Me: “Hey I’m working on a class project. I need you to send me the word of a random inanimate object/thing.”
Friend 1: “I have NO idea what word that is you are looking for”
Me: “Any inanimate object!”
Friend 1: “What’s inanimate? Lol”
Eventually, he came up with LEGO. (Note: Friend 1 has job offers from top financial companies.)
Friend 2: “What? The word of what? Like…stop sign?” (Note: Friend 2 is probably going to law school.)
LEGO
LEGOLAND in California; playing in my sunroom as a child; pirates; adventure; not enough “girl” Lego sets; frustration at missing pieces; concentration; creativity; the RV I built from scratch without instructions that’s still intact at my house a decade later; Bellville; yellow people; detail; perfectionist; not being able to stop building once I started; the excitement of going to the store for a new LEGO set; my parents helping me build LEGO sets.
STOP SIGN
3-second rule for not running a stop sign; “green light go, red light stop” which is what I always told my mom when I was in the car when I little; people running stop signs in West Campus; being annoyed by people who don’t stop for stop signs, even at night; my driver’s ed teacher reminding me that the right-of-way is a privilege not a right; being confused at a 4-way stop as to who got there first; driving through hill country Texas towns to get to 1-10, where there are a lot of stop signs and the speed limit is 35 MPH; difference between a stop sign and a yield sign.
Combing LEGO + Stop Sign:
Stop sign built out of LEGO blocks (more likely to be in LEGOLAND than on the road.)
Road LEGO set – you build stoplights, lines in the road, cars, stop signs, etc. – designed to teach kids about road rules.
LEGO blocks could be used in driver’s education classes as a hands-on substitute for videos/books about road rules.
Giant, lifesize LEGO blocks that older kids/teens can use to build things for their room (perhaps someone might choose to build a stop sign?)
Constructing real life stop signs out of a different material – maybe the hard plastic that a LEGO is made out of.
A stop sign with the text “STOP LEGOLAND” to signal that drivers were approaching LEGOLAND in California.
Playing with a LEGO set while you wait for eAcceleration’s StopSign Anti-Virus software to load on your computer.
Red camera for kids that is built out of LEGO blocks in the shape of a stop sign on the outside, with camera software on the inside
LEGO set that has different colored blocks, designed to teach kids all primary colors. Red LEGO blocks are used to build a stop sign.
Gluing random LEGO blocks onto stop signs to make the signs more decorative and unique.
All of these ideas are a bit ridiculous. There may already be a road/street LEGO set but, if not, it seems that this would be a good idea. I never paid attention to road rules until I started driving, so I think that this would be a good lesson to teach kids. Also, I think that having to construct things such as stop lights, stop signs, etc. out of LEGO block might be an interesting lesson for teens in drivers education; or, a fun activity for adults who broke road rules and are in defensive driving. J The challenge with combining these two objects is that stop signs are city/government property, so there is not very much flexibility to change them.
I should preface this post by saying that, in Disney-speak, there are no "customers," only guests. Likewise, there are cast members instead of employees, costumes instead of uniforms, and attractions instead of rides. These terms, in and of themselves, demonstrate Disney's serious commitment to their theme park experience.
In my previous blog, I wrote about Disney theme parks as a meaningful customer experience. I would like to continue with this idea for my current topic report and believe that this topic would be well-suited for a case study format. As previously discussed, Disney is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and I look to integrate the Walt Disney Company into any course project with an open topic choice. This case study will focus on the holistic customer experience of visiting a Disney theme park, possibly including vacation planning elements.
Potential topics include:
Multiple personas – Though Disney theme parks are associated with children and families, the parks appeal to a wide variety of personas, including college students and older couples. Walt Disney famously designed Disneyland as a place where parents and children could have fun together. However, the theme park experience has evolved over the years, with programs such as the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, Disney Fairytale Weddings, and College Nights, which clearly cater to a wide variety of demographics. An interesting way to approach this case study would be to look at the different customer experiences that Disney parks offer to different segments/personas.
