Given the relentless march of progress and history itself, businessmen have to always be ready to react to new developments. Heyer spoke of such things years past, almost as though he could see the future with inhuman clarity. Perhaps his most memorable words on them were given in 2003, during a notable address of his peers.
Heyer is actually the CEO of one of the biggest hotel companies in the world. In an interview made a couple of years after his keynote address in 2003, he explained his point in 2003 by talking about his marketing strategy for the popular hotel chain. He stated that his aim for the company was to have it market the experiences that could be had in the hotels instead of the quarters themselves.
Heyer's emphasis was on the marketing of an experience. He wanted to emphasize the value of promoting amusements as services or products. Heyer and his idea of marketing experiences blazed a trail in the marketing industry following that, for the freshness of the proposed outlook.
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. Nowadays we see that Heyer was right. And this is most apparent in the computer and digital industries.
The entertainment industry is also suffering from certain digital innovations impinging on their channels. The development of applications capable of ripping sound from CDs, for instance, led to music producers suffering. Internet users indiscriminately downloaded the latest and most popular hits for free.
The music industry momentarily went into chaos, which is a scenario referred to in Steven Heyer’s keynote address. In his 2003 speech, the CEO turned to music executives and reminded them of the changing ways of producing and reproducing music due to the empowerment of consumers. 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. In the interview explaining his marketing strategy for Starwood Hotels, he furthered explained that they are now a company engaged in distributing entertainment and unforgettable experiences. In other words, consumers would have their eyes trained on what the hotels could provide, not the hotels themselves.
The company has called in a rather unorthodox business associate: a famous lingerie brand known all over the world for its couture lingerie fashion shows. Along with online bidders, only preferred guest members of Starwood can buy tickets to the elite fashion event. This is a case of the product being an experience.
Heyer has not restrained from making critiques of Hollywood practices, like the meaningless appearance of brands in scenes. The CEO has spoken of it as a random, ill-advised technique. He also said this practice neither improves storylines nor enhances marketability of products.
Steve Heyer CEO is someone who knows what he is doing: he even used to be chief of Coca Cola, one of the biggest businesses in the world. And with Coca Cola, he demonstrated contextual placement of brands into TV programs. He very subtly and effectively placed Coca Cola glasses on the “American Idol” judge’s table.
When in search of relevant info about online marketing and business in general, hitting the link will help.
