Monday, February 27, 2012

Delivering Memories, by Steve Heyer CEO

According to Steve Heyer CEO, marketers and media agencies should start changing the way they do business or else their corporations are headed to a collapse. Such did he advocate ten years ago, and now people marvel to see how right he was. He said these things to a good number of the most influential persons in the industry a number of years in the past.

Heyer currently has the CEO seat in what is inarguably one of the largest businesses in the hotel industry. Heyer's speech given some years ago was expanded on later, during his interviews. The trick, according to him, was to focus on selling fun, not a bed or a room.

He said, “We sell experiences. Memorable experiences, in other words, would be the products. Heyer's innovation was in the lens through which he approached the subject.

In the 2003 speech, he proposed to marketers and media leaders to become more customized and personalized in delivering their services and products, and aim for the empowerment of consumers. This is precisely what one now observes in businesses: customization. This is a theme most strongly supported by digital products and companies nowadays.

The latest developments have also spelled difficulty for people in entertainment. Just for illustration, when software for musical piracy was introduced, the support from consumers was so overwhelming that the music industry almost immediately saw a setback in profits. Internet users indiscriminately downloaded the latest and most popular hits for free.

There was pandemonium in the song-production business, Heyer noted. The circumstances had changed, Heyer said, and so should the methods of distribution as well as reproduction. It was necessary for other media producers, according to Heyer, to take note of this imperative for change.

Steve Heyer argues that modern marketing efforts should focus on the creation of cultures, not products. Heyer's intention is to convince consumers that they can make memories that shall never be forgotten by going to Starwood locations. Their focus now is not anymore on the beautiful hotels with a total worth of billion dollars but on the opportunities to create memories.

To this end, Victoria’s Secret has been called on to partner with the hotels to produce The Limited Victoria Secret shows for exclusive viewing in the hotels. Along with online bidders, only preferred guest members of Starwood can buy tickets to the elite fashion event. This is a clear example of marketing an experience.

Steve Heyer has also made negative remarks about a growing trend in the LA film industry: the insertion of brands in random shots. He found it reprehensible for its lack of contextual significance. He also said this practice neither improves storylines nor enhances marketability of products.

One of Coca Cola's former leaders is actually Steve Heyer CEO. And with Coca Cola, he demonstrated contextual placement of brands into TV programs. Heyer set Coke glasses on the judging table of a famous talent show on television.


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