Experience Manifesto

Is the Drive to Efficiency Hurting Starbucks

A few days ago, Starbucks had a pretty big earning miss, prompting lots of discussion about what went wrong and how to fix it. In a recent interview with CBS, CEO Laxman Narasimhan had this to say:

The company's plan to turn things around includes updating its app and mobile payment offerings, speeding up service, and overhauling its menu to lure customers back.

Ex-CEO and founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz had no issues jumping into the discussion saying in an interview:

“The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant,” he added. “The answer does not lie in data, but in the stores.”

As Will Roger says in the quote below, it's never a bad idea to reinvigorate you products and offerings. Afterall, you can't just sit there, can you?

But I have a different take on the situation. I think that it's possible some of their fixes will actually hurt them more than they will help them and that as Schultz says, they really need to refocus on their customer experience.

Starbucks was one of the first companies to embrace the idea of the 3rd place, a place where people can gather. It was a place where people who worked from home, pre-Covid of course, could get out of the house, have some good coffee and get some work done. As importantly, they had a place to gather with others and not be so isolated.

Because you could sit the for as long as you wanted, I think that people didn't mind paying as much as they did for coffee. They weren't just buying coffee, they were getting an inexpensive office and meeting space. They were getting an opportunity to socialize or at least people watch. They were getting some time out of their homes. That was a pretty good deal for the price of a coffee, even if you splurged for a fancy cup!

As they added mobile ordering, they created a situation where they were often ignoring the person actually in the store for people who were somewhere else. I remember once waiting for 10 - 15 minutes to have a barista take my order and then waited for it to be made while I could see them making lots of mobile orders, making them the priority.

Now Starbucks is building a lot more of their stores with drive throughs and putting even more emphasis on mobile orders. While I'm sure this will help them drive better efficiency, I'm not sure that it will solve the issues they have. There are plenty of places to grab a quick coffee. There are many small, wonderful coffee houses where you can still sit and relax with your coffee. The advantage Starbucks has is that you can find them everywhere and they had a good and consistent menu. They were comfortable.

Maybe in our stressed, overscheduled world we don't always want or need that much efficiency. Maybe sometimes we need to good comfortable place to go, where we can slow down a little and be around other people. Maybe that's worth paying extra for a cup of coffee!

As always, love your thoughts too! #futureofretail #customerexperience #topretailexpert

Oreo Café at American Dream

If you know me at all, you know how I feel about Oreo's. And if you don't, well, know that there's no way I could pass up a chance to visit the first Oreo Café at American Dream. Regular Oreo's, Double Stuff, yea, I can eat them all. Knowing I was pretty close to their first Café, I grabbed the family and we went over to check it out.

I'm also a great fan of location based branding, using the physical space to bring your brand story to life. To me, this is more than just having stores, it's spaces that allow consumers to both experience your brand and create a social space at the same time. The Oreo Café works on both levels.

It's on the 3rd floor of IT'SUGAR store there, which as you can imagine, had a pretty damn great selection of sweets and candies before the Oreo Café opened. The day we were there it was actually pretty crowded with quite a long line, so sadly, I didn't get to try anything while I was there. But I'll certainly be back to try it!

As you can see by the menu above, there's a good variety of Oreo treats to experience. From the more traditional, like Oreo Cookies & Cream cheesecake, or the more fun Twist Your Oreo, where you can create your own Oreo creation. I could certainly make more than a few meals from what's offered!

Below is a bigger picture of the full space, with the giant Oreo overhead as the centerpiece of the space. There was certainly a great deal of Oreo merchandise, from cookies of course, to a full line of Oreo cookies. Seating areas around the space gave guests a place to sit and enjoy their creations. There was also a full line of clothing, etc., so you could literally wear your love of Oreo's on your sleeves.

As you can imagine, everyone was having a pretty good time here, how could they not? I'll be back at American Dream next month when their luxury wing opens and I'll make sure I have time to try the menu when I'm there.

Remember, people want to hear a great story, people want to share a great story and people want to participate in a great story. Without a great story, you might get some attention, but you'll never get engagement. Thanks to Oreo's great story, there was a lot of engagement at the Oreo Café.

Creating the Right Experience Post Covid19

 

A few days ago, I posted What will Retailers Do Post #Covid19? and started the conversation about what we need to do as an industry to recover when the coronavirus threat is over. It reminded me of a previous piece I wrote almost 20 years ago.

Back in 2001, I was on deadline to turn in an article that would be of interest to the theme park industry the week of 9-11. Needless to say, that deadline passed and it was another few weeks before I was able to write again. The challenge was that I couldn't figure out what was important about our industry in a world upside down post 9-11. Like today, we were asking the same questions:

In the weeks after the attacks, I spoke to many colleagues in the entertainment marketing field who all asked the same question: How do we go back to our business in the face of such a tragedy? What we do seems so trivial in the face of such tragedy…so unimportant. I, too, asked the same questions and wondered how I would get back to "business as usual" after these events.

