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AttractionPros brings you into the room with the top leaders, executives, and influencers in the attractions industry, to gain the widest possible perspective of all areas of the industry. Most people are only exposed to the practices of their own organization without seeing how the rest of the industry operates. By following AttractionPros, you will gain the skills and knowledge needed to succeed and learn from the best of the best, whether you are the CEO or just beginning your career.
Episodes
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Breaking into the attractions industry is no simple task, especially if you have built your professional career in a non-related industry. However, for those who change careers into the industry, they find that there are both benefits and challenges to bringing an outside perspective into an industry that historically has promoted from within. This also may require those who have always worked in the industry to reframe their mindset to embrace and welcome individuals who leave a different industry to join a new network of AttractionPros. In this “mailbag” episode, Matt and Josh discuss the value of transferable skills, methods of breaking into the industry, and the three keys to networking.
Transferable Skills
Every industry has its own unique, uncomparable skills that are required to get the job done. In the attractions industry, there is a place for every skill imaginable! Whether it’s figuring out how to rig chairs onto a robotic arm, tricking guests into thinking they teleported into a spaceship, or finding a new way to go about guest situations, there are so many ideas and skills required to further improve our industry.
Expertise leads to a foot in the door. Few people come into this industry blind, as many people have the experience as a consumer and also their previous scope of work. By capitalizing on those previous experiences, your transferable skills can bring you into the industry and break you in. After you get started, you’ll need to learn the terminology along the way and stand on the strong shoulders your previous experiences have given you.
Breaking Into the Industry
The attractions industry has a strong history of valuing new ideas. Being able to take certain ideas or technology from previous experiences and collide them with the established technology of the industry can create unparalleled attractions that pull guests from every corner of the world. By marketing your unique skill set with these new ideas, breaking into the industry can be very simplified.
Innovation only occurs when someone brings about change. By using your transferable skills and new ideas to your advantage, you can find that breaking point to put yourself in the industry. However, this must be exercised with caution, as the mark made must be made properly in an industry like this. Show patience and be friendly, and you’ll find out that the people you talk to always know somebody that can help you out, whether that be in the lens of networking or your new job.
Three Keys to Networking
To build a career in the attractions industry, networking is extremely important. Even today, if you don’t connect yourself with the people who are creating these experiences, you will struggle finding a place where you can release your talent to its fullest potential. The secret to networking involves being known, liked, and trusted..
These three keys are what people define you by, and when you fill all the criteria, people will want you on their team. When it comes to being known, you’ll need to initiate conversations. By having a unique trait or scheduling meetings, it will get those talks started. This will help you stand it in a crowded space and get you recognized. When it comes to being liked, being personal and making the conversation about who you’re talking to can make a great first and lasting impression. By creating that relationship, people will want to talk to you again, and that opens up doors for the future. As for trust, make sure you’re not just networking for personal gain. It’s crystal clear when people come up and are talking to somebody just to get use out of them. By showing your genuine self, it increases the likelihood that people will trust you and will want to talk to you again.
There is so much more to talk about when it comes to breaking into the industry and networking, and we want to hear your thoughts! Feel free to share on Twitter and LinkedIn, and tag @AttractionPros.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Summary by Mason Nichols
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Transformation to reach the next level is one of the most delicate processes throughout the attractions industry. In the current state of the industry, we’re dealing with a time where people feel different than they’ve ever felt before. The only answer to help adapt to this new era is transformation to enhance the employee and guest experience. Challenges await behind the door we’re approaching, and in this episode, Matt and Josh discuss methods and ways to transform both the guest and employee experience to help combat arising issues and ensure stability in a time where it isn’t guaranteed.
Pandemic Recovery (Showing Appreciation)
Throughout the past 2 years, the world has shifted drastically. As a result, the ideologies of people have also shifted within the guest and employee worlds. For example, showing appreciation has become one of the most key elements in both of these worlds due to these changes in ideology. Not only should guests feel appreciated for visiting your location, but employees who help create these experiences should also be recognized for the work they do.
Guests could be doing anything else other than visiting an attraction, so it’s important that their presence is recognized. The same thing goes for employees, as they could be working at a different location or working from home. Showing appreciation and recognition has become practically essential after the reset the world recently went through, and people will no longer visit or work for a place that doesn’t show them the gratitude they deserve for going out of their way.
