Pine and his co-author Jim Gilmore award the EXPY each year to the company that they believe best delivers the "branded experience." The award dates back to 1999. It's interesting to note that A/E firms comprise two of the nine winners to date. Other winners include American Girl Place, Geek Squad, The LEGO Company, and Joie de Vivre Hotels.Interestingly, two of our Experience Stager of the Year award winners were A/E firms! In 2005 we gave the EXPY to HOK Sport Venue Event for the great work they have done in creating stadiums that fans perceive as authentic. That was for "what" they did. In 2007 we gave it to TST, Inc., of Fort Collins, CO, for "how" they do their engineering work!
TST--led by president Don Taranto and head of marketing Ed Goodman--created The Engineerium to provide an incredibly different, engaging experience around helping clients realize their dreams ("dreamscaping" they call it)...TST is the shining exemplar of experiences in the A/E industry.
You can learn more about TST's approach in the CENews article "Getting Out of the Commodity Zone." Hopefully that will help inspire you to ask the question: Where can our firm fit in the Experience Economy?
"TST just laid off about 10 people, I'd hardly use the word exemplar."
ReplyDeleteI'm hesitant to publish an unconfirmed report by an anonymous commenter. But assuming this is true, it's hardly a surprise given the firm's target markets and the state of the economy. It raises a question I'm occasionally asked: Is delivering great client experiences a proven success strategy?
I'm convinced the evidence is compelling, although admittedly it has scarcely been tried in our industry. No strategy, of course, is a guarantee of success. There are simply too many factors involved to place unreserved confidence in any single strategy. But which is better: Striking out on your own unique path or following the crowd? Whatever their current circumstances, I give TST credit for choosing the former.
Mel