Thanks to encouragement from industry friends and a great editor, Pat Esgate, I wrote a piece entitled The Great Good Places, where I talked about the important need to create fun. I wrote then:

As I thought more about it, the need for fun is a global experience. We may have fun in different ways, but we all like to have fun. Fun is one of the greatest tools we have to create a world of understanding and -- potentially -- peace. Hate can’t thrive in an atmosphere of fun.

Let’s ask how can we create experiences that bring people together to share a common, joyous activity. What we need today is more ways for people to come together and share joy—and that’s what we do. So celebrate the joy that you create.

Now that we're all forced to do most, if not all of our shopping online, what will stores do to change that behavior once this is over? While big sales may help in the short term, that's not a long term plan. Retailers and brands not planning right now for what happens when this is all over, will be far behind the curve and may not be able to catch up.

Are you thinking through the design changes that will be needed to recreate your shopping experience? Will you be merchandising the same way you've already done it?  Jim Ackerman, CEO of Unified was pretty clear on what we need - 

“Consumers after a quarantine and lockdown are going to be looking for one particular experience----FUN. It will be important for brands and retailers to make shopping fun again. Ask any Gen Zer what they will be looking for after being cooped up for weeks—it isn’t even close.”

We’ve already seen one change within the grocery industry this week. Retailers around the globe, including Stop & Shop here in the US and Woolworth’s in Australia are opening up early to give the elderly a chance to shop before the general crowds come in. In addition to protecting them since they are more susceptible to serious issues, it also means they won’t be in as crowded and stressful an environment. Wonder if that will continue when this is all over.

Additionally, Morrisons grocery stores has announced food boxes, including a selection of everyday items based on current availability, including food and essential household goods. These boxes have been designed for the audience that now can't go to the store, but that has difficulty in making online ordering work.

Companies like Two Bit Circus (pictured above) and Meow Wolf have received a great deal of press over the last few years for creating a better experience than other companies in their respective spaces have in the past. ARTECHOUSE (pictured below) has been creating unique pop-up experiences for the last year. And Showfields, which bills itself as the "most interesting store in the world,"has created a theatrical experience around retail, with actors portraying different members of the Showfields team.

I've been speaking with Jim Wiemer, head of Design for both Unified and the Brand Experience Lab, about his 25+ years of design experience and his thoughts on what retailers and brands should be doing next. He outlined some of his key ideas for me:

Connect in-home, on-line shopping with re-tooled retail experiences

Retailers will need to build on consumer’s on-line habits when they return to brick and mortar stores. We've been talking to brands, retailers, consumers and students from some of our college partners and many of them have told us that they will be looking for experiences that build on their current on-line shopping, browsing and dreaming. Retailers have a chance of delivering relevant content, products in a way that adds clarity, curated by what was “trending”, “top sellers” and offer original experiences not found on-line.

 Enhance desired lifestyle or activity

Items that complement featured products or enhance the desired activity/lifestyle will instantly connect with the consumer who has been waiting to move forward with life and the activities that they enjoy. Let’s remember a large population has been closed in for weeks, some months on end, and need an outlet to feel real again. Retail experiences, designed right, can be that outlet for them to reconnect and build relationships with retailers, their products, and the newly created purchase path. Many GenZ consumers have spent considerable funds on cell phone technology. How can that technology be used in an engaging way for them to make purchase decisions? How can they be entertained and build memories as they reconnect through physical interaction with products at retail?

Mitch Edelman, President of Unified and Principal in Brand Experience Lab, a third generation in-store marketing expert, also had some thoughts on what retailers could do next:

Re-format the display 

• Using the right material palette for display theme and proper configurations that allow for best practices like organization, segmentation and focal points that deliver engaging presentations that will connect with consumers.
• Removing clutter and focusing on featured, trending products with a connection to relevant information in video format, which will enhance and connect their experience when at home in their fuzzy slippers.

In fact, looking through the vastness that is the internet, I came across a piece from 1999 and honestly, much of the advice Mitch and his fellow experts gave in that article back then, stands true today!

Get floor space. That’s the name of the game. If you build it or show it, they will buy. It’s not an easy task. In the case of floor and counter displays, marketers for the most part pay for the display space.

Make it dramatic. The display or program must be dynamic in every element. The offer must be clear and succinct. The "shelf impact" must be arresting.

Marry product and display. The display only has three tenths of a second to do its job so product packaging and display must be inter-twined.

Seek non-traditional channels. Marketers generally focus their P-O-P guns on high volume channels like department stores, supermarkets, discount stores and category-busters, e.g., Home Depot. But the smaller, less visible specialty stores and boutiques such as salons, home craft stores, liquor stores and independent bookstores can be equally important P-O-P environments.

Be a trend watcher. Before designing the program, analyze the market and the customer. Keep an ear to the ground. Look for what turns them on.