How to go about Transformation
Going about transformation is not an easy task. Guidance and critical thinking is essential to develop a meaningful transformation that will give positive results. Following a tailored criteria to help develop transformation will be a ‘North Star.’ Although the end goal may be vague, using a structured method to transform one emotion to another can lead to a transformed audience, who may not even know they’ve been transformed. In addition, using resources is a key element to transform experiences. Companies often have multiple departments, and creating joint efforts can really help attack pressure point elements of transformation.
Measuring transformation can be a difficult task. Guests and employees are very different, yet incredibly intertwined. Overall, seeing how behavior changes in a person is the greatest indicator of transformation for all types of people. If a guest begins to become a consistent visitor, that may show that the changes you made transformed that guest. If an employee begins to refer more of their friends, that may also be a big indicator that your methods of transformation have been successful. By recognizing these changes in behavior, transformation can be altered to achieve the behavior you want.
Removing barriers
One of the biggest obstacles in transforming somebody's behavior is limited vision they have to the bigger picture. Getting someone to say “I’ve never thought of it that way” is one of the key gateways into transformation. Whether it be for the guest questioning why a restrictive policy exists to an employee wondering why the call-out system exists, helping people see the bigger picture can help change their behavior and lead to a positive transformation. Everyone only sees what is in front of them, and helping them see what goes around policies or experiences can help transform that person.
The same way works when moving up the corporate ladder. As you slowly move up, you begin to see the land below you and how it intertwines with each other. Moving from an hourly position to an operations team leader transforms a person sheerly by how much more they’re seeing. By spreading that knowledge, the dots can connect and more people can understand that they’re no longer a cog in a machine but rather a unique individual contributing to the operation, far beyond the job description. Overall, by giving more pieces of the puzzle and connecting it for someone, they can be transformed and have their behavior changed.
There are many more ways that transformation can occur, and we are eager to further explore this conversation and hear your opinions on the topic.
Feel free to share your thoughts on Twitter and LinkedIn, and tag @AttractionPros. Tell us what you’re going through and tell us how you’re transforming your experience, or even tell us how you’re struggling.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Summary by Mason Nichols
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Brian Knoebel is a Co-Owner/Co-Manager of Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA. Brian began his career at Knoebels before he can even remember; at three years old Brian and his older brother Rick would separate ride tickets by color for the staff to count and add up how much revenue was made that day. Since then, Brian has held nearly every role one can have at the park, from mowing grass, picking paper, ride operations, games, food & beverage, ticket sales, and blowing up balloons for the dart game. Brian’s educational background is in food and hospitality management, and takes immense pride that Knoebels is family first, then a business, rather than the other way around. In this interview, Brian talks about recreating the past, family first, and prioritizing value.
Recreating the past
“What’s our niche? It’s recreating the past.”
Knoebels is the throwback, traditional quintessential amusement park of yesterday. Knoebels has no gate and offers free admission, free parking, free entertainment, and a free picnic area. While there is an option for a wristband, everything is a la carte. If grandparents are taking their grandchild to the park, they don’t have to pay to park or pay for admission for anything they do not partake in.
The property also includes farmland, and the Knoebels family used to make and sell charcoal, farm Christmas trees, and people would come in on horseback on the weekends, swim in the swimming hole, and have a picnic. Brian’s grandfather, Henry Knoebel built a picnic pavilion and began building amusement rides shortly thereafter.
Knoebels’s rich history can still be sensed by park guests today.
Family first
“We are family first. We don’t have board of directors meetings, we have family meetings.”
Brian shares stories about growing up at the park and playing kickball in front of the guest services office, and how the park was his backyard. Today, everyone has their own individual roles, but no one looks over each other’s shoulders. Even job titles are rarely used within the Knoebels family.
Within many family businesses, there often comes a time when the family has to determine if they are a family or if they are a business, due to the challenges that can arise from running a business with close relatives. The Knoebel family has never had to have this discussion. The Knoebels have always operated with the understanding that they are a family first and business second.
Prioritizing value
"The business model has always been value, and it works."
