory brought by an experience. Such tactics trigger all forms of viral marketing, these selected memories will go home, put in a photo album, written on reviews, shared on blogs and social networking sites and talked about with friends. All of which reflect the happiness that the family have shared, transforming the reality of Disney being just a theme park, into a magical world of clever experiential branding.

http://www.derenthalrealty.com/neighborhoods/Windsor-HillsNeighborhood/disney%20crew.jpg http://www.floridatix.co.uk/images/photos/large/walt-disney-world3.jpg

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Disney aimed to make unforgettable experiences. Developing Walt Disney World into what he claimed to be, the ‘happiest place on earth’ and where ‘dreams really could come true’.

The employees or ‘cast members’ as Disney calls them are

smiley, helpful and are constantly engaging with visitors, whether this is at a park, hotel or restaurant.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050811/biz1.jpg Cast members are sent through a process at the Disney University, educating them to provide excellent customer service. They develop and communicate performance behaviours through a system called a ‘Service Box’ to help the widespread team to deliver the brands Quality Service.

“The Service Box includes a series of training and motivational videotapes, issued to leaders every two months, that explain and explore another aspect of the Service Standards.” (Be Our Guest, p112.)

A training meeting is given to staff, an opportunity to pitch in ideas that are shared across the company, thus creating happy staff, eager to please their customers.

Disney stood by the theory that "You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world but it requires people to make the dream a reality," (Walt Disney) The ‘Disney Institute’ has also been a training ground for “tens of thousands of practitioners in virtually every industry” (Be Our Guest, p11) as part of a professional development program to learn about the “business behind the magic.” Companies all around the world, who aspire to have exceedingly good experiential success,

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desire the corporate thirst for knowledge of Disney’s success factors. These programs “inspire the practitioners to see themselves, their organisation and the world around them in an entirely different light” (Be Our Guest p12)– what an impact!

http://www.markbeeson.com/mark_beeson/images/2008/02/23/disney_training.jpg http://www.nawbopulse.com/.a/6a00e550446a888834011168aa08ee970c-320wi "Our programs are designed to be sure that participants have an opportunity to share with each other and to share with us. We often use those groups for a benchmarking opportunity or a research opportunity to find out what they are thinking about current needs in the industry and what's working and what isn't." (Valerie Oberle, vice president of business development of the Disney Institute, qualitydigest.com) “Imagination is more important than knowledge”, (Albert Einstein) imagination is endless, Disney’s success is evident to this. The passion and creativity behind this multi billion revenue brand is astounding.

Walt Disney set new industry standards,

pushed the boundaries, created new experiences, saturated the market to stay ‘top of mind’. His passion behind his ideas was phenomenal and inspiring to brands all around the world. He constantly looked through the customers eyes, from the child within him, a different perspective. It is said that Disney’s ‘Imagineers’ (the people who design and build the theme parks) actually “have been known to put on kneepads and crawl around the parks to experience them from a child’s perspective.”

(Be Our Guest, p118) By putting themselves in their target audiences’ shoes they achieve the best possible experience for them, whilst also accommodating the accompanying adult.

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“Magic is not a word that is much used in the corporate world”. (Michael Eisner, former chief executive of Walt Disney World) however this is what sets the benchmark for what Walt Disney wanted to create for his guests.

“The magic of a Disney vacation is to me the magic of quality, the magic of innovation, the magic of beauty, the magic of families coming together, the magic of our cast members. All of those things kind of bundle together.” (Michael Eisner, Be Our Guest, p18)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3319/3203487797_d296858fc5.jpg http://www.dizpins.com/archives/images/2006septemberpics/wdw_dreams_storyboo k_092206.jpg Walt Disney harnessed the talent of his cast members, and inspired their hearts with his vision to create unparalleled entertainment experiences. “He understood innately that his long-term success depended on his ability to motivate people, one day and one innovation at a time.” (Be Our Guest, p11) It was this quality that even after his death has sustained his principles, imagination and quality customer service, engaging new visitors to the parks and encourage old ones to come back. He created the framework for customer experience and ensured that his visions were so strongly conveyed that the brand would never deviate from it.

From every aspect Disney are building a priceless relationship and sensory experiences for their customers, the enjoyment, stimulus and feeling you get from the brand is unforgettable.

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Disney aims to appeal to all five senses, sight, smell, sound, touch, taste are all taken into account to provide good Quality Service, whether it be the sound system on the shows and parades or the smells from the popcorn stands and bakeries.

