It is wise to adopt a mutable concept of marketing, according to Steve Heyer CEO, to answer the shifting demands of consumers. Heyer's notes on this were given long ago, yet they prove true now. Perhaps his most memorable words on them were given in 2003, during a notable address of his peers.
Steve J. Heyer is chief executive officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the world’s third-largest hotel chain. Heyer was already in this seat when he began to expound on his original message to marketers in 2003. His primary claim was that he had not intention of marketing a hotel room but rather wanted to market an experience.
Heyer's emphasis was on the marketing of an experience. He wanted to emphasize the value of promoting amusements as services or products. This is a complete change in perspective and approach, although the product and services did not change at all.
Heyer believed that the future held great things by way of personalization. The prediction, as we see now, came to pass. And this is most apparent in the computer and digital industries.
The latest developments have also spelled difficulty for people in entertainment. A lot of money was lost by those in the songwriting and production business, for example, because of data-ripping technologies. Consumers went online in droves when songs started becoming downloadable on sites for free.
Heyer's conference speech talked about the panic music-producers went through during this time. 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. Heyer said that even TV was no longer safe, and that new trends might well harm those in the industry.
Essentially, he was saying that the time had come for businesss to market a culture, not a product. The idea behind the marketing for Heyer's hotels company is now that of entertainment that cannot be found elsewhere. In other words, consumers would have their eyes trained on what the hotels could provide, not the hotels themselves.
Hence, the company has actually struck up a partnership with the Victoria's Secret brand in an effort to market the experience of being in a Starwood hotel (and watching a Victoria's Secret runway show, in this case). Because of the exclusivity of the runway shows to Starwood customers, there is a clear integration of the desire to view a Victoria's Secret show with attendance of a Starwood hotel. This is a clear example of marketing an experience.
Steve Heyer has also made negative remarks about a growing trend in the LA film industry: the insertion of brands in random shots. 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. Some of his services for that company actually demonstrate what he is trying to say by "contextual" brand placement. He very subtly and effectively placed Coca Cola glasses on the “American Idol” judge’s table.
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