Knoebels has a business model that differs from the majority of gated amusement parks. With no gate, no admission fee, no charge for parking, and free entertainment, the park presents immense value for its guests. Brian references Sam Walton multiple times in the interview, stating that if guests perceive value then they will want to do it again and tell others.
When relocating the Phoenix to Knoebels in 1985, the park hired an accounting firm to determine the most optimal price per ride to charge guests. While the firm recommended $3 per ride, Pete Knoebel made the decision to charge $1 instead. Despite the data from the study, Pete wanted guests to ride multiple times.
During family meetings, Buddy Knoebel regularly brings value into the conversation. This commitment is maintained even during economic fluctuation and inflation, or even when their utilities and cost of goods rise.
To learn more about Knoebels, you can visit knoebels.com, and follow on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. New this year, Knoebels has an app that guests can download to improve their experience at the park.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Pete Barto is President of PB Amusement, a firm he started to fill the gap of helping operators find just the right ride or experience for their attraction. Pete is one of the few people who can say that he has the “trifecta” of experience, having worked with an industry association, an operator, and a manufacturer. Pete is not shy about his love for the industry, which is evident in the conversation where we talk about passion recognizing passion, doing business with friends, and investing in attractions.
Passion recognizes passion
"Every bit of an amusement park gets me excited, and always has."
From an early age, Pete was called to “perform” at local amusement parks, but not in a traditional way. In a few cases, Pete took over for a games barker or tram driver and began perfecting his “sales pitch” that would later serve him well in many roles.
It is this passion that Pete displays, but also sees in other people. The passion that many people have for this industry is infectious, and Pete makes a great point about working with others who share the same outlook, passion, and drive. It’s inspiring, and who wouldn’t want to work around other inspiring people?
Doing business with friends
"It's so much more enjoyable doing business with friends."
If you look at Pete’s roles throughout his career, you notice a similar word pop up over and over - sales. Pete has had a variety of sales roles but doesn’t consider himself a salesperson. That’s because he chooses to do business with people he likes and genuinely cares about - his friends.
Because of this, Pete doesn’t “push” products or services on people that they don’t need. He takes a very “long game” approach to sales in that he feels if he builds a relationship, the sales will eventually follow. This is why Pete is not worried or upset when a sale doesn’t go through. It wasn’t right at that time, but the situation could be different in the future and the sale may happen then. Until then Pete keeps in close contact and tries to learn everything he can about their business.
Investing in attractions
"You can't always tell when a park is very clean, but you can tell when one is not."
For Pete, investing in an attraction is partially about the hardware you buy. It’s also about the effort you put into the presentation of the park, the food, the atmosphere, and the team. He doesn’t say it in so many words, but he seems to take a holistic approach when working with a park or operator to provide them with the very best service and attraction for their needs.
This means that Pete factors in everything, over and above the footprint and budget. He also looks for demographic trends such as the average age of families and whether or not there are more babies being born over a certain period of time. For example, if he sees that there will be a boom in births over the next few years, then a park’s expansion plan should include family or children’s rides.
To learn more about PB Amusement, visit PB Amusement.com. To reach Pete directly, email pbarto@pbamusement.com, or find him on LinkedIn.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
Tuesday Apr 26, 2022
Jessi O’Daniel is the General Manager of Typhoon Texas Austin, one of four parks owned and operated by the Pyek Group. Jessi’s journey in the attractions industry began with Kentucky Kingdom, where over the course of eight years, Jessi took on several leadership and management roles, and until recently was the park’s Vice President of Guest Experience. As the Pyek Group has grown and continues to expand, Jessi began her current role at Typhoon Texas in January 2022. Additionally, Jessi is the chair of IAAPA’s Young Professional Subcommittee and a member of the North America Regional Advisory Committee. In this interview, Jessi discusses what it means to put your stamp on it, the importance of soft skills, and leadership development.
Putting Your Stamp on it
“They’re like, ‘put your stamp on it, make it yours, make Typhoon Texas awesome.’”
In the attractions industry, one of the most valuable initiatives is improving the guest experience. Whether this be through a simple act of moving a food item to a different kitchen or fighting for new assets for your maintenance team to help reduce downtimes, making personal executive decisions to improve the operation can make all the difference for guests, your team, and the overall experience of your park.
