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There's No Business that's Not Show Business, by Bernd H. Schmitt, David L. Rogers, and Karen Vrotos, is reviewed.
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There's No Business that's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture By Bernd H. Schmitt, David L Rogers, and Karen Vrotsos (reviewed by Deanne Beckwith) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2003. 279 pages, $24.95.
There's No Business that's Not Show Business lifts the curtain on how successful companies, such as BMW, Intel, Victoria's secret, Toys R Us, and Altoids are winning over customers in today's experience-driven culture. Bernd Schmitt is probably best known for his best-selling Experience Marketing; here, he joins forces with David Rogers and Karen Vrotsos to offer advice to those who would like to put on their own "show." From politics to Botox parties, from Harley rallies to the role of mega-museums and architecture in urban development, experience marketing is having a profound effect on what we desire and what we are willing to pay for. For those wishing to get in on the action, this book goes beyond descriptions to provide a guide to participating, tools for budgeting and measuring the bottom-line impact of your show, and tips for how to create experiences that connect customers to your brand.
As conventional advertising grows increasingly ineffective, and customers grow increasingly independent, Schmitt, Rogers, and Vrotsos contend that creating "show business" experiences can build a strong brand. Creative marketing has moved beyond the limited world of TV commercials to include staged events, experiential retail space, street theater, and squads of customer evangelists. Experiences are used to generate buzz, launch products, grow brands, and build great customer relationships.
The authors illustrate the power and reach of show business as a vital part of marketing strategy and demonstrate how it can be used to grow any business. There are case studies and best practices from across every industry, and from companies large and small. They examine the changing role of experience in our lives and how business is responding to it, engaging customers directly and inviting their participation.
Informative, entertaining, and timely, this guide leads us straight into the back rooms of the emerging world of experience culture and provides a roadmap for creating experience-based business opportunities.
Copyright Design Management Institute Winter 2004