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. Heyer's remarks on the topic were given some years ago in a gathering of executive officers of various advertising companies.
Steve Heyer is a person of great importance in the business world, not least because he is one of the chiefs of Starwood Hotels. Heyer was already in this seat when he began to expound on his original message to marketers in 2003. Heyer's stated goal was the marketing of amusement, as opposed to the marketing of lodgings in the hotels.
In this approach, what is being sold is the experience itself. Memorable experiences, in other words, would be the products. Marketing in this manner was new back then, and quite an original concept.
He also emphasized the need to provide for the new powers of consumers nowadays. Interestingly, this too has proven true. Nowhere is this more visible than in the technologically-centered industries.
The latest developments have also spelled difficulty for people in entertainment. The development of applications capable of ripping sound from CDs, for instance, led to music producers suffering. Consumers went online in droves when songs started becoming downloadable on sites 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. Their focus now is not anymore on the beautiful hotels with a total worth of billion dollars but on the opportunities to create memories.
In order to achieve the goal, Heyer has brought in Victoria's Secret, partnering with it to promote the hotels through the fashions shows being hosted for the lingerie line. To tempt customers, the shows have been marketed as exclusive events. This is a clear example of marketing an experience.
The proliferation of brand names in films has also drawn attention from Heyer, who dislikes it. He calls the practice a “contextless” insertion of brand logos into movies or TV programs. Heyer argues against the practice by calling it both a useless appendage to the plot as well as a useless tool for a business.
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. It is from that time that we may take an example of what he means by properly contextualized brand "cameos". Heyer set Coke glasses on the judging table of a famous talent show on television.
When in search of relevant info about online marketing and business in general, hitting the link will help.