Theme park design elements – Designing Disney’s Theme Parks, The Architecture of Reassurance, by Karal Ann Marling, examines “the influence of Disneyland on both our built environment and our architectural imagination.” This book would serve as a reference for examining how design impacts the customer experience of a Disney theme park, and how certain elements are a product of their time (i.e. 1950s, 1980s, etc.) Also somewhat relating to this subject is how customer experiences evolve over time.
Strategic Experiential Modules – Disney theme parks could fit into all of the experiential modules in one way or another. I think that Disney does one of the best jobs in terms of the SENSE module, and Disney is widely known for their sensory experiences. Disney theme parks have built an incredibly strong fan following (as evidenced by the hundreds of fan sites, blogs, conventions), and it would be interesting to examine the link between these positive customer experiences and intense brand loyalty.
Disney Institute – One might say that the true test of an exemplary customer experience is the desire of other companies to emulate you. The Disney Institute is a workshop for professionals to learn the secrets of Disney’s business success. According to their website, “you will literally step into a ‘living laboratory’ at Disney Theme Parks and Resorts for guided behind-the-scenes field experiences.” It would be interesting to examine what key elements are universally necessary for creating exceptional customer experiences, as many Disney Institute attendees are not in the theme park, or even the entertainment business. This Businessweek article describes Disney’s basic principles that can be transferred into any service industry. Jeff Kober at MousePlanet.com also writes a very interesting series of articles called “Magic of Business” which would be another source that could serve as a general foundation for this project.
Disney College Program – Who would take a semester off from college to work minimum wage jobs, ranging from custodial to attractions, at Disney’s theme parks? Over 5,000 college students each semester do just this as part of the Disney College Program. One of this program’s mantras is “Live. Learn. Earn.” Like with their guests, Disney markets this program to students as an overall experience, where you live with other College Program students, take Disney classes, and work in the theme parks or resorts. They are clearly pitching an experience vs. a product (the basic job). It would be interesting to examine the customer experience from an internal marketing perspective, and compare Disney’s methods with its cast members vs. guests.
I believe that the most difficult part of this report will be narrowing my topic focus. I believe that Disney is the champion of exceptional customer experiences, and there are many different approaches to take. I have a wide variety of Disney literature from different perspectives that would be useful tools for this report. A challenge, which I recognize, is that I must take extra caution to be objective when writing this case study, because I am familiar with the brand, experience, and company.
Let me start by saying that I love consumer products and definitely need certain things to maintain my level of comfort. A few of my favorite things include: my BlackBerry, iPod Touch, Coach purses, and Banana Republic clothes. Though largely “unnecessary,” I would like to think that these products enhance my life. However, experiences take a product to an entirely new level, one that I believe brings great long-term memories and satisfaction. As much as I like all these products, they cannot top the experience that I had seeing Taylor Swift at my first concert or the wind that I felt in my hair when I visited the Golden Gate Bridge. Experiences are defined as: involving the entire living being; resulting from direct observation and/or participation in events – whether they are real, dreamlike, or virtual; and complex, but can be categorized. Given this definition, my most meaningful customer experience is visiting a Disney theme park.
Disney parks are a very personal experience for me. The Walt Disney Company, as a whole, makes up a significant part of my life. My walls are adorned with Disney artwork, Disney songs crowd my iTunes, and reading Disney online news is as much a part of my daily routine as taking a shower. However, I am going to focus on the actual experience of visiting a Disney theme park.
I’ve been a avid Disney fan for the past decade, frequenting both the California and Florida resorts. For me, and many others, the Disney “experience” begins when I start planning my vacation. I can tell you that my Walt Disney World vacation is 79 days from today. (Disney conveniently provides a counter on their website, as proof that guests are so excited about their vacation that they count down each and every day.) For me, the entire vacation process is an experience, from booking the flight/planning the car trip, to packing, to making restaurant reservations, to hardly being able to fall asleep the night before. A trip to a Disney theme park overwhelms my senses to the point that it is difficult to describe in words. Disney is about family, friends, not acting my age, wishes, relaxation and, in short, pure magic.
