The Extraordinary Experience*

How to keep your store empty

Are clients bothering you? Can't be asked pitching your offering? Ask James Perse how to keep them away!

·         Take one of the busiest retail location in America: The forum shops at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas.

·         Cover your window front with black panels, just to make sure that no one can see inside your store.

·         Announce a ‘Private sale’, an event that would make sense in New York or LA, but hardly does in Sin City, where most shoppers are tourists.

·         Inside: keep it simple and display some white, gray or black cotton shirts at $80+.

I passed by the store 3 times over the weekend and I have never seen anyone in the store. In fact, Harry Winston, who sells 5 figures diamonds next door was a lot busier.

Bottom line: Use marketing gimmicks such as private events or simulated shortage cautiously!

The brands we hate

In line with my previous post on demarketing, Mike Lee, a marketing lecturer from the University of Auckland is making a significant contribution to loyalty research with his thesis on ‘The Brands We Love to Hate’. Lee recently told Research magazine:
“I believe it is more important to not be hated than it is to be loved” says Lee. “Just think of a restaurant you really love and one that you really hate. What are the chances of you always going to the one you love? Now what are the chances of you always avoiding the one you hate? There needs to be more attention paid to the areas where the brand may not be doing so well. By having an idea of why some people may be avoiding your brand,you can pre-empt any large-scale problems.” Chief Experience Officers obsessed with client satisfaction, it is time to think about those who hate your brand (and will share it with a dozen of friends)!

Fire your clients: the concept of demarketing

You too can get rid of clients who are wasting your time and your ressources! Demarket to your unprofitable clients. That is, discourage them to buy from you! Here is how: 

http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/view_article.asp?intArticle_ID=625

5W: A controversial PR firm

5W is a young, fast growing PR firm headquartered in New York. A recent article in Business Week suggested that its CEO was egocentric. Well, I have not met him personally but am quite impressed with their eclectic roaster, which includes hip-hop artists, restaurants and Tech firms to name but a few. Looking at their website, there is a clear emphasis on the word 'aggressive' (strategy, approach, culture...). While aggressivity seems to be rewarding for the time being, I am curious to see how well the firm will do in the long run. Watch this space.

The article from Business week is at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_46/b4058064.htm?chan=search

The agency's website: http://www.5wpr.com

Do you know what an ‘expression pole’ is?

It is basically a dancing pole, just like the ones you see in gentlemen’s clubs. This tequila bar in Miami certainly wants its clients to feel good about dancing half naked on a podium; it is all about 'expression'.

250 People in front of the Apple store in Chicago last week

No less than 250 people were waiting in front of the Apple store last week in order to be the first ones to enjoy the new I phone. According to a friend of mine (who has been brave enough to count how many people were waiting), the first one arrived at 3pm the previous day! Spot number 15, which was up for sale for a few $100’s, is now an empty bit of sidewalk…

Peacock Nine - a market research firm with a different approach

Should you read this blog on a regular basis, you know how much I value innovative, 'thinking' firms (see: Winsper, Fahrenheit 212, River West brands). I met Peacock Nine at an AMA (American Marketing Association) lunch event last week. Peacock Nine stays away from the traditional qualitative and quantitative models and shake things up. For Peacock Nine: Traditional market research is needlessly slow, wasteful and expensive. The surest route to fresh perspectives from market research is via fresh methods.

Examples of methods include cognitive collage (which allows participants to describe brands using photographs and drawings), online discussion forums and ethnographies. Peacock Nine has offices in Chicago and Shanghai. They also host a blog, http://www.peacocknine.com/blog/.

Life's short get a divorce – the banner has been taken down!

In an interview to ABC News' Law & Justice Unit, Corri Fetman, who came up with the idea declared: "Law firm advertising is boring&Everything's always the same. It's lawyers in libraries with a suit on and the law books behind them. They don't say anything. What, I should hire you because you have a law degree? C'mon. So we wanted to try something different."

Apparently, the firm received more than 1000 phone calls and email messages about the ad! The bad news is that the ad had to be removed as the ad firm did not get any permit from Chicago City hall. The good news is that the law firm has other raunchy ideas…Watch this space.

