Steve Heyer CEO is a strong believer in the concept of constant adaptation in the industry in reaction to changing times. 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.
The man occupies a top position in Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Heyer was already in this seat when he began to expound on his original message to marketers in 2003. The trick, according to him, was to focus on selling fun, not a bed or a room.
He said, “We sell experiences. Memorable experiences, in other words, would be the products. Heyer's innovation was in the lens through which he approached the subject.
Another of the points he made was that businesses had to face a powerful trend towards customization in goods and services. The prediction, as we see now, came to pass. You can see this most prominently in areas of the market devoted to the provision of digital services.
The entertainment industry is also suffering from certain digital innovations impinging on their channels. Just for illustration, when software for musical piracy was introduced, the support from consumers was so overwhelming that the music industry almost immediately saw a setback in profits. Consumers went online in droves when songs started becoming downloadable on sites for free.
There was pandemonium in the song-production business, Heyer noted. 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.
To him, the postmodern cultural product was what made sense, where consumers bought because they wanted the culture. Heyer's intention is to convince consumers that they can make memories that shall never be forgotten by going to Starwood locations. 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). Along with online bidders, only preferred guest members of Starwood can buy tickets to the elite fashion event. Such shows how cultural marketing may be used.
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. He also said this practice neither improves storylines nor enhances marketability of products.
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. It is from that time that we may take an example of what he means by properly contextualized brand "cameos". He put the brand in view of American Idol's audience by setting Coke glasses before the judges of the series.
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