Disney theme parks fit several of the Strategic Experiential Modules. However, for the typical theme park patron, it most clearly fits into the SENSE module, which are sensory experiences created through sight, sound, taste, touch and smell.
Sight: Disney theme parks always have a large icon (which, interestingly enough, Walt Disney coined a “weenie”) that serves as the center of the park. Disneyland has Sleeping Beauty Castle, Animal Kingdom has the Tree of Life, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios has Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat. Besides making a great photo opportunity, these icons are very tall and can be seen before entering the park, sometimes, miles away. These icons serve to build excitement and enthusiasm about the fun that waits inside the gate.
Sound: The moment that you approach the perimeter of a Disney park, you are surrounded on all ends by Disney music. Like the park icons, this builds excitement and helps to set the tone of the park. At Animal Kingdom, you will hear jungle sounds, while at the Magic Kingdom you’ll hear songs sung by the Disney princesses. Background music is not always noticed at a conscious level, but it plays a huge role in the overall theme park experience. I have several Disney soundtracks that I listen to between trips so that I can close my eyes and imagine that I am in the park.
Taste: As any Disney fan knows, certain foods are unique to the parks, such as pineapple Dole whips, Mickey ice cream bars, and turkey legs. When I visit a Disney park, I look forward to eating certain foods because I have so strongly associated them with my vacation. (Side note: Many of these foods have changed as a result of me recently becoming vegan.) Disney also does a great job of theming their foods to the land or park in which they are located. You can eat pineapple soft serve while you are waiting to watch the Enchanted Tiki Room, where Polynesian birds sing. In this case, pineapple soft serve enhances this experience, because pineapple and fruits are associated with tropical islands. Likewise, Disneyland serves gumbo in their land themed after New Orleans.
Touch: Disney parks are a very sensory experience, and touch is no different. One of the best ways that Disney utilizes this sense is the change in pavement texture as you walk from one “land” to another. In Fantasyland, there is cobblestone, while there is wood in Frontierland, and rougher pathways in Adventureland. Ride vehicles and the way that each one is designed for a different feel also helps to enhance each individual experience.
Smell: Disney intentionally controls certain smell, while other ones are natural. For example, when you enter Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom, you find yourself on Main Street, U.S.A., at the turn of the 20th century. Shops and restaurants line the street and you find yourself consumed with the smell of fresh cookies. Incidentally, Disney pumps certain scents into the air in order to drive you into their bakery. Intentionally or not, these scents add to the overall customer experience by involving all the human senses. I could describe a number of other scents that make me think of Disney parks, from the musky smell of the Pirates of the Caribbean boats, to the strange, distinctive smell that emits from the jeeps at the Dinosaur ride.
In addition to being a sensory experience, Disney is also incredibly emotional, placing it under FEEL marketing as well. Disney is widely associated with magic, dreams, wishes, and family fun. A child’s first trip to a Disney park is considered a rite of passage for many parents. Many young couples get engaged, or even married, in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom. The beauty of Disney parks is that they are cherished around the world by people of different ages, backgrounds, and walks of life.
Experiences are a very personal thing, but also largely subjective. While Disney parks are an amazing holistic sensory experience for me, many people could visit Disneyland (the product) in the exact same way and not have the “experience” that do. For example, I took my best friend to Disneyland hoping that she would share in my love of the Disney magic. While she had a fun time, it was not anything that she wanted to write home about. In short, she just “didn’t get it,” (“it” being the Disney magic). In order to create suitable experiences, it is crucial to understand the consumer, and their motive and usage of the product. There may be universal products, but there are few universal experiences.
I am concluding with this video, because it sums up everything that I just said and demonstrates why Disney is the ultimate consumer experience.
The most difficult challenge of creating a persona is to include details that provide key insights, while still being general enough to apply to a greater segment of the population. A persona seems to serve as a bridge between the general segment and different individuals. As I wrote the persona for “Elizabeth,” I found that insights seemed to jump out at me, and that those stories and experiences that often seem trivial really are not.