When you “put your stamp” on something, it means to make those difficult personal decisions with a fresh set of eyes and the best interest of the operation in mind. By putting yourself in the shoes of the guest, you can personally customize many things about the operation on any level, from hourly employees to general manager. Support will often follow decisions that benefit the guest experience and improve the operation, so it’s important to not be afraid to change something when you look at it with a new pair of eyes.
Soft Skills
“There is a lot of benefit to building that team so that it is a unit and everyone is being mindful of everyone else.”
When it comes to building a team, it's important to make sure that everyone is harmonious in an aspect to where the operations of one team makes a positive impact on the operations of another. The grand operation should be built by bricks of teams that are all intertwined to ensure that they build each other up and don’t damage each other.
The main way to achieve this is to ensure that those teams have soft skills, an ability to communicate and work harmoniously with other teams. For example, when it comes to operations, it’s quite common that maintenance gets mad at operators, and operators get mad at maintenance. Building over these bridges and having people work together, even if it's as simple as learning names, can make all the difference in the world for operations, and therefore, the guest experience.
Leadership Development
“There are so many different lanes and so much opportunity in this industry.”
Helping develop and nurture the next generation of industry professionals is no easy task, and navigating this industry as a young professional is already quite the maze. Some young professionals don’t even know about what lies behind the doors of hourly positions, and helping develop leadership skills for future positions can really change the course of the industry.
People, especially young professionals, often want to break the curve. Unfortunately, young professionals don’t consistently have the guidance to properly do that. By tapering approaches, operations can be reformed and the industry can be reshaped. Sometimes, the first approach doesn’t work, but that doesn’t mean it was a failure. Leadership involves learning from mistakes and constantly improving oneself to be the best professional they can be to therefore light the path for others.
To learn more about Typhoon Texas, visit TyphoonTexas.com. To reach Jessi directly, email jessi.odaniel@typhoontexas.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Summary by Mason Nichols
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
Tuesday Apr 19, 2022
The intersection of guest and employee experience is one of the most important balances in the attractions industry. Not only does the word experience apply to guests, but it also applies to the employees who create those experiences. Oftentimes, guest experience and employee experience are seen as separate functions that usually remain in their respective silos, when in fact there is much that can be gained when they are intertwined.. Fostering the company culture while simultaneously creating unparalleled experiences for guests can be challenging. However, our theory suggests that the core elements of improving both the guest and employee experience are exactly the same. In this episode, Matt and Josh challenge each other to address guest experience and employee experience initiatives, using their respective expertise to solve for the other’s.
Attracting Talent (Employee Experience)
When it comes to attracting talent from the guest experience standpoint, it is about setting an expectation that people will have when they visit. Expectations are set for visitors based on what they can anticipate when they visit, and these locations should exceed these expectations to ensure a great guest experience.
For employees, an expectation should be set on what it will be like to work at that location. Management and the workplace environment should be clearly defined for an employee to generate a positive experience. One department shouldn’t be crafting these job descriptions, but instead the employee should get a good idea and have their expectations exceeded to create a great employee experience, similar to the guidelines we use for our guests.
Personalizing the Experience (Guest Experience)
Creating a personalized experience for a team member involves many separate keys that unlock relationships that will generate a great experience. Whether it be something as simple as letting them know you were proud of their performance or using their name more often in the workplace, generating these personalized experiences makes an employee feel more welcome.
Therefore, personalized experiences for guests follow many of those same keys. Using a guest's name throughout an experience can create feelings that make the guest feel remembered, appreciated, and welcomed. By following those similar guidelines we use for employees, the guest feels like there's more interaction and relationships throughout their visit.
Holding People Accountable (Employee Experience)
In nearly every experience, there are rules and guidelines in place for operational concerns and guest safety. Being on the side of the guest is important to do, as it should not be assumed that guests don’t have the same level of proficiencies that employees have, so going about enforcing accountability in this manner is important to generate a great guest experience and further understand the guest’s situation.
For the employee experience, employees should be held accountable and take ownership of their responsibilities. However, it should be known that they don’t have the proficiencies that their leaders do. It is important to go about enforcing accountability delicately so that issues can be corrected in a non-assumptive manner and generate a great employee experience.