Disney even conducted an experiment to demonstrate ‘colour vocabulary’, “flags of different colours were once set out on a property and guests were asked which ones they remembered seeing. Purple and red were colours they recalled most often.” (Be Our Guest, p123) These two colours are used on the directional signs on the public roads in and around Walt Disney World.

The standard of quality customer relationships within the Disney brand has given it a reputation of “being the benchmark for outstanding business practices”, (In Search of Excellence, p168) the methodology, marketing and customer service behind the magic, values that have achieved groundbreaking level. Disney even researched into how far a person would walk before dropping a piece of litter. Customers could look around the parks and observe that trash cans are placed exactly 27 feet apart from each other from every direction. This maintains a clean, nurturing environment within the parks.

Reflecting on personal experience, what you figure out from the Disney environment from very early on is that, they are not merely selling the fundamentals i.e. the rides, the shows, the food etc. No, they are selling a customer experience, and this is what the new rules of marketing are all about.

http://nextup.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/wdw_magical_express.jpg

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Some may not understand the appeal of Disney to the people beyond infancy and teenage years, however one has to appreciate the interaction, appearance, simplicity and customer standards this place has with its guests.

Families are constantly

wanting to take people, whether it is children, grandchildren, friends or extended family, each need is provided for. The spectacular shows that bring their favourite characters to life, the rides and the culture are appreciated at all levels irrespective of the age of the guest, bringing satisfaction from all angles. This could be that smile on a loved ones face or the anticipation of the new exciting experience since your last visit, which constantly heightens and exceeds expectations.

That long-term

customer base is priceless and is what many brands are desperately trying to achieve.

http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2009/02/suri-cruise-disney-world.jpg Disney focuses on achieving customer satisfaction and amazement, encouraging them to want to return, spend more money, recommend to friends and family thus increasing their client base and ultimately profitability.

Banks on the other hand have been cutting costs and services to their customers as a means to increase their bottom line. They have reduced high street branches, depersonalised their services, employed call centre staff, with little accountability and commitment, disengaging the emotional relationships with their customers.

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The Halifax brand’s slogan is “a little extra help”, however is this ‘little extra’ enough to build a foundation, trust and exceedingly good quality service? Are they engaging with their customers on a personal and interactive level? It seems advances in technology and data has destroyed what should be a personal relationship, after all these people are trusting this brand with their livelihood and even more importantly for some, their children’s livelihood. How about giving ‘a lot of extra help’?

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/getinvolved/corporatepartnerships/partners/halifaxlogo200x1 47_wdi64227.gif The Halifax ultimately should be looking to provide a life long experience with its customer. People acquire different needs from their bank throughout their lives from toddler to pensioner, looking to place trust in their services and a sense of security from their brand, managers and employees. The slogan “a little extra help” immediately triggers heightened expectations, a stand out from the crowd, and these expectations come from existing and potential customers. They should be provided with extra personal services and interaction; after all, the most human way for a brand to engage and build a trusting relationship with a customer is face to face.

Disney is a brand that nurtures the needs of its large customer base, the Halifax can do this too, providing a comfortable environment where customers feel they can have no reservations, where that dreaded small print can be explained to them in a clear way.

To analyse how to make the Halifax a more experiential brand it is important to address their previous efforts as a building block for improvement. As far as Halifax marketing goes, at the forefront of peoples minds is the campaign from “DLKW Creative Directors Malcolm Green and Gary Betts.” (Wikipedia.org) The jingle TV adverts that boast the involvement of Halifax employees singing customised lyrics to

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well known catchy tunes, formerly lead starring the unique face of the campaign, Harry Brown.

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/object2/1554/51/n10381755615_8253.jpg http://www.thisisull.com/music05/singlereviews/chrisplant/img/howardbrown.jpg Adverts like this trigger a talking point, a ‘buzz’. On many occasions posts on sites such as youtube express viewers opinions as to whether the song is appropriate to the brand. This is the new way forward encouraging people to engage with the qualities that the brand shows through innovative and unique ideas. However, the public can be incorporated into an experience rather than viewing by chance.

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Although this campaign proved to be one of the most successful and effective in the UK, Green and Betts departed DLKW and the new campaign recently released is bringing in a less than enthusiastic response. In addition to this the Lloyds TSB group (which the Halifax belongs to) have since lost their place in the ’50 Worlds Safest Banks’ list, leaving the only rivalry UK brand HSBC in the ranking. It is time for Halifax to address a ‘workshop of ideas’, creative ideas, build upon their previously effective approach, or perhaps, create workshops of their own, building up trust and reliability by helping to increase customer knowledge.