Elizabeth – Budding Young Professional
Age: early to mid-20s (i.e. “20-something”)
Education: Undergraduate degree from a public university
Income (post-college): $40,000 – $48,000
Elizabeth is a 20-something who is making her transition from college to the real world, or already in the first two years of her career. She is educated with a bachelor’s degree from a large public university. Elizabeth earned good grades in college and is very bright, but was not a “star” graduate.
Sometimes Elizabeth has trouble finding her niche, both in social situations, job opportunities, and even with the products that she uses. She is fashionable, but her style is still closer to the girl next door than models on the runway. Elizabeth enjoys learning and intellectual conversation, and has difficultly striking the right balance between finding professional friends who are on the same intellectual level, while still sharing some of her more superficial interests. Elizabeth enjoys country music, though she is clearly a city girl. She listens to mostly mainstream music, and an avid user of the iPod touch. She also enjoys Broadway musicals, such as Wicked, Jersey Boys, and The Lion King. Elizabeth loves analyzing lyrics to any song, and always tries to find a connection to her life. She also enjoys using lines from her favorite songs in everyday conversation because she feels that some songs were practically written for her.
Heath is very important to Elizabeth, who buys largely organic food at local co-ops or Whole Foods. She enjoys cooking both for the health aspects and the monetary savings. Elizabeth subscribes to cooking magazines and frequently finds new recipes on websites and blogs. However, Elizabeth does enjoy going out to eat and it is one of her most common social outings with friends. Elizabeth looks for restaurants that are trendy, but still cater to health conscious customers. Elizabeth is typically the one to make restaurant decisions among her friends because she has been deemed as the most picky. She recently became vegan for the health aspects associated with that lifestyle. Again, Elizabeth finds difficultly establishing her identity as a vegan because she does not fit the vegan stereotype of a hippie, anti-conformist, PETA member. Elizabeth strives to show people that vegans can be normal, healthy people who still enjoy corporate American and eating great food, beyond only salads. Elizabeth always sets a goal to work out, but generally feels that eating healthy is more important than physical activity. If she does work out, she is more likely to do Pilates at home then go a gym where she feels intimidated by more athletic individuals.
One stereotype that Elizabeth does fit is the Type A personality. Elizabeth believes that sleep is overrated and generally waits for her body to send a signal that it’s exhausted before going to sleep. She enjoys setting alarms and checks email on her BlackBerry before getting out of bed. She has a love-hate relationship with the BlackBerry, as she loves the keyboard but hates the browser. Elizabeth always wants to be accessible to people who want to contact her, and rarely goes longer than a few hours without responding to texts, emails, or phone calls. She is also constantly connected to the web, an avid user of Facebook, and reader of online news sources. Elizabeth enjoys watching prime time TV, but tends to watch increasing amounts of shows online after they air, due to her busy schedule. She loves to-do lists and sometimes puts simple things like cooking, cleaning, and shopping on lists, along with more substantial activities, so that she can feel good as she formally checks these things off. Elizabeth still prefers paper agendas and lists to online calendars, and typically color coordinates recurring events.
Elizabeth always ensures adequate time to get herself ready in the morning. She gets up at least two hours before she has to be somewhere because rushing around makes her stressed. Elizabeth firmly believes that she cannot be her best at school, work, etc. without looking her best. The best way to describe her style is consistent. Elizabeth lives by the philosophy that you never know whom you will meet anywhere you go, so you should always be presentable. Elizabeth generally wears her hair and makeup in the same way, using a mix of drug store and higher-end products. She mentally plans outfits for a week, and tries to match each outfit to the situation. Her overwhelmingly favorite place to shop is Banana Republic, with a smaller mix from Tommy Hilfiger, Express, and American Eagle. Elizabeth is passionate about retail, and takes a considerable amount of time trying on clothes and making purchase decisions. She prefers to shop alone because she does not feel guilty about keeping the other person waiting.
Elizabeth is very much a planner, and has difficulty injecting more spontaneity to her life. She believes that every minute of everyday should be productive, from work to social outings. She is frustrated when friends call her to hang out at the last minute, but welcomes making plans days in advance. Elizabeth thrives on stress, and becomes very frustrated when people tell her not to stress out. She is an introvert on the outside, but an extrovert on the inside and enjoys talking to people, particularly people that she knows very well. Elizabeth does not focus on adding casual acquaintances, but rather building strong relationships with a few key friends. Elizabeth is an only child and is still extremely close to her parents. Being an only child is something else that Elizabeth constantly gets negative comments about, much like being vegan. Unfortunately, Elizabeth largely fits the only child stereotype that all academic literature has produced.
