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October 1, 2008
by Joseph Michelli Author of The New Gold Standard
During her speech at the Republican National Convention, Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin suggested that much of the popularity of her Democratic opponents emerged from the way they staged their convention and events. Governor Palin noted, "When the roar of the crowd fades away . . . " when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot -- what exactly is our opponent's plan?" Conversely, Nancy and Ann Wilson of the rock band "Heart" sought a cease and desist order for how Palin and the Republican party were using Heart's song "Barracuda" during the Republican convention. The song which was used to highlight the "barracuda" nickname that Palin picked-up as a result of her scrappy point guard play on her state championship basketball team, led Nancy Wilson to say, "Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women." Putting aside the claims and counterclaims of inappropriate use of these various aspects of staging, it is clear that politics is in large part THEATER! Theater that includes scripts, lighting charts, props, thematic elements and even soundtracks. Politics is not alone in its heavy reliance on the theatrical. In my opinion, so do great businesses. Eighteen months before the Microsoft Vista operating system was to be released, an involved journey began in the quest for four perfect seconds. Assembling a team of subject matter experts, Microsoft recruited the talent of 20 composers and dedicated substantial human and financial resources to the production of the four second start-up flourish that all future Vista users would hear when they turned on their computers. Microsoft knew that the four second start-up sounder would not drive the purchase intent of end users, but they also knew that little detail would represent the enduring, repetitive and audible signature of Vista and Microsoft. Let's place that four seconds of sound in context. More than 200 million people hearing those four seconds of music over and over again -- what a small but significant brand signature. Marketing genius Martin Lindstrom's work on the power of sound in brand development supports Microsoft's choice. Lindstrom notes that "sound has a 41% chance of influencing how people perceive a brand." While researching my recently released book The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, I ran across a term that encapsulates the application of theatricality to business . . . the term is "scenography." In its most literal sense, scenography refers to the art of representing objects in perspective, especially as applied in the design and painting of theatrical scenery; however, Ed Mady, vice president and area general manager, The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, explains, "Scenography is as simple as understanding that every business has its themes and its scenes. These themes and scenes should be something you sense in our hotels. They should emerge subtly from the way our property presents itself as opposed to our telling you what we are trying to achieve." Of his San Francisco hotel, Ed comments, "Our scenography is opportunity and the epicurean journey. That opportunity is defined by Northern California's wine country. San Francisco is often recognized as the No. 2 city in the United States behind New York for its food. Through our great chef, Ron Segal, and through many subtle aspects of the hotel, we focus on an epicurean journey of food and taste. That journey is heightened by the little things, like the flowers we have chosen for our lobby or our offering of fortune cookies near the front desk, since they were invented here in San Francisco." While not every business has the opportunity to create a wide variety of scenes, it is important to appreciate how customers are becoming more attuned to perspective, integration of details, and having products and services placed in an appropriate setting. To build emotional connections, business leaders, and for that matter, politicians, create the scene they believe will make the strongest bond with those they seek to serve. Maybe the most significant difference between great business leaders and politicians is the degree to which the scene is an authentic and relevant representation of core identity. So what is your scenography? What authentic and relevant sights and sounds do you want people to associate with your business? How much time do you spend thinking about the "scenographic" experience people have with your brand or company? If needed, the song "Barracuda" and "Styrofoam Greek columns" might just be available for your use . . .
©2008 Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D. Reprinted with permission. Joseph Michelli is the author of the newly released book, The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (McGraw-Hill, 2008) and the best-selling book, The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary (McGraw-Hill, 2006). For more information, please visit http://www.yournewgoldstandard.com/.
Enrich Your Life With A Book About Politics & Current Events 
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