The truth is that many of the things that have been true before are true today, but even more so. The coronavirus crisis will end, as these things always do, and retailers need to be ready to respond to consumer needs when it does.

If you're waiting until this all passes to begin planning what you're going to do and how you can get your consumers back into your store, you're going to be that much further behind.

What will Retailers Do Post #Covid19?

With #Covid19 closing everything around us, we're all either in a lock down or panic mode. In the NY metro area, everything has been closed. My daughter is home from college for the rest of the semester and everyone is trying to figure out how long this will last. Lauren Thomas, writing about the industry at CNBC, had an article indicating that retail closures could top 15,000 this year. On top of everything that's happened in previous years, I'm sure this was not the year retailers wanted.

Here at the Lab, we've been talking about the importance of creating authentic, relevant and compelling brand experiences for quite some time. What will physical stores need to do post #COVID19 to bring shoppers back in? We're currently dealing with the global shutdown these days, with almost every country having some sort of shutdown in place. We're looking at the possibilities with members of our team and will talk about them in part two of this piece.

There was some looming good news for retailers. Most studies point to the fact that Gen Z loves to shop in store. According to a study by A.T. Kearny last fall, 81% if Gen Z like to buy in-store and 73% of Gen Z like to discover new products in store.

But, their newfound desire to come into stores creates challenges for many traditional retailers. They are brand promiscuous, shopping for good deals and good service. As my daughter wrote a few years back, they are also looking for experiences, both in terms of what they’re buying and how they’re buying. She concluded:

Gen Z has the world at their fingertips and won't hesitate to change shopping patterns if a brand does not support their interests. With a few Google searches, we can find out whether or not a brand uses child labor, their pollution levels, and anything else we might be interested in. Brands need to consider their brand morality and the unique experiences they offer if they want to keep us as consumers. How can their products create experiences that transform me and the world around me? Yes, Adidas is still selling me a shoe, but the experience they created around that shoe gives me a reason to buy them over other sneaker brands, even if they cost more.

Echoing her thoughts, a study by ubimo, they stated:

Gen Z still shops online, but they’re being increasingly driven to physical storefronts by their desire for personalization in shopping, preference for experiencing products, and an expectation that brands engage with them in a meaningful, authentic way. They also want to know what they’re buying before they shell out — just shy of two thirds of Gen Zers want to touch, feel, and experience products before making a purchase.

But #Covid19 is putting a huge hold on all of this optimism. As I write this, the market is down almost 2,000 points (it was down 2,700 at one point) and the CDC here in the States is recommending no crowds bigger than 50 people for at least the next two months. The vast majority of people are now working from home - my commute has been almost empty the last few days. Grocery stores have been cleaned out. Curfews have closed restaurants all around me and, if they're still open, they are for take out only. Hourly workers are not spending money as they're afraid they won't have an income for the next few weeks. That is likely to trigger a recession, even a brief one, which will further slow spending.

Check out part 2 to see what we and others are thinking we need to do when this is all over!

Toys R Us is Back!

Had a chance to visit the brand new, Toys R Us at the Garden State Plaza on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the first of their new physical stores.

Not surprisingly, the first thing you can notice is how small the store is compared to their previous stores. They are currently opening up two locations, the one we have here in NJ and a second one in Houston. While a traditional store from the first version would've been around 40,000 sf, the store I visited was about 6,500 sf according to reports I've read. Also understand that future stores will be about 10,000 sf, still much smaller than their older stores.

The other thing that you see right away is that it is much more experiential than the previous version of the stores. Although they had a few flagship stores (like the one in Times Square), most of their stores were really just large warehouse buildings with a lot of merchandise in them. They were pretty unfun places for a company dedicated to sell toys to children. Now, each area of the store is designed to let people actually play. My favorite was the Nerf shooting range, which I thought was pretty cool.

In order to keep the the number of SKU's down in the physical store, they've partnered with Target to deliver additional products through digital screens placed throughout the store. These screens are located throughout the store and allow you to find a broader range of toys than they can stock in the stores. Not sure how partnering with Target will help them build their own brand identity, so it will be interesting to see how this works out for them.

The good news is that the store was pretty crowded (I deliberately took pictures without people as much as possible) and kids certainly seemed to be having a good time. The store had a great deal of staff working the day we visited, so it will also be interesting to see if that continues after the holiday season.

I'll do some additional visits throughout the holiday season and see how it continues and will report back here when I do. For me, creating smaller stores, designed to let children actually play, is what they should've done years ago.

The Brand as Experience

It's sometimes fun to look back at pieces I wrote some time ago and see what came true and what didn't. I think that this was originally written in 2006 and what's interesting is that some of these predictions happened, went away and have come back again. For example, Second Life was very popular at the time, but hasn't been as popular for a few years. However, they are now getting ready to launch a whole new experience Project Sansar. Podcasting started to get hot, went a little into a decline and today is hotter than ever.

