Live Events Review

During the past month, I have had the chance to attend several live events in the Orlando area.  Some were better than others, but two events specifically called to my attention for various positive reasons.  These were the Jason Mraz & Raining Jane Concert at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and Whitney James’ concert at Timucua White House.

Going in to Jason Mraz’s concert, I had extremely high expectations.  Having been a fan of his for many years, I knew the energy and quality of performance I was expecting, and they did not disappoint.  From the very beginning, the event went great.  I have a special respect for an artist who begins their performance on time, which is exactly what Jason Mraz and Raining Jane did.  Not only did they begin their concert on time, but they also played a full three hours of music!  These were three hours of great energy, positive music, fan interaction, and even some comedy and conversation between the artists.  The event had the perfect combination of Jason Mraz and Raining Jane’s talent and energy.  Two different acts when it comes to instruments and songwriting, that when put together, create amazing music and a great dynamic on stage.

If I had to give recommendations for this event, I would have to say the venue itself needs to better train their security team in terms of how to talk to the audience.  For almost half of the duration of the concert, members of the security team kept walking in front of our section of the audience while they stood in the way and talked loudly into their devices.  Everyone understands the need to keep security in these events, but these employees were interrupting some of the guests’ concert experience.  Security employees should be able to work without damaging the experience for anyone, by not standing in the way and moving to quiet areas when they need to communicate with each other.

Several weeks after the first concert, I attended the Timucua White House to see Whitney James perform with other jazz musicians.  Contrary to Jason Mraz’s concert, I did not know what to expect from this event.  Prior to this month, I had not heard of the Timucua White House, but I was very pleasantly surprised at what we found.  The purpose of these events held at the Timucua House is to create a community of people who appreciate the arts in all shapes and forms.  The venue itself was impressive, a three-story space built into the owner’s home, where everyone was seated comfortably and shared food, wine, and conversation before the performance.  Once the artists came onstage, the audience was captivated by their talent and their ability to connect with the public. 

Some things I would recommend however for future Timucua events would be timeliness and marketing.  The event began about thirty minutes later than it had been scheduled for, and even though the audience was entertained by sharing food and conversation, the event ran longer than they had planned.  When it comes to marketing an event like this, the founders must be aware of whom their market is.  These are low cost (sometimes even free) events put together by artists of every style.  They should be able to market to art students and the art community in general.  By creating a dynamic webpage and strong social media presence, they can create awareness of their amazing facility and show the audience and artists alike, how they can use this space to appreciate art.

How Brands "Inspire" Consumers to Purchase

When watching Simon Sinek’s TEDxPuget Sound talk, one brand kept coming to mind that embodies everything Sinek brought up.  “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,” he said, as I thought back on everything I had done as recently as yesterday.  What was the driving force behind every decision I made?  Why did I decide to do the things I did and not the alternatives?  And I quickly realized, it was happiness. 

My happiness and the happiness of the people around me was my reason for doing the things I did and for making the choices I made, even the simplest decisions.  This is the same driving force Coca-Cola uses to sell their products.  Consumers don’t buy a Coca-Cola product because they necessarily believe it tastes the best, or because it is the healthiest alternative for them, they buy a Coca-Cola product because of what the brand represents. 

Simon Sinek states that in order for people to follow a brand, understand it, or purchase it, the brand must appeal to the market in the form of “why, how, what.”  This means that a brand must help the market understand why they are important and why their products are relevant before they explain what it is they are trying to sell. 

Coca-Cola bases their marketing strategy on selling happiness, not on selling a drink.  The brand is associated with the joy of Santa Claus during the holiday season, they are linked to having fun at the beach in the summertime, and for years the brand has been an icon at movie theaters.  Coca-Cola has explored with marketing all around the world, they have brought countries and cultures together, always showing the happiness that they can bring to people.  All of these marketing efforts revolve around the pursuit of happiness, they just happen to show people sharing a Coca-Cola drink.

Coca-Cola explains to consumers how the brand’s goal is to make them happy, to share memories and great times with their friends and family, and to forget about the stresses and negative parts of life.  This is the “why” in Simon Sinek’s model.  Then the brand goes into the drinking and sharing of a Coca-Cola drink while spending time with your loved ones in different scenarios, which explains the “how” aspect in Sinek’s model.  Lastly, (and briefly, as to not take the attention away from the happiness factor) the brand explains that they create these beverages the consumer is drinking, the “what” part of the model.  This model not only helps Coca-Cola sell their product, it makes the consumer see the whole brand as more than just a drink maker.  For Coca-Cola, this has meant being a synonym for happiness for over 100 years.

The second part of Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, explains how the law of diffusion of innovation affects brand outcomes and their impact on the market.  He explains how innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards each have different ways of seeing things, and therefore will have different views and opinions on a brand’s marketing efforts. 

At one point or another, I have found myself in several of these categories as a consumer.  This usually depends on the potential impact a decision might have on my life personally and professionally, and on the product knowledge there is available.  For simpler purchases such as a pair of running shoes, I have fallen under the early adopters category for years.  I am always open and willing to try fitness gear as soon as I learn about it, especially if they are Nike running shoes.  Not having to research much before making the purchase, I quickly embrace the idea and will be open to trying the products that will have a certain impact on my everyday fitness. 

On the other hand, a purchase or decision that will have a heavy and long term impact in my life usually places me in the late majority category.  This was especially true when it came to deciding where to go to Graduate School.  After much research, asking a lot of questions and numerous pros and cons lists, I had two choices for where I would get my Masters Degree.  I contacted alumni, visited campuses and interviewed with both before I made a decision.  I had very practical concerns, such as costs, living arrangements, transportation and education, and I was very careful as to what I would be getting myself into.  This lead to an educated choice that has positively impacted my life, but only after a lot of thought went into making the decision.

Every consumer is different and has a different way of making purchasing decisions.  It is up to a brand to captivate the market in a unique and effective way in order to encourage purchases and brand recognition.