An experiential marketing concept that could be put forward to the Halifax brand is one similar to the ‘The Disney Institute’, they could engage and share knowledge with their customers who desire to understand their finances more clearly. There are a variety of customers the Halifax need to aim at, first time buyers looking for a mortgage, new mums setting up a savings account for their baby, new businesses looking for a loan, the list goes on. What a lot of these people will have in common is lack of knowledge, as modern day approaches are not feeding them enough, discarding important and helpful details.

All these customers can be addressed

through an integral cohesive strategy from developed Halifax employees.

“When you train, develop, and retain highly-skilled employees who understand and convey the truths and values of your business, you’ll realize positive economic effects. Always.” (disneyinstitute.com/Topics/People_Management.aspx) With this in mind what better job satisfaction could employees get than demonstrating their knowledge in an interactive environment, helping the customers needs. A variety of workshops could be structured and scheduled upon interest to suit the customer, teaching them and expanding their knowledge base can only reassure them that you are the best bank to trust with their financial assets.

This workshop environment would be set out in relatively intimate groups of around 20 people where customers are invited into a ‘seminar’ and taught the missing details of the subject they wish to learn more about. This caring, teacher/student interaction shows the customers Halifax are willing to help and engage to solve the complexities of finance.

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Sarah Taylor 08018184

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3485958011_1f8f2b8958.jpg http://www.brainselleducation.com/images/products/detail_37_A12755306_7141932 4.jpg Finally the ‘we give you extra’ melody would be beyond merely a gimmick on an advertisement but a quality interactive showing. Feedback sheets, a twitter page, a blogging site could all be ways for customers to express their views and opinions on the new concept and trigger that all important marketing concept – word of mouth.

To launch this idea, a Halifax tour bus could go to all major UK cities and university campuses with music, food, demonstrations accompanying the pitch to the public thus appealing to the senses and creating a buzz for this new up and coming concept.

Photoshop image of the workshop tour bus Such a development could spiral into many other experiential efforts such as a fresh new slogan, a more interactive web page, a fresh and contemporary interior design that affiliates with fresh new architecture of the seminar rooms incorporated in each branch, all of which at present are old fashioned.

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Sarah Taylor 08018184

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“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” (Albert Einstein) Times and conditions are ever changing and brands are required to be constantly focused on the future. Experiential branding is the future, the essence to stand out from the masses, everything speaks, and brands need their voice to be heard.

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References Books Ardill, R. Future of Retail Property: Future of Brands, (British Council of Shopping Centres 2006) Disney Institute, Be Our Guest: Perfecting the art of customer service, (Disney Enterprises Inc 2001).

Peters T. & Waterman R, In Search of Excellence, (Grand Central Publishing; later printing edition (August 15, 1988) Scott, David The New Rules of Marketing and PR, (John Wiley & Sons 12 Jun 2007)

Websites

Carmichael, Evan Lesson 3 – Use Your Imagination [online] [Accessed November 30th 2009] Available from the World Wide Web: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/614/Lesson-3-Use-YourImagination.html Disney.co.uk [online] [Accessed November 20th 2009] Halifax [online] [Accessed November 27th 2009] Available from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_(United_Kingdom_bank) Hotcow.co.uk [online] [Accessed November 20th 2009] Kilner, Richard Lloyds could be forced to sell Halifax brand [online] Accessed December

1st

2009]

Available

from

the

World

Wide

Web:

http://www.bankingtimes.co.uk/16092009-lloyds-could-be-forced-to-sell-halifaxbrand/

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Madison, Scott Service Quality Disney Style [online] [Accessed November 20th 2009] Available from the World Wide Web: http://www.qualitydigest.com/jan97/disney.html The Disney Institute [online] [Accessed November 25th 2009] Available from the World Wide Web: http://www.disneyinstitute.com/Topics/People_Management.aspx

Bibliography Earls, Mark Welcome To The Creative Age: Bananas, Business and the Death of Marketing, (John Wiley; 1st edition (27 Jun 2002) Lindstrom, Martin Brand Senses: How to build powerful brands through touch, taste, smell, sight and sound (Kogan Page Limited 2005) Neumeier, Marty The Brand Gap (New Riders 2006) Wheeler, Alina Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide To Creating, Building and Maintaining Strong Brands (Wiley 2006)

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