Now clearly not everything worked. As much as I wanted bluetooth to be a thing in stores, it never really took off. Same thing with QR codes, although now with AR making a big play, we may see a different way for users to engage without needing the QR code at all. In 2006, we were just starting to play with things like mobile price checking & payment tools and now, of course, they're pretty ubiquitous. We now even have Amazon Go stores where you don't even have to stop to check out.

So, as with many predictions of the future, I hit, I missed and I really missed! But it is interesting to see where the world was less than 15 years ago and where we are today. Some of it's pretty amazing!

The Brand as Experience

When you look at the profound changes occurring in both the retail and media spaces it's only logical to explore how they are going to impact each other. The first place to look is the technology that it is driving much of the change on both fronts. And the key to success in harnessing technology for marketing or sales is to realize that technology has to be focused on creating a better experience for the consumer, not for the retailer.

Audiences have come to expect dynamic environments in everything that they do. They watch content when they want to. They receive information when they want it. The have bought into just-in-time marketing. When they are bored with our content, they make their own. So as you look at the technologies on the retail horizon, think about how you could use them to create something more unique for the consumer. Dan Pink, writing for Yahoo Finance, recently had this to say:

"Today, utility is abundant. We have more products and services than we can handle, and most function just fine. To stand out in a crowded marketplace, sellers must make a dramatic leap in utility-or stand out in some other way. They can try to compete on price, but that usually ends in a downward death spiral. So the alternative is to compete not on left-brain attributes like price and functionality, but on right-brain qualities such as emotion, meaning, and look and feel. Case in point: Target sells toilet brushes and vegetable scrubbers designed by superstar architect Michael Graves. Even the most mundane, utilitarian objects in our lives have been turned into objects of desire."

And that applies to technology. Forget trying to just put technology into everything that you do to make your business run more smoothly. Consumers want something easier for them and a more unique environment to shop in. They are very comfortable shopping online, so they need more then just merchandise to bring them into the retail space. Today, it's about creating a compelling, authentic and relevant brand experience.

This is not about wish lists. Some of these technologies and new marketing strategies are already in use; many others we'll be seeing in the not-to-distant future. Here's a look at key developments today:

SOCIALIZATION OF RETAIL SPACE & ONLINE SHOPPING

The impact of socialization of the retail space and the impact of online shopping on retail is growing daily. With the growing impact of Internet shopping, it's critical that the physical retail space adapts to this trend. What is the value of real estate for retailers today? Does a record store really need to exist as it's been for the past 40-plus years? What about banks, grocery stores, fashion retailers? If, thanks to the Internet, people are much more comfortable getting their purchases sent to them, rather then getting them right away, do we need that much space dedicated to merchandise? If we could do away with the inventory portion of most retail spaces today, what else would you do with the space? How could you make it a much more social environment, rather then being a retail environment? After all, this is exactly why places like Starbuck's or the Apple stores have boomed: they created a social space, rather than a retail space.

While people look at Starbuck's or the Apple stores and say "Yea, that's great for them, but it doesn't apply to me," I think that they're missing a huge opportunity. We think there's a coming trend to socialize the retail environment instead of just merchandising the real estate space. One such retailer plans to open this fall, Epicenter, where not only will you be able to see samples, but purchase using a "Buypod" and have everything shipped to you. They won't carry a deep inventory and may even charge you extra if you want to buy the item in the store. It will be very interesting to see how this concept works.

MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES & RETAIL

We are significantly behind the rest of the world in using our cell phones for a wider variety of experiences and we are just beginning to see how they can be used here in the U.S.

Some uses currently deployed include:

Cell Phone Shopping. As described on its web site, SCANBUY Shopper enables cell phone users to have the best bargain-hunting tool at their very fingertips. Get the best prices and all the product info you need to make smart and fun purchases. But it does more then that. Type in the barcode for a book or movie and find out all of the reviews as well. Amazon Japan has a similar service that let's you scan the barcode and search through Amazon for best pricing. You can then purchase it directly through Amazon, should you want.

Several companies are developing payment systems using your cell phone, including Paymint, which allows parking meter payments via cell phone—maybe stores in the future will give people cell phone pay coupons to pay for parking in the future. Of course, in Japan systems for items not only in the store, but in vending machines as well. unlicensed short range radio frequency. Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs), also known as IEEE 802.15.1. Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers, digital cameras and video game consoles such as the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 via a secure, globally unlicensed short range radio frequency.

Several companies are starting to deploy Bluetooth in retail, allowing the consumer to gather additional information about products. And right now, technologies like Bluetooth don't have the same privacy issues that are facing RFID, because they require the consumer to opt-in before anything else can happen.

Dody Tsiantar, writing in Time about the use of Bluetooth technology for billboards, had this to say:

"Technology, in part, is driving the medium's rebirth. Consumers can now download music, play video games, watch movie trailers or custom-design a pair of sneakers and purchase them-all by interacting with outdoor ads. Signs can send a digital coupon to our cell phones, and soon they may even start addressing us by name, as they did in Steven Spielberg's 2002 futuristic film, Minority Report. "We're almost there," says Stephen Freitas of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, an industry trade group. "Outdoor advertising is evolving to a world of two-way advertising very, very fast."

