Monday, February 27, 2012

Predictive Marketing Strategies from Steve Heyer CEO

Steve Heyer CEO is a strong believer in the concept of constant adaptation in the industry in reaction to changing times. These are bold words that were spoken by this visionary business leader almost a decade ago and people continue to refer to them today. He delivered a keynote speech bearing this message to a group of 400 media, ad agency and entertainment executives during an “Advertising Age” conference in 2003.

Steve J. Heyer is chief executive officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the world’s third-largest hotel chain. 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. The trick, according to him, was to focus on selling fun, not a bed or a room.

Heyer's emphasis was on the marketing of an experience. The goods, for Heyer, were the entertainments to be found in the resorts. Technically, what is being offered has not really changed: it is simply the way of looking at it that has.

Heyer believed that the future held great things by way of personalization. Interestingly, this too has proven true. This is a theme most strongly supported by digital products and companies nowadays.

The latest developments have also spelled difficulty for people in entertainment. For example, musicians saw a sharp decline in profits following the rise of MP3 distribution sites. Suddenly no-one wanted to pay for songs any longer, opting instead to get them free, off the Net.

Heyer remarked on the horrific drop in revenue for singers, songwriters, and producers during this period. The circumstances had changed, Heyer said, and so should the methods of distribution as well as reproduction. To Heyer, the new cultural trends dictating the market could influence even TV itself, one of the biggest entertainment industries of all time.

What Heyer advocated was the shift from emphasis on the item to emphasis on the experiences associated with it. An experience that is not easily replicable is the primary product Heyer is looking to market for Starwood. This would thus place the onus of drawing in consumers on the entertainment value of the hotels in question, as opposed to their actual ability to "house" people in need of a place to stay temporarily.

To this end, Victoria’s Secret has been called on to partner with the hotels to produce The Limited Victoria Secret shows for exclusive viewing in the hotels. The Victoria's Secret shows command a good bit of attention, and only select guests of the hotels are allowed. Such shows how cultural marketing may be used.

The CEO was also critical of how Hollywood is “slapping” logos and brand names in movies out of context. He calls the practice a “contextless” insertion of brand logos into movies or TV programs. Heyer's beliefs here state that he cannot find this a marketing method that would be likely to be effective.

A look at Coca Cola's roster of past chiefs shall show Steve Heyer CEO on it. It was during his work then that he showed what he meant by smart and relevant brand appearance in a video shot. He put the brand in view of American Idol's audience by setting Coke glasses before the judges of the series.


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