Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore focused our attention recently on the evolution of our economy from commodity, to product, to service, to experience. In their terms, the experience economy manifests in mass customization, the polar opposite of a commodity economy.

The clearest example of the evolution provided by Pine and Gilmore goes like this: In great grandmother's day, she made the birthday cake from sugar, flour, eggs, and water for a cost of about fifteen cents. Grandmother made the same cake from a mix by Betty Crocker for about $1.50. Mother ordered the cake from the supermarket or bakery at a cost of about $15.00. Today, we take the birthday celebrant and ten other children to Chuckie Cheese, Club Disney, or the Children's Museum and it costs $150.00. The latter purchase is neither a product (a cake mix) nor a service (bake the cake), but more, much more: space, and music, and games, and story telling, and cake, photos of the whole show, and who knows what the creators of the experience economy will provide the next time we come. That's the point. The experience is unique, surprising.

Conducting the Analysis:

You and your team should participate in the experience economy-Disneyworld, Hard Rock Café, Discovery Channel Destination Store, Rain Forest Restaurant, Fresh Fields Whole Foods, NikeTown, a white water rafting trip, or any other place or event that gives a whole, surround-sound experience.

1. Define the concept you think the experience is trying to convey.

2. Make a list of the various elements of the experience. There is no easy definition of what an element is, so break down the experience into components: advertising, transportation, entry, cost, duration, content, ending, follow-up are some of the components you'll want to consider.

3. Grid the components against the seven elements of the experience economy explained below: theme, harmony, five senses, negative cues, Aristotle's insights, engagement, extension.

4. Choose a scoring system. -10 to + 10 is probably adequate. Rate each element against each component.

5. Brain storm opportunities to better enhance and articulate the concept in each element of the experience. Don't critique, criticize or judge the ideas at this point.

6. List the barriers which might prevent the enhancement of each element.

7. Design a totally new, outrageous experience.

8. Do 1 - 7 for a real opportunity in your museum.

Components of An Experience

1. An experience requires a driving theme which consistently shapes and selects the components of the experience. Be wary of multiple or conflicting themes.

2. Harmonize every aspect of every component with positive cues to reinforce the experience and the driving theme. Disney calls its customers "guests," its security force "guest servers." The San Diego Zoo created a "Tiger Walk" instead of a tiger cage and transformed the experience of standing in front of a cage to a twenty minute walk through a densely foliated jungle with misty vistas to the tigers.

3. Design the experience to communicate to and through all five senses. Imagine the experience of hard core re-enactors, dressing only as a Civil War soldier might have, down to the unwashed socks, and eating only hard tack and dried beef.

4. Eliminate negative cues which jolt away from the experience.

5. Appeal to Aristotle's Insight: four modes of thinking-logical, whole-systems, emotional, and being.

6. Create flow. Flow is the sense of effortless action of a core experience, described by many people as the moments that stand out as the best in their lives, moments of powerful concentration and deep enjoyment. Athletes refer to is as "being in the zone," mystics and lovers call it "ecstasy," artists call it "aesthetic rapture."

7. Personalize the experience with to enable the participant to remember and relive the experience. Around the campfire following dinner after a day of white water rafting recently, my fellow rafters and I were treated to a twenty minute video of our trip down the river. The organizers even thought to provide background music! Everyone in the group antied-up $35.00 to take home that personal souvenir, so different from a book on white-water rafting.

A Museum Example

The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cape May, NJ manages and maintains a historic mansion and light house and has stimulated a Victorian revival in a town rich with appropriate housing stock. Recently they promoted a weekend of Victorian dance, to be held on a vintage stage and using appropriate music and instruments. Participants were encouraged to come in costume and stay at the local Victorian B&Bs. Marketed over the Internet (with Victorian images and type face, of course), the program was a sell out, the most successful of MAC's 1998 programs.

Why was this appealing?

First, truthfully, I'm not sure because I haven't probed the participant experience, but here are some thoughts:

• time travel
• relaxation
• a different way to understand the world
• escapism
• an opportunity to attend an event with similar souls
• good, clean family fun and good exercise
• educational opportunity
• authenticity

When asked about ways to improve the experience, a group of ten museum directors came up with the following:

• Deliver a pre-arrival package on Victorian paper, with period printing style and fonts. Include recommended Victorian films and books by Edith Wharton, Henry James, etc., delivered by a liveried footman.
• Serve banquet dinner and brunch of Victorian food.
• Print and distribute a Victorian era newspaper for distribution at the event and throughout the town, highlight events and ideas of the period, and schedule of weekend events.
• Eliminate as much technology as possible. Use oil lamps.
• Transport people to and from the dance by horse drawn carriage.
• Create a Victorian mail-order clothing catalog.

At Qm², we're always glad to hear about your examples of ideas presented in our publications. Please feel free to contact us at your convenience.