Monday, February 27, 2012

Marketing Strategies from Steve Heyer CEO

It is wise to adopt a mutable concept of marketing, according to Steve Heyer CEO, to answer the shifting demands of consumers. It is clear at present that the man was right in his tips, delivered long years ago. 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. Heyer was already in this seat when he began to expound on his original message to marketers in 2003. Heyer's stated goal was the marketing of amusement, as opposed to the marketing of lodgings in the hotels.

Experiences are the products to Heyer, not the rooms. We deliver memories.” Technically, what is being offered has not really changed: it is simply the way of looking at it that has.

Another of the points he made was that businesses had to face a powerful trend towards customization in goods and services. This is precisely what one now observes in businesses: customization. This is most patent in digital products.

We are seeing old forms of entertainment being given a run for their money by fresh avenues of media distribution. The development of applications capable of ripping sound from CDs, for instance, led to music producers suffering. Internet users indiscriminately downloaded the latest and most popular hits 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. To Heyer, the new cultural trends dictating the market could influence even TV itself, one of the biggest entertainment industries of all time.

Steve Heyer argues that modern marketing efforts should focus on the creation of cultures, not products. In the interview explaining his marketing strategy for Starwood Hotels, he furthered explained that they are now a company engaged in distributing entertainment and unforgettable experiences. Heyer's intent, obviously, is to market something that is even more in demand than lodging in the present culture: an experience.

In order to achieve the goal, Heyer has brought in Victoria's Secret, partnering with it to promote the hotels through the fashions shows being hosted for the lingerie line. To tempt customers, the shows have been marketed as exclusive events. Here we see the application of Heyer's concepts.

Heyer has also spoken out against slapping on brands in films. The CEO has spoken of it as a random, ill-advised technique. He also said this practice neither improves storylines nor enhances marketability of products.

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.


When in search of relevant info about online marketing and business in general, hitting the link will help.