Define: Inanimate

The sequence of texts:

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.

Disney Theme Park Customer ("Guest") Experience

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.