Life's short. Get a divorce

Here is a banner that overlooks the 'Rush triangle', at the intersection of Rush St and State St in Chicago. Also nicknamed the 'Viagra triangle', successful professionals like to valet park their sports cars and eat lunch at local restaurants...

The 6 P’s of Luxury Marketing

Here is the latest white paper I wrote with Jeff Winsper. Winsper is a “thinking” firm headquartered in Boston, MA. The company focuses its efforts around three primary audiences: affluent consumers, general consumers and c-level business leaders.

Relying on years of experience in effectively marketing to the affluent, Winsper rejects the traditional one-di­mensional approach and demonstrates that considering other variables will enable firms to win new clients. Winsper believes that there is a fundamental difference between communication and connection and that to be successful, brands must effectively do both. Moving beyond simple composites of the affluent based on typical demographic data representing the “what” and “where” of affluence or media usage and consump­tion, Winsper’s approach allows marketers to align their brands with the who, why, when and how of this highly desirable, profitable and important audience.

Introducing the 6Ps of luxury marketing, a comprehensive system that embraces all the touch points be­tween luxuries and consumers. The 6Ps lays out an approach that will enable luxury marketers to better understand their customers – and build longer-lasting, more profitable relationships with them.

You can download this white paper at http://www.winsperinc.com

The AK 47 is an excellent weapon of mass communication

I was watching the history channel this evening and the presenter was telling the audience how reliable and robust the AK 47 was L.

It reminded me of the excellent commercial created by Amnesty International and broadcasted in the UK to promote an International arm trade treaty.

Here is the creative and shocking spoof shopping channel ad offering AK-47 machine guns for sale:

7 Eleven’s new ‘Energy coffee’

I don’t mean to write only about coffee, but one must admit that it is a fascinating market. 7 Eleven is launching a new ‘Energy coffee’ that contains an herbal boost of ginseng, guarana and yerba mate. The precious beverage is meant to attract Red Bull and Starbucks consumers. In contrast with its competitors, 7 Eleven’s new coffee is functional, which means it serves a purpose beyond the experience. Driver, 7-Eleven coffee-category manager told Adage: "We saw so many customers were looking for energy beverages and wondered: could we possibly look for an energy product in a coffee product?".

For Tim Stock, managing director of ScenarioDNA, 7 eleven is in line with a trend he calls "ironic consumption". Indeed, both baby boomers and Gen Y pursue healthful beverages but in different ways. "Gen Y buys potion beverages while their boomer parents down drinkable yogurts to build their immunity" says Stock. "What's going to be critical for 7-Eleven is keeping up with the ingredients. The consumers that respond to the Fusion program will be packing a lot into that moment of imbibe. They'll be seeing their coffee as a source of nutrition and looking for it to do more and more as new functional-foods concepts get introduced."

While many brands endeavor to build an experience around utilitarian products, it is interesting to see a product experiential in nature aiming at becoming utilitarian. 7 Eleven’s new product launch is definitely something worth monitoring.

see also: http://adage.com/article?article_id=115877

The experience is in the pillow

Even after spending almost 6 years in the UK, I am still impressed by how much the Brits can drink. More importantly, partying too hard seems socially accepted and even something to be proud of. Tripping on a sidewalk or being ousted out of a club by bouncers after throwing up on the dance floor make a good story to tell at the water cooler the following morning (showing up at 9.40am is ok if you look hungover enough to justify your lateness). Clearly, there is a big market for ’morning after’ products in the UK, where pharmacies all have a significant detox section. The London-based brand Wild Earth is trying to tap into this market, introducing its new pillow named…Hangover. This silk pillow is stuffed with plant extracts such as fennel, juniper and mustard seeds that are meant to help cure drowsiness, lack of energy, stress and tension. Here is why I think they got it right:

The legacy: A healing process that involves a mix of medicinal and aromatic plants which has been used in the Himalayas for thousands of years.The touch: This is a silk pillow, for a soft, precious and comfortable feeling.

The smell: well, it is its main feature, obviously.

The social responsibility: Profits go directly to Nepalese communities that harvest the plants.

Wild Earth does not sell pillows; it sells a monadic brand experience that last for 7-10 hours. These people can be proud of putting their customers to sleep.