Nokia came out with its Coolzone technology in 2005, allowing retailers to put a base station in the store and bring specific content to consumers with Bluetooth enabled phones. With CoolZone, retailers like music stores, phone shops and cinemas, can offer promotional or paid content, such as mobile games, wallpapers, videos and music, to consumers in their stores.

"For consumers, CoolZone is a new and easy way to get rich mobile content and information. Every time the consumer visits a store, which has CoolZone service, she or he can easily browse, preview and buy the latest content to his or her phone. When using the service for the first time, the consumer downloads a retailer branded application to the phone in the retail location based on instructions provided in the store. The payment for the downloaded content is done either over the counter using vouchers or using premium text messages," said Sakari Kotola, director, Nokia Ventures Organization. "CoolZone is a truly smooth content download tool for consumers."

U.K. music retailer HMV is attempting to play catch-up in the download market by launching Txt2Buy from July, a service that directs consumers from adverts in magazines to a web-site—accessed via their phone, allowing them buy on the move. The aim is to become a real multi-channel retailer, according to Gideon Lask, head of internet at HMV.

PODCASTING

A 2005 Pew Internet study showed that six million consumers have downloaded podcasts and a visit to the iTunes Music store shows an very wide range of podcasts available for download. Retailers are just beginning to explore how podcasts can be used in the store environment as a marketing tool. Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio or video programs, over the Internet using syndication formats, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. (Note: Podcasting does not require the use of an Apple iPod or any particular playback device. The most common way to listen to/view a Podcast is with a PC.)

Ad Age recently reported that Vogue has embraced the podcast, and the first of the magazine's "Fashion on Demand" video podcasts—co-brand-ed programming that gives advice, often sprinkled with celebrity interviews, on everything from hair care to fashion—goes behind the scenes of Gap's new fall campaign in an interview with "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven. Future podcasts in the Gap series include interviews with other new Gap faces: actress Lou Doillon, musician Common and actress Mia Farrow. Old Navy and Redken also have developed Vogue podcasts for the fall, and other advertisers, such as Lexus and Jeep, plan to do so down the line.

NEW DISPLAY EXPERIENCES

From IBM's Everywhere Display to Gesturetek's Holopoint, companies are looking to new technologies to create new visual tools to engage the consumer. Unilever recently launched an in-mall program for the launch of Sunsilk from Unilever. Using directional sound speakers, we were able to create a "sonic blanket" to bring a new dimension into the traditional mall advertising. Sex and the City co-star Mario Cantone, who played the sassy, raspy-voiced "gay friend" Anthony, is the voice of the effort. "The audio and the tone of the campaign is very distinctive, and we looked for a way to incorporate that audio into the media in ways that had never been done before," said Susan Noble, group marketing director at Unilever agency Mindshare. "We've also tested the speakers on billboards six stories up and we've been able to hit the street with a clear audio signal."

Ralph Lauren has received a great deal of press for a new interactive window installation at the compa-ny's flagship store in New York. One very unique aspect is that you can actually purchase items right from the window. They have a credit card reader and on-screen keyboard to handle that. And, if you don't want to purchase right then, you can send the information to yourself via e-mail and complete the transaction at home.

Lexus used a holographic projection system in Times Square to promote its new IS car. According to an article in MediaPost, Robin Pisz, national interactive and relationship marketing manager for Lexus, describes a busy target demographic that demanded a new approach. "This is an audience that is always on," she says, referring to Gen Xers who live on the grid with iPods, cell phones, BlackBerries and more. "They are multitaskers [who] have completely bought into the reality of media fragmentation. They understand that they can get and consume content in multiple platforms at almost any time of day."

Wowing the shoppers of Berlin, MediaZest, together with German media group Axel Springer brought the famous Kurfurstendamm to a virtual standstill with its brilliant holographic displays at C&A's flagship store, promoting a new range of lingerie. In the shop window of the Berlin C&A store in Kurfurstendamm a life size holographic image of a woman modeling the new "Seite 1 Girl" lingerie dances, gesticulates and appears to interact with passersby. MediaZest has used its display technology to create this holographic image and its Whispering Window devices to project sound outside of the store.

Working with Jung Von Matt a website has also been set up to accompany the window display. The model, the lingerie and the reactions of passersby can be viewed on the website and one can vote from a list of 30 options for what the model should do next— options include "blow a kiss," "play the air guitar" and "strip." The web-site periodically aggregates the votes and the model will then act according to the favorite request. The website allows the audience to influence the advertisement and the retailer to gauge interest and reactions in real time.

