Ideas-Innovation: Foster's Experience

Hi everybody

Every brand seeks to create Experiences that go beyond the mere functionality to connect at a deeper level with customer infusing all the necessary elements of Brand. The role of an Experience Architect(Ten Faces of Innovation)is important & crucial for designing for designing a well designed experience.

Recently I was invited for a Pool party organized by Foster's in Pune.

Now Foster's denote Australian & the communication features beaches & women. So with the Experience Architects at the job of infusing these elements, how was this pool party.

I decided to judge this experience using Doblin's Compelling Experience model. The model helps to envision & decide the experiences that the customer/participant must have. I have customized the model's elements according to Foster's party. Its element include:

1. Attraction: What experience we should have at the time inviting them for the party that will induce them to come.

2. Entry: What sort of experience we should have at the entry of the event.

3. Immersion: what are the experiences we can design using Brand elements to insure fully immersement of people at the party & ensuring its success

4. Exit: What should be leaving experience for the invites.

5. Extension: What happens after one has left the party- what can the invite pass on to others?

Entry : I'll start with the Entry phase. The experience for me started at the entry phase. Even before one could enter the party, Fosters had placed small surfboards along the way to the entry creating an impression of beach. At the entry the staff was also dressed in cool beach shirts.

Immersion: Being a pool party of Foster's the entire experience had to be designed integrating Foster's Brand. The people serving guests were wearing Foster's hat very similar to Cork hats highlighting Foster's been Australian. Australian Models dressed in beach wear highlighted the beach experience . With Barbeque serving entirely Non-Veg been grilled in front of guests creating an expression of been in the Outback of Australia. Blue been the Brand prominent color was to be seen entirely. Considering the hot weather & it being a pool party the Dj played mostly reggae & trance music (which I m not sure was Australian) And yes Fosters was been served throughout.

Exit: The Experience Architect could have paid a little more attention at the exit phase in terms of thinking how the exit experience of guests would be. As a chance to remember, guests could have been given a small souvenir (may be Their Polaroid snap of party, Foster's hat) which would have reminded them of this party even after considerable time.

Extension: One possible method of extending this experience could have been taking pictures of people at the party an uploading it on their site & with the possibility of people connecting with each other. For eg: People can chat/message each other those who came to party, connect with them , share opinions & memories of party, in the future may come together & organize their own get togethers. Through this the organizers get instant feedback on how their party was at the same time a chance to connect & expand their brand recognition & sales.

Overall its was a great experience. Cheers to the organizers for putting up this event.

Here are some of the Snaps of the party.