Are your new launches mired in the catch 22 of requiring big
media and big spends to break through the noise yet drop like a stone when the
big spend is dialed back? (Was that the sound of profitability’s little feet
scurrying out of the building?)
Do you have content you believe might be franchise worthy
but feel lost as to how to determine if that is true in today’s market?
What happened to the consumer you could clearly identify,
develop and market to? What happened to loyalty, brand relationship and the
power of a good media campaign? Is it as depressingly simple as the annoying
adage: “if its not a game its not a go!” or is something else at work here?
Welcome to the “The Experience
Economy.”
If people vote with their time and money (and yes they do),
to tell us what they want and how they are changing, then it is very clear that
there has been:
a rapid and profound shift
from being a disposable consumer and acquisition economy to one where the
audience is predisposed to making and seeking meaningful experiences versus acquiring
stuff.
This step-change is being shaped and led by Millennials but the rest of us are
enthusiastically following suit.
This is just as true when it comes to the decisions the
audience is making about entertainment as it is about products, brands and
branded services for themselves and their families.
We’ve all gotten the memo “it’s all about the story” but
clearly, the results are showing that it’s not just any story, but a story that
can meaningfully fulfill the entire narrative adoption chain:
Inspire, experience, badge,
gather
It is the second step in the adoption chain, “experience,”
that is defining the nature of how Millennial’s are finding and actualizing
what is important to them. Narrative experiences are also the currency most
valued in the exchange of their curated content.
This means that if we want to
have commercial success with a modern narrative, than that narrative and all
it’s expressions (media and product) had better enable profound and meaningful
real experiences!
Definition, A narrative
experience: A real life event or series of events shaped by a useful narrative
the audience has adopted.
The Nike FuelBand is a terrific example of a narrative
experience created by the product itself.
The story begins with the simple
statement that all your movement “counts.” You begin wearing the bandz and
quickly become aware of how and when you are moving and why. You start making
small decisions to move more that become a virtuous circle of gaining stats,
losing weight and moving more. You proudly display the product on your wrist as
you share it with your friends and begin to see yourself differently. You
invite them to try it and soon you are doing things, challenging each other,
together! You are inspired and you are changing your own narrative to yourself
to become a newer, better version of yourself. The narrative experience of Nike
Bandz transforms your life and you own it. Inspire, experience, badge and
gather.
Narrative experiences are experiences of self-transformation
inspired by story. That story can be entertainment, product, service and more
but…it really, really, has to be USEFUL and transformative in some part of your
life.
To be clear, these experiences are not a rebellion against
consumerism. They are a redefinition of what we are deciding is “valuable” and
therefore willing to pay for.
The new economy is not being
defined by what I have, but instead is being driven by the search for who I am.
So how do we succeed in the experience economy? I’d like to
put forward what I believe are key concepts to embrace to make your company,
your entertainment, your product, or your service, relevant and valuable for
the millennial-led experience economy.
Here’s a few general rules of thumb for developing for the
experience economy that represent shifts in thought culture:
1.
The consumer isn’t a consumer. They are an
audience looking for life inspiration
2.
Today, the audience doesn’t want to just consume
and acquire no matter the price (Sorry Walmart). They want to adopt and
experience
3.
In all things you do, think and act in terms of WHO
YOU ARE INSPIRING YOUR AUDIENCE TO BECOME!
4.
Seek deep insights into what inspiration you
actually have (not the one you think you have) and how the audience really
wants to “use” your story. It’s those contact points that are products and
services.
5.
Products must be part of, or create, true
narrative experiences
6.
Your narrative is yours only until you launch
it. Then it belongs to your audience. Respect their ownership or they’ll move
on.
