Monday, February 27, 2012

Steve Heyer CEO and What He Thinks Brands Should Do to Stay Alive

Steve Heyer CEO is a strong believer in the concept of constant adaptation in the industry in reaction to changing times. Such did he advocate ten years ago, and now people marvel to see how right he was. He said these things to a good number of the most influential persons in the industry a number of years in the past.

Steve Heyer is a person of great importance in the business world, not least because he is one of the chiefs of Starwood Hotels. 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. His primary claim was that he had not intention of marketing a hotel room but rather wanted to market an experience.

Experiential value is of prime importance here. He said that the hotels had to work on selling experiences worth remembering. Technically, what is being offered has not really changed: it is simply the way of looking at it that has.

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. This is precisely what one now observes in businesses: customization. You can see this most prominently in areas of the market devoted to the provision of digital services.

The entertainment business is being sucked dry by the latest technologies in the hands of teen consumers. For example, musicians saw a sharp decline in profits following the rise of MP3 distribution sites. Millions of music lovers began switching to MP3s on the Web for their music fix.

The music industry momentarily went into chaos, which is a scenario referred to in Steven Heyer’s keynote address. For Heyer, this was only a reminder that people needed to constantly change their approaches to meet fresh issues. Heyer said that even TV was no longer safe, and that new trends might well harm those in the industry.

Steve Heyer argues that modern marketing efforts should focus on the creation of cultures, not products. Heyer's intention is to convince consumers that they can make memories that shall never be forgotten by going to Starwood locations. This marketing tactic would lead to emphasis being placed on the entertainment possibilities of each hotel.

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. Only certain persons in the Starwood hotels are allowed to attend the runway shows. This is the perfect execution of what Heyer meant.

Heyer has also spoken out against slapping on brands in films. This is a meaningless practice, in Heyer's opinion. 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. From his work with them, we can see a smarter way to boost brand visibility without being meangingless. He managed to get Coke cups on the table of the judges for a certain talent competition aired on TV, ensuring contextual visibility.


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