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By
Philip Rothschild, Ph.D.
I’m not the Dr. Phil, but I am a Dr. Phil.
As such, I recently had the students in my entertainment management program
at Missouri State University complete an assignment called an event
analysis. After reading the popular Harvard Business Review article “The
Experience Economy,” by Pine and Gilmore (1998), students were to attend a
ticketed event and analyze the event and venue for its ability to create an
experience for the ticket holder.
In the same week, I had my friend David Miller of Cannon Design Inc. speak
to my venue management students about “What Makes Arenas Great.” This was
particularly timely, as our university is currently in the design phase of
building a new $60 million arena. As David conveyed the design elements that
help create a home-court advantage, I was pleased to see the relevance of
the Pine and Gilmore article hasn’t waned since its first publication in
1998. Chief among David Miller’s list of elements was “theming the arena to
create a sense of place.”
The goal of this article is to highlight the five key experience-design
principles discussed by Pine and Gilmore, and to stimulate your curiosity —
in hopes you might want to take a look at this well-regarded article, found
in an even higher regarded publication, the Harvard Business Review.
A Simple Explanation
I don’t have space to give you much of a review on why the authors suggest
we are living in an “experience economy.” However, because I’m a simple man,
here’s how I would explain our economic transition to my seven-year old,
Connor.
“Connor, many decades ago your great-great grandma baked birthday cakes from
scratch for about 20 cents; this was the Agrarian-economy. Then a couple
decades later, your great-grandma made birthday cakes by purchasing
premanufactured cake mixes for $2; this was the Industrial Economy. Then,
only a decade ago, your grandma bought premade birthday cakes, already
decorated, from a grocery store for $20; this was the Service Economy.
“And now Connor, your mom and I are willing to pay a ridiculous $200 to take
you to the Party Place, where you and a dozen friends can enjoy a big cake,
lots of rides, and video games for two hours, while your mom and I sit
outside in the lobby and sip a $5 cup of customized-coffee we just purchased
at Starbucks; this is the Experience Economy.”
 You
get the idea. Consumers want and expect experiences, not just service. And,
here is the kicker: We are willing to pay a premium price if the encounter
creates a positive, memorable experience for us.
Pine and Gilmore suggest all kinds of traditional businesses will need to
become “stagers” of experiences — banks, airlines, restaurants, shopping
malls, retailers and venues — if they’re going to thrive in this new
economy. Following are the five key experience-design principles to be
incorporated when creating customer experiences.
1. Theme the Experience
Theming forms the foundation for every experience. No one does a better job
theming an experience than a dinner showplace like Medieval Times or the
Dixie Stampede. If you go to the Dixie Stampede, for instance, you’ll be
eating a five course meal with your bare hands, in the midst of standing up
to cheer for either the South or the North, while horses and their riders
strut their stuff.
Theming, according to Pine and Gilmore, includes scripting a participative
story where the ticket holder is part of the action. The overall experience
is enhanced by architecture, décor, furnishings and the way personnel act to
affect time, space and matter. Given the variety of events we host in our
university venues, we may have limited control in creating a unified
experience across all events. We should ask, however, in what ways we can
contribute to staging a memorable experience.
When it comes to arena architecture for example, for a new arena or a
remodeling project, consideration should be given to elements that might
create a “home-court” advantage. We know a steep seating rake can create
closer proximity to the action, thereby enhancing the experience for fans.
We can also create a sense of place by ensuring that photos taken in the
facility, regardless of angle, have some icon, logo or symbol identifying
the venue, team or event. Of course, the most obvious way we can make a
contribution is by training our event staff to provide excellent customer
service that leads to a great customer experience. Warning: Pine and Gilmore
suggest this may require training staff to say something creative. “Enjoy
the game” may not do.
2. Harmonize Impressions with Positive Cues
Another important element in staging experiences is to create indelible
impressions that affirm the nature of the experience to the guest. When your
table is ready at the Rainforest Café, your party is announced with, “Your
adventure is about to begin.” It sets the stage for something special.
This has obvious customer service implications, and it challenges us to pay
attention to small nuances that may make a difference. Standard Parking of
Chicago decorates each floor of the O’Hare Airport garage with icons of
sports franchises. I wonder if we can borrow this idea in section seating or
parking areas.
3. Eliminate Negative Cues
To stage an experience effectively, you must do more than layer on positive
cues. Venue professionals must also work to eliminate anything that
diminishes, contradicts or distracts from the theme. Pine and Gilmore
illustrate that airline pilots sometimes “over-service” in the name of
customer intimacy by interrupting napping or reading passengers with offhand
announcements. Are concession hawkers over-servicing an area of the stadium
or arena, resulting in interrupted sightlines or other distractions? Are
event staff interrupting face-to-face conversations with guests to field
incoming pages? We don’t want to create a memorable experience of the
unpleasant kind.
4. Mix in Memorabilia
Each year billions of dollars are spent purchasing goods that will serve as
a physical reminder of an experience. One need only look at what fans are
willing to pay for a T-shirt at a rock concert to see the value the buyer
attaches to remembering the experience. It might be time to take inventory
of our current memorabilia offerings and seek additional corporate
sponsorships to fund a creative mix of takeaways.
5. Engage all Five Senses
The Rainforest Café does a remarkable job appealing to all five senses. You
might recall, like I do, hearing the sss-ssss-zzz sound before seeing mist
rising from rocks, and feeling the mist on your skin after smelling a
tropical essence. The more senses you can engage, the more memorable the
experience.
This, of course, has given rise to open-air grilling in our stadium
concourses, and impressive audio and visual experiences, as seen in the
opening introductions of the NBA Finals. Can we improve the sight, sound,
smell, taste and feel of our venues and services?
I hope this article, more than anything, provides a framework by which to
analyze your facilities, operations and event productions. If you’d like to
provide comments or feedback, I’d love to hear from you. My email is
philrothschild@missouristate.edu. I can also point you to a downloadable
version of the Experience Economy article.
Philip Rothschild, Ph.D., is
the director of the Entertainment Management Program at Missouri State
University, where he teaches entertainment and venue management. He also
publishes
EntertainmentManagementOnline.com. |
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