A casino in Venice turned the baggage carousel into a giant roulette wheel, allowing passengers to guess where their luggage would land. Not only did it immediately immerse travelers in the city’s gaming culture, but it occupied their minds during that interminable wait for their suitcases.
What can your organization do to make waiting time less like wasting time? Can you add a video, televisions, games, or other mind-occupying tactics to help the time pass more quickly? Bonus if you’re like Venice and can tie it to your brand. The carousel roulette is a winner!
You’ve seen the typical hotel minibar—it’s the one that places the emphasis on “mini.” Tiny bottles of liquor or maybe a few small snacks. Not so in Vegas, where everything seems to be excessive.
The minibar in my hotel carried full-size bottles of champagne, liquor, and water as well as theater-size servings of candy. It also conveniently included a collection of charging cords and adapters, and, in a nod to its stereotypical audience, a “Lover’s Kit” labeled “Temptation!”
It would be easy to standardize offerings at every property across the country, but Caesar’s understood that Vegas demanded something different. Whether anyone ever used the Lover’s Kit was immaterial; it fit with the Sin City brand and immediately let you know that you weren’t at a hotel in Des Moines.
Think about the little adjustments you can include to make your place “yours.” Even the smallest detail is part of your story.
I went to Las Vegas specifically to see the Sphere—the newest entertainment venue on the Strip. This place is unlike anything I have ever seen: massive beyond words, the ultimate in high-tech, and a perfect place to see a concert.
The Sphere has the largest screen in the world — 160,000 square feet, floor to ceiling, side to side, all at 16K resolution. It has 167,000 speakers, so advanced that they can focus different languages to different sections of the venue! The outside is a show in itself, with 1.2 million lights, continuously displaying different patterns and videos. (Even the Eagles commented on the quality of the venue, and if you know anything about bands, they are never happy with the facilities or sound.)
Because the scale is so massive, the visuals at the Sphere must be filmed with a special “Big Sky” camera to achieve crisp resolution on a screen that size. Consequently, they needed to build a smaller “Sphere Studio” in Burbank, one-quarter scale of the Sphere, to create and test videos before bringing them to the giant Sphere screen.
I like the idea of having a separate space for experimentation. There are organizations that have off-site innovation labs, test kitchens, theater workshops, or proving grounds that allow them to create outside the constraints of doing so in public. Like the Sphere, this freedom allows them to think bigger (literally) and produce outcomes that likely would not be possible otherwise.
What can you do to pilot new offerings offline, relieving some of the pressure of a “live” setting where the cost of failure is higher? The sphere of possibilities is limitless if you give your team freedom to dream big.
One of my major class projects in an MBA class was comparing American Airlines with Southwest. While both were in the same industry, there were so many contrasts, especially in Southwest’s “quirkiness”. If I had that same assignment today, I would be stumped.
I flew Southwest last week and was saddened to see that they have become generic. It’s now reserved seating. It costs to check bags. The flight attendant uniforms could be from any airline. There were no jokes or lighthearted announcements. Not all the fares are refundable. Everything was like everyone else.
Contrast that with Las Vegas, which was one of the most authentic and branded places that I have been. There was nothing generic about the Strip — it had all the size, scale, uniqueness, and bluster of any city I’ve seen. Someone described it as “5 miles of Times Square.” Only there could someone spend literal billions to build a giant guitar-shaped hotel and have it fit right in. Vegas promotes itself as “access to excess” and wears the brand proudly.
Think about your organization and its brand. Have you capitulated to pressures and blended in, or have you embraced your own distinctiveness even though it may not appeal to everyone? You can’t have it both ways.
New Hard Rock hotel under construction in Las Vegas
Chipotle ran a 3-day deal offering free chips and queso to customers who ordered through the mobile app, and I was happy to take advantage.
When I went to pick up my food, there was a long line of people waiting, and one poor guy was frantically making all the to-go orders. Contrast that with three employees who were prepared to serve the walk-ins — but were standing around with no customers because more had ordered through the app to receive the deal.