Using Feedback to Improve Experience (Guest Experience)
From an employee standpoint, it is much easier to notice change as they are seen more often by their leaders. By using verbal feedback and basic analysis, it is easy to approach a team member and figure out a root cause of a problem to improve the employee experience and fix issues in the field.
In the lens of guest feedback, you have to act on the feedback you get from surveys and analysis in a similar manner to how you would approach an employee. By trying to solve it at the root cause, whether it be a water pipe or rude employee, you can truly improve the guest experience in a simplistic manner by allowing the guest to be heard and hear about an impact they made.
Driving Employee Loyalty (Employee Experience)
Guest loyalty has three main components; coming back often, telling others, and they come to your defense. By showing these main components, a reputation is made for guest experience and generates a beneficial reputation for the company by showing loyal supporters.
In terms of employees, these three main components can be translated directly to retention, referrals, and defense of the business. When these main components are shown by your employees, they feel more welcome and that they are working for a more reputable company. This can help improve operations, retention, and the work environment itself.
Surprise and Delight (Guest Experience)
When you think of team members as investments, you realize that you want to keep that investment motivated and excited to perform at a high level. By surprising employees with simple acts, you can keep them motivated and make them feel valued.
Guests experiences thrive on surprise and delight. When you break them out of a routine, it goes far beyond what they expected and enables them to truly have a better experience.
There are many more issues within the realms of guest and employee experience in which this theory can be tested. We are eager to continue the conversation with your suggestions and thoughts on this topic.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Summary by Mason Nichols
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
John Penney is the Founder and CEO of BlackDog Advertising, a full-service advertising firm based in Miami, FL. BlackDog was founded in 1989 after John began to automate work from his previous employer that was historically done manually. Within a couple of years, BlackDog began working with tourism operators in Key West, which launched BlackDog into the attractions and tourism industry. Today, BlackDog works with tourism businesses from coast to coast and has found a niche in managing the unique challenges that go alongside working in the industry. In this interview, John discusses the importance of staying on the edge, bringing marketing to the table, and exceeding goals.
Staying on the edge
"You don't know what's trending until you find it."
BlackDog prides itself on hiring diverse talent, which enables the company to bring in fresh ideas that may benefit their clients that might be unique and innovative. To encourage creativity, BlackDog invests in employees to spend time seeking ideas that might be out of the box, and bring them back either to offer to clients or at least test.
Using an experimental fashion, BlackDog tests new ideas in-house before implementing them with clients, and when they are offered, some are eager to implement them immediately while others want to see the results from other businesses.
Bringing marketing to the table
"Marketing needs a seat at the table."
At the beginning of the pandemic, many attractions halted all marketing and advertising. However, this did not prove to be the best practice when there are still ways to continue engaging with your audience, even though the messaging and structure of advertising needed to be different. Similarly, John stresses the importance of marketing representatives being at the table with all other departments, including operations, so that operational practices can be properly broadcast. During pandemic-related restrictions that were regularly fluctuating, the importance of marketing cannot be understated.
During difficult times, whether it is a pandemic or a natural disaster such as a hurricane, John recommends that you have a communication plan around how you are managing difficult situations. When an attraction encounters a hurricane, for instance, there is critical information that needs to be communicated, such as whether the venue is open or closed, but also hurricane-related initiatives that allow their audience to better connect with the brand from an emotional standpoint.
Exceeding goals
“A lot of people know what their issues are, they just need someone to confirm that for them.”
Before even having the first meeting, BlackDog conducts the research to gain an outsider’s opinion of what their goals might be and then listen to the client for areas of opportunity that they can help resolve. BlackDog then presents its marketing plan outline which includes all of its goals combined with BlackDog’s goals for what they see will make the program successful.
While some attractions may have their own goals, many may need guidance in determining what their goals should be to achieve optimal success. Some venues may also not be leveraging their technology to the best of their ability to understand sales coming in from all of their channels.
When asked about the difference between marketing and advertising, many people either confuse the two or use the terms interchangeably. John summarizes that marketing is the science of where to put advertising. In the history of advertising, it was simply about media placement without the strategy that goes into its planning today.