WHAT'S AHEAD

Multi-touch user interface systems are being developed at a number of research facilities. Microsoft demonstrated a system last year and this year, work being done at NYU has really moved the technology forward. As NYU describes its system:

While touch sensing is commonplace for single points of contact, multi-touch sensing enables a user to interact with a system with more than one finger at a time, as in chording and bi-manual operations. Such sensing devices are inherently also able to accommodate multiple users simultaneously, which is especially useful for larger interaction scenarios such as interactive walls and tabletops.

The opportunity to have multiple people engaging the system, rather then the one-on-one systems that are currently deployed, will greatly change the way touch screens will be used in the future. They can be larger and more interactive and will bring the technology of Minority Report to retail in the next few years.

We've also seen demonstrations of a "virtual dressing room," projectors that can project on any surface, fog screens and many other technologies that will help create a very different visual landscape. After all, now that you can buy a plasma TV at Wal-Mart, they're not much of an attraction in the store.

One of the most interesting things happening right now is the combining of the real world with the virtual world. Online environments like Second Life have seen a variety of companies create virtual copies of their businesses online. Studies have shown that people are spending approximately $5 million/ month in real dollars buying virtual items.

According to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in an analyst call reported by Seeking Alpha, "We look at the amount of hours that are consumed by consumers and let's take 18- to 35-year-old males in the U.S. in front of a video game screen. So last year that was roughly 30 billion hours. Then you compare that to television watching which was to the same demographic roughly 30 billion hours."

According to the stats at Second Life today, there are 573,729 total residents and 257,850 of them have been on line in the last 60 days. More importantly, they've spent $358,699 online in the last 24 hours. One of the first companies to move into Second Life was Wells Fargo, which opened its Stagecoach Island last fall in Second Life. According to the press release disseminated by Wells Fargo:

"Wells Fargo today introduced Stagecoach Island, a free, multi-player, online role-playing game developed to teach young adults important lessons in financial literacy. Wells Fargo is the first financial institution to use an online game of this kind for both financial education and entertainment purposes. Young adults in San Diego and Austin, TX, are the first to experience the Stagecoach Island game in a pilot program that kicked off Labor Day weekend this year and will end in mid-November."

The Stagecoach Island game allows players to select a virtual character and participate in an "island adventure." Participants can choose to explore the virtual islandlush parks, hip cafes, dance clubs, trendy shops, amusement parks, hair salons and more. They can also interact in dozens of virtual, social situations—like skydiving, riding jets-skis or playing games like paintball with other participants. Many activities on the island are "free," but participants gain access to other experiences, such as dancing in a club or purchasing new clothes, by spending, saving and earning virtual money. Players can earn money by visiting the Virtual Learning Lounge and answering trivia questions about banking basics such as budgeting, saving and managing money. The Learning Lounge content is derived from Wells Fargo's signature financial literacy program, Hands on Banking®.

The popularity of online role-playing games is staggering-there are millions of people participating in roleplaying games worldwide and the typical college student spends nearly as much time playing video games (10,000 hours by graduation) as they do in class," said Dr. Rodney Riegle of Illinois State University, developer and teacher of the world's first online Role-Playing Course. "I think that young people who've grown up on computers and video games will embrace the Stagecoach Island experience, which is similar to a video game but actually provides a better opportunity to learn, explore and socialize in an immersive and interactive environment."

British band Duran Duran is creating a virtual island within online game Second Life, on which the musicians will perform actual live concerts. The band is the first major group to announce a virtual world presence in the game. "Since we opened in May, we've sold over 2,000 items to people outfitting their avatars," Raz At the Ralph Lauren flagship store in New York, you can actually purchase items right from the window, using a credit card reader and on-screen keyboard. If you don't want to purchase right then, you can send the information to yourself via e-mail and complete the transaction at home.

Schionning, director of web services for American Apparel, was quoted as saying in a recent article in Ad Age about this phenomenon. In addition, shoppers who buy virtual clothes get 15 percent off the same items in real life. We've barely scratched the surface about what's happening in the retail space. There's more to come.

I'll close with this: There's a big difference between the advertising model and the experience model in terms of making an authentic connection with your audience. It's relatively simple to get people to talk about you; it's much harder to get them to buy you.

Where does "create a better experience" fall on your list of reasons to create your processes and procedures? Remember, your audience is accustomed to using technology in their daily lives. To speak to them in their digital language, to delight them and engage them, you must find relevant new technology that helps tell your brand story more effectively.

Talking Experiences at the Adobe Think Tank, Advertising Week 2017

I had a chance to sit down with Don Bennion from Adobe during Advertising Week to talk about what makes a great experience, the value of data and the importance of authenticity!