Chipotle corporate incentivized mobile orders, but Chipotle local did not make staffing adjustments (or did not know) to accommodate the likely change in ordering habits. Thus, the free side of queso came with a side of frustration as we waited.
Much of the dislike of change could be mitigated if the people making the alterations considered who would be affected and communicated with them in advance. Don’t let the chips haphazardly fall wherever they may; let others plan for the change that is coming.
On the table at the local pizza place were two shakers of peppers: Hatch Valley Green and Four Pepper Blend. Usually, it’s a roulette of guessing and testing to see which (or whether) pepper would be best for the pie, but these jars were clearly labeled with a thermometer and “heat” rating. I could tell just by looking at them that the Four Peppers would be beyond my comfort level, but the Hatch Valley may add a welcome kick.
Here’s a hot tip: craft your labeling or instructions to preemptively answer the questions users may have, so customers don’t have to pepper your staff with questions.
During the recent big snowstorm that hit the South, at least one store showed how to care for its employees.
My friend, who works for Home Depot in Virginia, recounted how, as she was leaving, her manager called her into the office to check that she had everything she needed in preparation for the storm. Then, once the storm hit, she received a text from Home Depot Disaster Support. It said they were checking on all associates in impacted areas. During and after the storm, they would periodically send welfare check texts, and everyone was asked to respond. If no one did, Home Depot would notify police and EMS in the area.
Of course, the store was busy with everyone stocking up on ice melt, shovels, generators, propane, etc. So, to care for those working, each store has a credit card for disaster relief, which the manager used to purchase pizza for employees for lunch and dinner shifts. The human resources manager made breakfast and crockpots full of soup.
Home Depot is a major corporation, but in this instance, it demonstrated how to act like a family business. In advance, it also established systems and processes to handle disasters or other extenuating circumstances. What would your employees say about how you handled a similar event?
Organizations often try to build brand loyalty at an early age. Colleges host summer camps for middle schoolers. Orchestras have youth programs. Churches have vacation Bible schools.
Aldi is actively pursuing the younger crowd with a line of Aldi-branded toys. Items include an Aldi semitruck, a cash register, a Fisher-Price Little People play set, and my favorite: a mini-shopping cart with the signature quarter holder. It’s a great way to reinforce the Aldi name and build that initial affinity.
What is your organization doing to cultivate awareness with your next generation of clients? It’s never too soon to start.
When design student Veronika Scott was challenged to create a product that filled a need, she designed a coat that could transform into a sleeping bag to help the homeless. She won an international award for her creation, but more importantly, worked to bring the product to life.
Veronika created a nonprofit, the Empowerment Plan, and hires people from homeless shelters to help make the coats. At work, they also receive on-site programming and support, allowing 100% of those employees have stable housing a year after leaving the organization. Over 100,000 EMPWR coats have been distributed free of charge to those in need, all provided through sponsorships of $150/coat.
Veronika is a beautiful example of the power of synergy. It’s not just the coat design, offering them through partnerships, hiring the homeless, or providing life resources to her employees, but the entire cycle that works in harmony to create something special.
Veronika could have stopped with her class project, or design award, or outsourced production, or offered jobs but not training, or sold the coats to outdoor adventurers — but she was intentional about each step in the process and remained focused on helping the homeless.
Take a lesson from the Empowerment Plan and create a greater impact in the whole system, not just one piece of it.
In the heart of winter, when the Northeast just got hit with piles of snow and another Nor’easter is on the way, JetBlue capitalized on the weather to tempt its audience into fleeing the cold.
A timely ad offered 15% off if the temperature dropped to 15 degrees or below (almost guaranteed) and then showed pictures of luxurious beaches and sun-filled destinations. Who wouldn’t want to trade shoveling for snorkeling?
It was designed to look spontaneous, but they anticipated snow and perfectly timed it to appeal to people when the weather was at its worst. Think about what message you need to have prepared to use just at the right moment.