To learn more about BlackDog, visit www.blackdogad.com.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Meghan Curran is the Chief Marketing and Experience Officer at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Upon graduating from the University of Illinois, Meghan joined Chicago Creative Partnership as an account supervisor. After being exposed to the world of creative marketing and the concept of understanding customers to create better experiences, she took the next step and joined the Shedd Aquarium team. With all the job experiences that Shedd has provided the past 20 years for Meghan, she takes pride in her philosophy of making sure the guests are heard to provide better experiences and serve their interests to the maximum capability. In this interview, Meghan talks about the value of looking nature in the eye, the balance of education and entertainment, and how important it is to make guests feel welcome.
Looking Nature in the Eye
“Personal interactions deliver people who are willing to take more action for animals.”
Guests come to the aquarium for an experience. The experience of seeing a beautiful creature while having a team member talk about the troubles, triumphs, and experiences of that animal can generate a new type of feeling for many. Many animals can not control their fate, however, by using experiences to inspire people to make a change could change the course of various species of wildlife, whether it be in Lake Michigan or even the middle of the Pacific.
Delivering that call to action with groundbreaking interactivity and participation can make guests feel moved and inspired, the main goal of Shedd Aquarium. By analyzing the guest experience, changes can be made to provide a more memorable visit. These memorable experiences will eventually develop into a word of mouth outreach, inspiring more people to visit the aquarium and cause a massive chain reaction of inspiration and action for aquatic life around the world.
Balancing Education and Entertainment
“People won’t protect what they don’t understand or what they don’t connect to.”
Education is an important part of any themed experience. Whether it be for a call to action or understanding a different culture, walking out of an experience with a new understanding is vital to the industry. For aquariums, it is important that people understand why they need to change their ways in order to protect aquatic life. One of the main ways to accomplish that is to create a connection.
The balance of education and entertainment is essential to creating that connection and call to action that Shedd Aquarium strives to have every guest experience. Connection and understanding are the two most important variables to create that call to action. Without proper education, people will walk out of the experience happy, but without understanding why that experience was created. With too much education, guests will not retain it in a meaningful manner. Having that perfect ratio generates a meaningful and emotional experience that can change lives, human or aquatic life.
Making Guests Feel Welcome
“A lot of what we’re doing with this experience is trying to make sure that people feel in control.”
Sometimes, experiences can be overwhelming. By simplifying things, guests can feel more in control and happier with their visit. If a place is overwhelming, it takes away from the experience itself. When guests lose in the first moments of their experience because of the overwhelming nature, it can leave a sour taste and take away from the true value behind the experience. Not only this, but instead of having an attendant at an exhibit, somebody now has to explain the nearest route to the exit, taking away valuable resources to generate those experiences.
Making things simple is the perfect way to take away the need to have people to tell guests what is obvious. In addition, it makes the guest feel welcome and in control. By avoiding these unnecessary routes and strange floorplans, guests win in their first moments of the experience. By having guests in control, team members can now explain the real confusing parts of the building, the fantastic aquatic life.
To learn more about Shedd Aquarium and their commitments, visit www.sheddaquarium.org.
To reach out to Meghan directly, you can visit the About Us section of the website for more information about her as well as her contact information.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Summary by Mason Nichols
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Joe Pine is an acclaimed author, speaker, management advisor, and co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP. Joe’s career began with performance analysis with IBM, where he was introduced to the idea of Mass Customization after joining the strategy team. After this journey, he co-founded Strategic Horizons LLP, a thinking studio centered around helping clients think differently and conceive new ways to develop their economic value through the lens of the experience economy and mass customization. Throughout Joe’s notable career, he has filled many shoes and learned many skills that he shares in order to help grow the next generation of professionals. In this interview, Joe talks about the experience economy, mass customization, and transformation.
The Experience Economy
“You see experiences everywhere, and you see how much people value the experiences that they have.”
Everybody wants to live their life to the fullest, and the main way to bring that fulfillment to people is through experiences. When lots of people want something, there will inevitably be an economy centered around it. As the world has evolved, we have seen shifts in these economies. From industrial to knowledge, and knowledge to services. The new shift is turning those services into experiences.
