It's the little things that matter

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At the recent NASFAA conference, I was wandering around Epcot after sessions one day, and noticed this in the International Gateway:

NASFAA 2008 National Conference Day After

This is on the side of a bridge at the France pavilion facing the boat dock. Maybe 1 in 100 visitors to Epcot will actually see the side of the bridge from this angle, yet Disney saw fit to put a small easel with a half finished boat dock painting and a bicycle on this little ledge.

This is exactly what I’d expect to see on the banks of the Seine.

This is why Disney is the master of the experience. We all strive to deliver an experience of some kind to our customers. Sometimes we even deliver a remarkable experience. Disney takes it to the next level by providing layered experiences so that, for those looking for breaks in the illusion, they find instead reinforcements of the experience.

What would your sales and marketing look like if at every turn, your customers’ experiences were reinforced, rather than diminished?

This is something that came up in a roundabout way at the MITX panel discussion today that I had the pleasure of being a part of, along with Aaron Strout, Chris Brogan, and Brian Halligan, in a discussion of what makes great design.

Great design is more than just sales and marketing. Great design is emotion. When you pick up an iPod, when you look at a beautiful car, it inspires an emotional, visceral response. Your rational mind catches up later, but with great design, you feel it first.

Disney’s touches – which could have been omitted – demonstrate great design, because their attention to detail creates that emotional response. You FEEL like you’re in Paris, or what you’d imagine Paris is like.

I strive in my own work to eventually achieve Imagineer-like skills. Not there yet, but working harder at it.

How do you perceive design? How important are the little things to you?


Comments

11 responses to “It's the little things that matter”

  1. yup.. some times v may over look things. but if v go in deep, it will surely help us in thinking and finally make it succeed with simple and small things.

  2. Chris,
    Disney is terrific at the details and creating the details when they don't exist. Case in point — how do you make B'way actors look like they're swimming on stage for the Little Mermaid? I posted about WWDD? (What Would Disney Do) here http://brandtelling.blogspot.com/2008/06/wwdd.html.
    ahg3

  3. yup.. some times v may over look things. but if v go in deep, it will surely help us in thinking and finally make it succeed with simple and small things.

  4. Chris,
    Disney is terrific at the details and creating the details when they don't exist. Case in point — how do you make B'way actors look like they're swimming on stage for the Little Mermaid? I posted about WWDD? (What Would Disney Do) here http://brandtelling.blogspot.com/2008/06/wwdd.html.
    ahg3

  5. I visit many conferences, but I like the most WES seminars wis Netrwork21 system!

  6. This is a great place for recreation

  7. Chris:

    I really appreciated this particular post. It's a wonderful reminder that I hope I can live up to with my business too. Thanks.

    Best always,
    – Peter

  8. Chris:

    I really appreciated this particular post. It’s a wonderful reminder that I hope I can live up to with my business too. Thanks.

    Best always,
    – Peter

  9. I worked at Disneyland (Calif) for awhile and they truly are the masters when it comes to creating a memorable experience for their guests. In New Orleans square they went to New Orleans to bring back the wrought iron for the balconies. There are fire insurance plaques from the turn of the century on every building in that area…those were the plaques that would tell the fire dept. which buildings could be saved by their company as they were all working with specific insurance companies. They even went so far to rub dirt into the cracks of the stucco to make it look older and more authentic. No detail goes untouched. It's like how when you are housecleaning–your guests may not notice what you do to make things clean but if you didn't do it, they would definitely notice.

  10. I worked at Disneyland (Calif) for awhile and they truly are the masters when it comes to creating a memorable experience for their guests. In New Orleans square they went to New Orleans to bring back the wrought iron for the balconies. There are fire insurance plaques from the turn of the century on every building in that area…those were the plaques that would tell the fire dept. which buildings could be saved by their company as they were all working with specific insurance companies. They even went so far to rub dirt into the cracks of the stucco to make it look older and more authentic. No detail goes untouched. It's like how when you are housecleaning–your guests may not notice what you do to make things clean but if you didn't do it, they would definitely notice.

  11. I worked at Disneyland (Calif) for awhile and they truly are the masters when it comes to creating a memorable experience for their guests. In New Orleans square they went to New Orleans to bring back the wrought iron for the balconies. There are fire insurance plaques from the turn of the century on every building in that area…those were the plaques that would tell the fire dept. which buildings could be saved by their company as they were all working with specific insurance companies. They even went so far to rub dirt into the cracks of the stucco to make it look older and more authentic. No detail goes untouched. It's like how when you are housecleaning–your guests may not notice what you do to make things clean but if you didn't do it, they would definitely notice.

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