To sum up: Elizabeth – 20-something hopeful young professional, focused on climbing the corporate ladder and hoping that relationships will sort themselves out along the way. The girl next door with a twist.
I found Jeff Mulhausen’s (Upstream) lecture to be a refreshing change from the normal marketing undergraduate curriculum. Marketing classes usually teach how to sell existing products vs. how to design new products. Certainly understanding human centered/industrial design is a key for marketers in today’s product landscape. However, incredibly innovative products from companies such as Apple and Ikea are the exception rather the norm. iPad commercials are fairly simple in their creative content – product demonstration and a catchy (but otherwise obscure) song. Apple’s products are so user friendly that the products sell themselves. Apple’s advertising agency surely cannot have nearly as difficult of a job as the agency of Pantene.
There is no doubt that we live in a cluttered society – too many cars on the road, too many children in a classroom, and too many commercials on TV. There is also considerable product clutter, particularly in consumer packed goods, as evidenced in any Target shampoo or detergent aisle. Upon further thought into the design philosophy, it seems like something that could eventually put many marketers out of business. Starting from business school, students are taught to become savvy marketers by “cutting through the clutter.” Less clutter is good for consumers, but bad for manufacturers. Considerable resources and talent is spent in differentiating one brand from the next. After all, is there really a significant difference between Pantene, Herbal Essences, Clairol, and Fructis? Marketers for these consumer packed goods brands are tasked largely with building a brand, rather than product improvement. Focusing on the design seems to put more emphasis on the product rather than the brand. The benefits and features of these rare breed of products are apparent, so there is no need for a commercial to cleverly point them out. Though design philosophy is not as applicable to CPGs as to other goods, the shift from brands to product features does bring up an interesting point to consider.
Incorporating a design philosophy into product development certainly is consistent with the paradox of choice theory. If one product works so well in such a simple fashion, where is there room for the competition? Retailers are already downsizing the amount of brands that they carry in a particular product category. Consumers like choice, but not too many choices. How would consumers feel if there were only one or two superiorly designed products in a category? One of Dieter Ram’s principles is that, “Good design is as little design as possible.” After many years of refuting this theory, with considerable new products that had many features differing in brand name only, it seems that we may be doing a 180.
Clearly, human centered design makes life easier. This philosophy focuses on products that actually make life better and fill a lingering need. Design philosophy creates new product categories vs. new products in existing categories. Tapping into a new product category also greatly reduces the barriers to entry that we see so often in established industries. Our consumer-driven economy focuses on products that are cool and innovative, yet often trivial. The ultimate satisfaction of a job well done would be to create a product that is cool, initiative, and meets a key human need, rather than a mere want. Personally, I tend to associate innovation with trivial consumer products that I don’t really need but are awfully cool to have. It’s hard to think about necessity products being particularly fun to design, sell, etc. Previously, I never thought about marketers and product designers using their tools and knowledge to better society, but it’s nice to know that all practice of the profession is not in vain. Creating a product with a design philosophy in mind requires marketers and manufacturers to think outside the lines. Because, really, how many more shampoos can fit on the shelf at Target?
Conclusion (or lack thereof): I can’t decide whether design philosophy is a huge opportunity or a huge threat for the traditional practice of marketing. Blogs are for pondering, right?
3-second rule for not running a stop sign; “green light go, red light stop” which is what I always told my mom when I was in the car when I little; people running stop signs in West Campus; being annoyed by people who don’t stop for stop signs, even at night; my driver’s ed teacher reminding me that the right-of-way is a privilege not a right; being confused at a 4-way stop as to who got there first; driving through hill country Texas towns to get to 1-10, where there are a lot of stop signs and the speed limit is 35 MPH; difference between a stop sign and a yield sign.