On a dramatic increase over the past 25 to 30 years, this economy endlessly grows the expansive world of experiences. Even now, people are looking for things as simple as shopping to turn into something more. As recent world events have shown, many things can be done from the comfort of home. People now need a reason to come into the store other than buying things, as it is nearly pointless unless an experience is created for them. As the world evolves technologically, people are realizing that they need to experience something before they buy it. This all leads to the end goal of an economy creating memorable and meaningful experiences.
Mass Customization
“Mass Customization automatically turns a service into an experience.”
From an economical standpoint, tailoring ‘something’ into ‘something more specific’ can truly make a difference. This made-to-order mindset is what people heavily desire within the experience economy. Mass customization is the bridge between products and services, and most importantly, services to experiences.
Before recent innovations, the attractions community treated people like mass products, no matter what, everybody got the same thing. There was little to no tailored experience, and it left a very big spark of theming out of themed entertainment. Once bigger companies implemented new technology, people began to experience things tailored to what they want. This made-to-order mindset being implemented further expanded the industry into an entire new world of innovation, allowing companies to get more personal and customize the individual.
Transformation
“It’s about going beyond the experience to help your customers achieve their aspirations.”
Transformation is an important part of life, happiness, and the economy. People only change through the experiences they have. There are many different cases where people would naturally experience transformation, or will go about seeking it personally. When experiences are created, it is important to acknowledge and try to direct how people will be transformed.
People actively seek change. Even in experiences outside of the themed entertainment industry, people can overcome something like their fear and walk out of that experience feeling like an improved person. When people seek experiences, they also seek transformation. Providing and nourishing this delicate part of experiences is key to the experience economy. In addition, to further enhance the transformation that people are looking for, using mass customization is key. Overall, transformation is the end result of experiences, and that should be more recognized and improved to even further grow the experience economy.
To connect with Joe, connect with him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter. To learn more about Strategic Horizons and the Experience Economy certification, visit www.strategichorizons.com. For the frontline video training course, visit www.onstagetraining.com.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
- Summary by Mason Nichols
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
Dr. Tonya Matthews is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the International African American Museum, which is scheduled to open in Charleston, South Carolina in late 2022. The museum “strives to foster empathy and understanding, empowering visitors with the knowledge of the past. The journey will challenge, illuminate, inspire and ultimately, will move people to action.” Dr. Matthews is a museum professional who fell in love with the classroom known as museums and is excited for the opportunity ahead of her at IAAM. In this episode, she talks about tackling uncomfortable subjects, creating a new culture, and radical empathy.
Uncomfortable subjects
"The meaningful conversation that we're fostering happens when guests leave, not when they're there."
Digging into some of the more difficult subjects of our collective history is often avoided because they are deeply personal and emotional. Dr. Matthews tells us that the IAAM purposely puts these subjects on display to inspire deeper exploration and conversation.
Dr. Matthews also acknowledges that many of the truly meaningful and transformational conversations are likely to happen after someone visits the museum, and that’s okay. It takes time for people to process new and often jarring truths that they have not had to face before. It is the mission of the museum to foster widely diverse and respectful conversations.
Creating a new culture
"Culture eats everything for breakfast."
Leading a “start-up” is never easy. Combine that process with the subject matter of the IAAM and it takes a sophisticated approach to ensure success. Dr. Matthews emphasizes that one of her biggest responsibilities is to get the culture right at the very beginning. Since the museum hasn’t opened yet, the opportunities to do great things or fall flat are equally present.
Dr. Matthews doesn’t take this lightly. She actively seeks out diverse opinions and thoughts, working very hard to foster an environment of respect and support. Having the right people onboard is part of that strategy, but so is honoring their heritage, emotions, and contributions.
Radical empathy
"We don't want to reduce a culture to a moment in history."
There’s empathy, and then there’s radical empathy. The difference is an unyielding commitment to ensure that all voices are heard. That doesn’t necessarily lead to agreement, but it does lead to a deeper level of respect and understanding. So much so that Dr. Matthews recounts a time that someone completely disagreed with her, but could at least understand where she was coming from.
To learn more about the International African American Museum, visit: https://iaamuseum.org/.
To connect directly with Dr. Matthews:
- Email: ceo@iaam.org
- Twitter: @DocTjedi1619
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our amazing team:
- Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
- Branding and design by Fabiana Fonseca
To connect with AttractionPros: attractionpros@gmail.com