Gen Z - Experience Over Things

This is a special guest post, written by my daughter, Sydney (16)

As a Gen Z-er, I don’t usually think about what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. I don’t analyze my shopping pattern (there isn’t anything to analyze) or question how my friends and I will impact the economy as we get older. Since I’ve started speaking at conferences, that has started to change. This summer I went with my school on a service trip to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana to help the Native Americans. We spent just over a week on the reservation doing everything from serving food, to painting, to laying sod for the upcoming Powwow. It was an amazing experience which I’m pretty sure has changed my life. I guess I’ll have to wait a few years to find out for sure. When I got back, my dad told me that was a typical Gen Z thing to do: Go for the experience rather than a material item or thing. I didn’t think much of it until later in the summer when I went to the Dolphin Research Center (DRC) in Grassy Key, Florida, yet another amazing experience I will never forget. While there, I thought more about what my dad had said and I thought about what my friends did with their summers. I realized that, at least with my circle of friends, our summers aren’t about just going to cool places, they are all experiences specific to the individual and their interests. One of my friends is shadowing a vet over the summer, another went to India and Africa to interact with children, one went to a Japanese immersion camp in Japan, and a bunch went to summer dance intensives. We use our summers to explore possibilities and find experiences that we can connect with.

I went to Montana to experience a different culture and gain insight about my country, and came out with a new respect for the Indian’s struggle and a new awareness of America’s past. I became friends with some of the people living on the reservation and learned a lot about their rich culture and the struggles they now face. I didn’t buy a single thing while I was on that trip because it wasn’t the material things or keepsakes that mattered to me, it was experience. While in Montana, I became closer with my classmates, and by the end of the trip I had at least 1 inside joke with every person. We met so many amazing people there, like Bob Tailfeathers, Francis Heavy Runner, and Tom Crawford. Tom had the greatest impact on our group because we spent the most time with him. He told us incredible stories from his past that stuck with each of us for different reasons. Even though he grew up in a different time and a very different world from the one our group of private school kids know, every person could find a connection to Tom’s story. On our last night in Montana, we got to share s’mores with Tom’s granddaughter after she and her friends were chased through the woods by coyotes! While these may not seem like the most important things, it was, in fact the whole reason behind our trip. The experience we were all looking for was a connection with a different culture and the creation of lasting bonds between people who seem to have nothing in common. Compared to that, any trinket or space-wasting thing we could buy seemed pointless.

Later this summer when I went to the Dolphin Research Center, it was once again for the experience. I worked throughout the year to earn enough money to pay to go to the week-long Teen Basic training program. While my parents could’ve paid for it, I wanted the experience of earning my own money to do something that I wanted to do. So, I did. I earned more than enough money and was able to go to camp where I had an amazing time. It was the first time I’d ever been to a camp where I didn’t know anyone, I had to fly there alone, and I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to eat (I’m an extremely picky eater). But, I went anyway because I wanted to experience what it would be like to work with marine mammals. I made friends, memorized the names and identifying features of 27 dolphins and 4 sea lions, and learned a ton about the world we live in. Each day we had 1 or 2 hour long seminars about dolphins, the eco-system, climate change, and how we can help save our planet. I’m pretty sure I learned more in that week than I did the entire year in chemistry class. It was easy to learn at camp because I wanted the experience, it wasn’t forced on me like school is. The only thing I bought at camp was a shirt, and that was actually another experience. I got a white shirt, chose two colors, and then had my shirt painted by one of the dolphins named Pax.

Both of my summer trips were created around the experience and had nothing to do with spending money on random things. From what I’ve seen, Gen Z is mostly buying things based on a connection they have with it, not just because they have money to spend. I haven’t done an official survey, but out of the teens I interact with and talk to, none of them are loyal to one brand. They go to whatever place they have the best experience. If the clothes are nice, but the experience isn’t great, kids won’t go back. Brands need to think about that when marketing to Gen Z. For example, while at dolphin camp we talked about the Adidas shoes that are made from recycled plastic found in the ocean. Everyone agreed that we would rather buy products with a backstory about helping the planet than random items that will eventually add to the planet’s pollution. Brands need to start thinking about this. What is the brand backstory and what is their future?

Adidas is a good example of a brand creating an experience around their products and other brands should follow suit. Gen Z has the world at their fingertips and won’t hesitate to change shopping patterns if a brand does not support their interests. With a few google searches we can find out whether or not a brand uses child labor, their pollution levels, and anything else we might be interested in. Brands need to consider their brand morality and the unique experiences that their brand gives if they want to keep Gen Z as a consumer. How can their products create experiences that transform me and the world around me? Yes, Adidas is still selling me a shoe, but the experience they created around that shoe gives me a reason to buy them over other sneaker brands, even if they cost more.

Today, we have many choices when we look to buy something. The right experience creates the reason for me to buy from a particular brand over the many other choices I have.

Amazon Didn't Kill Your Store, You Did

Today my wife and I went to the local Home Depot to look for ideas for the walls in the small hallway where we keep the foster puppies. We were looking at some vinyl and porcelain options, trying to decide what would look good, but also be durable for the constant flow of puppies that come through our house, I believe 55 or so to date.

