The Era Of Experience—The Third Wave Of Disruption

The first wave was the automation of back-office systems, the second focused on front-office activities. The one happening now is about consumers and the experiences they receive.

If you want to try and become an experience-based business, the most important thing is not to be afraid, but to go ahead and do it. And the worst thing you can do? Wait.

That was the advice from Andi Gall, CTO, Red Bull Media House, in a session called “The Power Of Great Experiences” on the first day of the Dmexco Conference and Exposition in Cologne, Germany.

Earlier in the session, Adobe vice-president of marketing strategy Suresh Vittal Kotha had argued that we are now in the experience era. Marketers nowadays are selling experiences, he said; products and services are just along for the ride (Adobe is CMO.com’s parent company).

“Customers are demanding great experiences and brands must deliver them,” said Kotha. “Historically, marketers have been the advocates of the customer experience, and that’s never been more important than it is today.”

Kotha described this experience era as the third wave of disruption that has hit businesses in the past 50 years. The first was the automation of back-office systems, driving efficiencies in operations. The second was the focus on front-office activities with the intention of helping sales teams meet customer expectations.

“Both these waves were about the business,” Kotha said. “The third wave isn’t about us or what we sell, it’s about the customer and the experiences we give them. It’s about goosepimples, smiles, and bringing people together.

“We have to put the entire business at the customers’ fingertips.

Red Bull’s Gall admitted to a fascination with the emotional side of creating experiences. He talked about wanting to be able to visualise the biomedical data around extreme sports athletes’ performance as a way of conveying their feelings during their activities, from apprehension and fear to relief and euphoria.

“My fascination is how to connect emotions,” he said. “When you can visualise everything, you can change experiences.”

Kotha agreed.

“Creating immersive experiences is a whole new platform for brands,” he said.

For more of CMO.com’s coverage from Dmexco, click here.