Marketing Your Creativity

Last week I was in Nashville and I went to the Opryland Hotel to see their world-renowned lights.  I have to say, I was skeptical and my expectations were very low; however, I was blown away.  All of the trees leading up to the hotel are completely decorated in lights.  They also have a greater than life size nativity scene with a recording of the story of the birth of Christ playing in the background.  Now, please keep in mind that I am not the Opryland’s ideal customer, and if I was taken by the Christmas themed entrance – imagine how their ideal customer feels.

The hotel apparently has a full-time staff completely dedicated to lighting the trees and decorating the hotel and it is an 8 month process of putting everything up and then taking it all down.  Do they get a vacation the other 4 months?

Inside the hotel is just as lovely, with Christmas sprinkled throughout the ginormous resort.  I just wandered in, meandering through the 9 acres of indoor gardens.  It was a wonderful break from the bitter cold damp weather on the other side of the breath-taking skylights.

Following the various signs though this lush landscape, I discovered cascading waterfalls, an indoor river and a cast of characters from various DreamWorks’ productions (Shrek, Kung-Fu Panda and Alex from Madagascar).  The characters were out to greet the crowds to advertise their various themed shows.

I also happened upon Santa Claus.  He didn’t have a line, so I sat on his lap and wished for a bike and peace on earth.  He said he would bring me a Harley.  Although this is not the kind of bike I had in mind, I am sure the ideal Opryland customer would find this very appealing from the jolly old man.

After touring the entire place, I had dinner at the Jack Daniels restaurant.  The pulled-pork sandwich was delicious and I stuck around to hear the band Tin Cup Gypsy.  Not my favorite type of music, but my foot was tapping.

So, it got me thinking about how Opryland has created a place for their ideal customer:

• Be welcoming.  I never felt like a stranger (even though I was) – all of the staff was helpful and encouraging.
• Be consistent in your message.  The entire resort is about being in the South and the roots of Country Music.
• Use themes to appeal to different customer types.  They have incorporated the cast of characters from various animated movies into their shows to appeal to a younger generation who might be coming to the resort with their parents.
• Go above and beyond to impress your customers.  A Christmas tree in the lobby might get a nod, or two; however, the entire hotel decorated is to blow their customers and visitors away.

I am sure for their ideal customer that the Opryland Hotel has become the place to celebrate Christmas time with the family.

What things are you doing in your business to create a place for your customers?

This entry was posted on Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 4:11 am and is filed under Holidays, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.