An Apple rarely falls far from the tree. Autumnal reflections on my Digital Life.

Isaac Newton’s fortunate incident with an Apple, proved a windfall (pun) for us all, as we learnt the gravity of all things and that the school of hard knocks, perhaps  - can be beneficial.

It was in the summer of 2010 when my true ‘Digital life’ took root - yes, I’d always been a prolific social media user and promoter but this had not translated much to my bottom line - either as an employee or as a freelancer...

Toshiba, was my PC world and frankly a lackluster Nokia 3410 had powered my professional life, having had a few dalliances with HTC ‘Not so Smart’ handsets in the years preceding.  Apples iPhone 3G was my first taste of the Apple Ecosystem, and as my Toshiba laptop - finally went to sleep and to ‘dream of Ewe’; I was generously gifted a Mac Book Pro 17” for Christmas. 25 minutes  after switching on, the ‘Cult’ of Apple which I had much maligned for years as ‘geeky’ and akin to some evangelical illuminati, had another convert. 

The intuitive elegant operating system, packaged in Sir Jonathan Ive’s stunning design, the speed, the efficiency - need i go on... Well it changed my life! It did, I’m not ashamed to admit - and for those others who have taken the not inexpensive leap to Apple to make up its $120b sales last year, they will know what I mean...

Following my Mac Book an iPhone 4, Apple TV and I sit typing this blog on another generous gift, my iMac 27”  - last Christmas’s addition to my digital life. Yes, I am one lucky guy...and now I’m on the iPhone 5 and my partner has joined the ecosystem by inheriting my iPhone 4.

As a Voice Artiste, Actor, Social Media Marketer, Trainer, and Public Speaker - and a few hats besides , my one world Apple Ecosystem not only gives me access to a world of clients - Hong Kong to Finland, Canada to The British Virgin Islands. I am entertained, I communicate - and am able to build, create, design, voice and direct all my projects. The Cloud, specifically the iCloud has become my global access anytime, anywhere Server/HardDrive. 

Yes, I could buy into Android, PC, Windows and a multitude of other handsets, Hardware, Platforms etc... but the seamless integration of Apple allows me to spend time adding to my bottom line rather than soaking up the tedious task of getting all those potential tools to  work together with any kind of synergy akin to my digital life with Apple.

The fruits of Apple’s labors enhance every aspect of both my professional and personal life, from FaceTime with my global client list and those nearest and dearest scattered about the global village, to recording Voice Over’s in our studio, to collaborative real time projects with co-workers on sometimes 3 continents... 

So, as I AirPlay mirror a client video to my Apple TV across our wifi network and sit down to snack on a Granny Smith’s, I recall how Newton’s fruity experience sowed the seeds of my Digital life. Thank you Isaac..

The SCIENCE of sustained Experiential Marketing

For experiential professionals, our main work is born from Brand campaigns, somewhat short lived, with a lifespan of no more than a year at best – but how do you create a sustained experience? How do you create an experience, which lasts twelfth months or more?

Theme Parks such as the DISNEY and UNIVERSAL parks are an excellent example of sustained Brand experiential, with rides focused around a particular brand drive – having a basis in a movie or video game franchise, cartoon or all three; these experiences offer true-life experientials, which are a real extension of the original format.

The 'Theme Bar' and the franchise restaurant/coffee shop e.g. McDonalds, Hard Rock Café and Starbucks - all real life global brand examples of sustained experiential marketing – with these examples the experience is as much a part of the brand as the food and drink they sell, the brand and the experience are one of the same.

In the retail world, Abercrombie & Fitch and Disney stores are two examples of where the stores are as much the brand as the items they sell. Buying from these stores enhances the product, informs the product and sets the tone of the product at the outset.

Sustained Experiential Marketing is a SCIENCE, here are our 7 Keys to successful sustained Experiential:

Simplicity

The overall idea must be simple, over complicated ideas are by their nature difficult to repeat and are open to interpretation.

Consumer Driven
The Experiential must be created from the view of the Consumer, it is all about them and their experience – consumers must feel they are willing partners in the experience. Like an actor and an audience, one is nothing without the other. Experiential marketing is always consumer reactive - without a reaction from the consumer, it is failed.

Identity

The brand is king and the consumer must recognise throughout that they are in the Brand. By utilising Logo’s, key Brand messages, Iconography and encompass Brand values.

Environment
Every aspect of the environment must be managed, sight, sound, smell, touch and taste must be considered and controlled.

New

The holy grail, is to be new, to be different – but a new twist on a classic idea can be just as valid. Great experiences have been created from the reinvention of classic ideas; brand a rollercoaster and stick against a backdrop from a movie and suddenly it’s an extension of the movie franchise.

Controlled

Timed or not, passive or participative, the decision on which, should be controlled - decided by the marketer.

Executable

Great ideas must be able to be delivered, On paper and in practice – dream big but be able to make it happen and to budget!

Our marketing is a SCIENCE, as is born out of the need to create great lasting impressions on consumers though experience driven initiatives.

Birth of a Brand?

Beer is king! A huge growth in the sales of imported lagers and beers as well as the output of microbrewers has meant great change for the license trade.

Whilst big names such as Carling and Fosters dominate the pumps of bars up and down the country, the continental beer invasion has been swift and grows daily. When Heineken acquired Scottish and Newcastle - The UK’s largest independent brewer, the continental Beer invasion was absolute.

The economic downturn has seen a significant move from the cocktail culture of previously prosperous years; craft brews have been the order of the day, and not just with male drinkers. The growing army of female drinkers have noticed the trend too; and some of the beers in the market such as Molson Coors’ Kasteel Cru - Champagne yeast brewed Alsatian lager, with its Rose and Blanc variant has proved a massive seller with the Female consumer. Fruit Beers from Liefmans, Timmermans and Fruli have seen females drive sales of beer rocket over the typical tipples for females, such as wine and cocktails.

Aiming for a timeless USP for a bar is almost impossible; theme bars by their very nature have a limited lifespan. So creating something that had longevity, had sufficient USP’s to make it attractive in a crowded market place and have broad appeal would need a lot of thought.

With the supermarkets using alcohol as loss leaders increasingly widespread, the publican has to try hard to attract customers away from their cheap alcohol, large format flat screen TV’s and heated Patios! So why would a consumer step out of his or her own drinking and leisure palace to drink elsewhere, paying perceptible premium for the pleasure?

We needed a Brand that would stand up in any town, convey immediately what the offering was and be a good blend of the timeless and the contemporary - a tall order in anyone’s book.

So with a background of increased consumer growth in the Continental Beer and World Beer Markets it seemed sensible to focus the new concept in this area. Taking an idea I first formulated some 4 years ago, inspired by the Beer Halle’s of Glasgow and from a trip to Germany, I re-addressed the concept for the 21st Century.

The drinking ‘experience’ itself had to have something special attached, many of the continental beers had their own branded glassware, designed to enhance the drinking experience. We would go one better, we would introduce the largest of all drinking vessels, the Mas or STEIN, the 1ltr (2Pint in the UK) branded drinking pot.

Many of the classic Brands we still enjoy today were born in the early part of the 20th Century, such as coca Cola, Cadbury, Ford.

From the font, design copybooks of the early 20th century came the idea for a simple Iconic idea, which would translate, into a perennial brand. Our offering would be 70+ Beers from the continent and around the world, Live Music performed on a branded stage, handmade branded Beer enhanced Pies and that Oktoberfest favourite Roast Chicken.

So one very wintery night in the Historic Quayside Area of Newcastle upon Tyne, STEIN Bier Keller™ was born.