This subject is not one I planned on putting into the book (and am a little surprised it survived discussions with my editor!), but I think you will find it interesting.
I’ve long known Bob Rogers, founder of one of the premier experience design companies, BRC Imagination Arts, and we’ve had a lot of discussions in the past year, especially since he invited me to join him last fall at the 2024 Legends Panel at the IAAPA Expo (the premier event for those in theme parks, attractions, location-based experiences, and the like). It was an honor, and Bob and I talked about transformative experiences before, during, and after the event (which you can watch here in lo-fi).
Bob in particular made the case that some of the experiences BRC has designed may not be full transformations, but they do invite people to transform, particularly in ways amenable to the company. He was talking of flagship experiences and “brand homes” such as the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, and the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. I was skeptical – and not just because so many exemplars were drink companies! – but eventually came around and realized he was right.
You’ll get the full reasoning below from the draft of Chapter 3 on Understanding Aspirants & Aspirations – it wouldn’t hurt to read that and then come back here to this point in the post – where it immediately follows my discussion of the different catalysts for transformations. Invitational transformations prove particularly useful for small-scale changes that I call refinement (when enhancing a current facet of identity) and discovery (enriching a new facet of identity). The idea is that visiting an invitational transformation can become the catalyst in and of itself by encouraging and welcoming such changes. (It would be possible to design an invitational transformation for the large-scale changes of ambition and metamorphosis, but I haven’t seen any. If you have, please let me know!)
In addition to being invitational transformations, these are also what Jim Gilmore and I have long called marketing experiences – experiences that do the job of marketing by generating demand for a company’s core offerings. If you find the idea intriguing and want to learn more, the best resource is in fact Chapter 8, “From Marketing to Placemaking”, in Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, where we also call them “placemaking experiences”. (For those more academically inclined with access to ResearchGate, you can also read an article here.)
I hope trust this will be of value to you, either as a business or a consumer. Be sure to read the first endnote too! (Never found a good place to put that in the actual book text.)
Joe
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Invitational Transformations
There’s another instigation possibility to consider – transformational desires can be intentionally sparked by companies. As an enterprise you can stage experiences that create the conditions under which people develop that desire, via deviation or discovery (never disruption).
Eataly entices people to embrace the Slow Food movement
If you’ve never been, get thee to an Eataly. It’s the most vibrant retail experience in the world, but it’s a grocery store chain. Oscar Farinetti, who founded the (high-end) company in Turin, Italy, in 2007, didn’t just set out to create a grocery store stocked with Italian products; he envisioned an immersive experience that would embody the Slow Food philosophy, emphasizing high-quality, locally produced, and traditionally crafted food, to entice people to embrace the Slow Food movement. Farinetti scoured the countryside of Italy for exactly the right suppliers, themed the experience as a journey through culinary Italy, and ensured that consumers would be enriched by learning about the produce, meat, and packaged goods they purchased as well as how to prepare them. Now with 40 locations, twelve in Italy and the rest in major cities around the world, every Eataly has a bustling marketplace atmosphere – complete with cafes, restaurants, and even an admission-feed cooking school[i] that can help guests become Italian chefs – that caters to those who find meaning in the simple art of cooking – and the company invites guests to similarly find that meaning.
These all comprise marketing experiences for they do the job of marketing by generating demand for a company’s core offerings. And that can go further to spark transformations. I love the term Bob Rogers, one-time Disney Imagineer and founder of BRC Imagination Arts, shared with me for this: invitational transformations that can generate demand by helping people become someone who uses their core offerings, or uses them more. Bob says “Invitational transformations include brand experiences, museums, cultural attractions, and other visitor experiences that share with you a subject they hope will interest you. Such experiences initially present as a pleasant way to spend an hour or more, but the best of them are designed to connect emotionally with the guest in a way that causes the guest to discover a lasting interest and fall in love.” It’s not forced, nefarious, or dirty-handed; it’s engaging you while exposing you to new possibilities and letting you discover if they are right for you.
Invitational transformations include brand experiences, museums, cultural attractions, and other visitor experiences
Bob’s team, for example, designed the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum.[ii] This place won our 2007 Experience Stager of the Year (EXPY) award, and Bob told me that BRC’s goal was to “create a lasting memory connection between the guest and the subject that would cause guests to acquire a permanent interest in the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.” And many visitors do in fact become Lincoln enthusiasts. Bob says, “One easy measure of success is the gift shop. If the departing guest is willing to have the subject – in this case, our 16th President – displayed on their forehead [via a hat] or across their chest [T-shirt], this indicates that person identifies with Lincoln. But if he or she instead bought a book about Lincoln, thus extending the immersion experience of the museum, that was a straight-A report card.”