We looked around ourselves and then we had some questions, so we looked for an employee in that section to help us. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anyone, so I finally flagged down someone from another section who really did try to get us help. But after 15-20 minutes, we gave up and went home without the information we needed.

Sadly, this isn't our first bad experience at Home Depot, as I wrote about here when we had a problem with our recently purchased lawnmower.

I buy certain items in store because if I need help, I want to be able to just go back to the store. If that's not going to happen, then there's no reason for me to buy in the store. If all you're going to do is tell me to return it, I can do that from an online seller. I came to you in case I needed service.

If you don't have the item in your store, but another location does, don't make me drive all over town to get it. Have it sent from that store, make my life easier.

You see Retail CEO, Amazon didn't kill your retail business. You did.

• You did it with every decision you made that didn't put your customer in the center of that decision making process.
• You did it every time you caved to Wall Street and laid-off staff so you could have a positive impact on your bottom line.
• You did it every time you made it impossible for the consumer to easily find and purchase your products.
• You did it every time you cut corners and made your brand undifferentiated in today's world.
• You did it every time you decided that training wasn't that important and besides, the consumer could just look up the information themselves anyway.
• You did it every time you pretended you were "putting control in the consumer's hands" when all you were really doing was looking for ways to save yourself money.

Yes, Amazon and other retailers have put pressure on you thanks to the lower costs and things like free shipping. But they were able to get in there because you were doing a crappy job to begin with. And while Uber is having many problems on its own right now, the reason they were able to get started was because generally the cab experience in this country was so crappy. It's the same thing with retailers. Online retailers came into existence to fill the void you created. And even Amazon is getting back into physical stores!

There are some great retailers out there, big and small. I've always loved Duluth Trading and especially how they stand by every product they sell. Thanks to the fact they I've been wearing an old Bunnysutra watch (funny story about it, ask me the next time you see me!), I've really enjoyed visiting Swatch stores.

Retailers continue to keep stores open, but more and more, they're barely supporting them. Go into any Sears or Kmart store and ask yourselves how long you think they'll be in business. They're usually grossly understaffed and the staff they do have don't seem to either know much or even want to be there. I'm a big believer in physical stores, but they actually have to serve a purpose. They can't just be crappy versions of an online store.

As I wrote about in No Man Can Serve Two Masters, companies can generally either serve their customers or support Wall Street, but they usually can't support both. And they will never support their customers when they put Wall Street first.

So the next time you're at an industry event bemoaning how bad the retail business is, don't look around for external forces to blame first. Start with an inventory of all of the ways you stopped delivering on creating great experiences for your customers. Look at how you put your investors first and destroyed everything you once stood for. Only then can you complain about Amazon.

Additional Reading

• If You Just Started Talking About Being Customer Centric...
• Why Don't More Retailers Have Genius Bars?
• Can Walmart's New Store 8 Save Physical Retail?
• When a Company Really Stands By Its Products
• Shouldn't We Make Place Special?
• Customer Experience
• Role of Experience
• Retail News

If You're Going to Have Stores...

As a new home-owner, there are things I needed to get to take care of the house. One was a lawnmower, which we purchased from a large retailer near our house. I decided to get an electric mower and finally found the one I was looking for after going to several of their locations. Got it, brought it home and was able to cut almost the entire lawn off the charge that was already in the battery. Put it in the charger and waited for the battery to recharge so I could finish. Never did, so I went back to swap the battery out. Although this should've been a simple task, it wasn't. The first location I went to, where I had not purchased the mower, told me the only thing I could do there was to return the mower. They didn't have any more of the one we purchased in stock. Other locations did, but not once did they offer to have it shipped from another store so that they could just swap it out.

So I went to the store where I made the initial purchase and they had the mower in stock. But even here, they didn't offer to do anything but let me return the mower and then buy another one. Not even an attempt to try and help me in the least. They could've offered to swap the batteries and handle the return themselves, but they just seemed to want to get me out of the store.

So, although I did get it from the same store, I ended up ordering a different model. And I even did that on my phone, they weren't much help with that either. I'm waiting for that one to be delivered and hopefully, it will work better than the last one.

Lessons learned?

• I buy certain items in store because if I need help, I want to be able to just go back to the store. If that's not going to happen, then there's no reason for me to buy in the store. If all you're going to do is tell me to return it, I can do that from an online seller. I came to you in case I needed service
• If you don't have the item in your store, but another location does, don't make me drive all over town to get it. Have it sent from that store, make my life easier.
• Retailers continue to keep stores open, but they don't really support them as they should. They're usually grossly understaffed and the staff they do have don't seem to either know much or even want to be there. I'm a big believer in physical stores, but they have to actually have to serve a different purpose. They can't just be crappy versions of an online store.

If you want me to buy in store, instead of online, you need to give me a reason to do that. It could be price, although honestly, that's a losing proposition. Someone can always sell for less. Or you could provide me with superior service. But not giving me a great price and giving me lousy service? That's just a recipe for failure.