By Edan Portaro, EVP, Global Business Development & Mobile Innovation
Image Source: Flickr user Melissa Hillier
From monorails to somewhat-creepy animatronic presidents, Disney has been at the cutting edge of theme park technology since it opened the doors on its first park. It promised the future, offering visitors ideas of what the world would be like in the distant 1980s and beyond. For all their brilliant futurism, however, Epcot Center wasn’t able to predict just how pervasive and ubiquitous mobile tech would become in our lives. This hasn’t stopped Disney from embracing it and they continue to be at the forefront of how to use technology. The company has pioneered personalized mobile marketing to change the park experience and paves the way for it to be used for any consumer insight manager.
The MagicBand and Understanding Customer Experience
Mickey may be short, but the mouse has deep pockets. Disney has invested $1 billion in its MagicBand, a device they believe will revolutionize how people visit their parks. The MagicBand is a thin, waterproof wristband available in various colors—similar to the ubiquitous fitness devices many wear. It contains a sensor that connects to, well, just about everything the parks have to offer.
Visitors purchase their MagicBands before visiting a park and customize it right away. Visitors start by booking rooms, buying tickets, even making restaurant reservations in advance, if that kind of planning is preferred. They specify which parks they’d like to visit each day—say Epcot on Monday, Magic Kingdom on Tuesday, etc. All this information is stored in the MagicBand.
At their hotel, guests will find themselves already checked in. Not only that, it also acts as the key to a guest’s room; when you walk up, doors will unlock just like—you guessed it—magic. Visitors don’t have to wait in line to buy tickets. They simply walk right in. The dining features are even more impressive, especially if visitors select meal options in advance (which can be done from a smartphone or tablet). Upon entering a park eatery, visitors are greeted by name, led to a table, and food is delivered promptly. No wait, no fuss, no muss.
MagicBands customization can be set up with credit card information, so in theory visitors don’t even need to carry around a wallet. If they want to buy anything, be it a souvenir, churro or a t-shirt, they simply select the item and use the MagicBand to complete the purchase.
The Implication for Market Research and Consumer Insight
Information gathered through the use of MagicBands will provide a key insight into the behavior of their visitors. The MagicBand doesn’t just enable the wishes of the consumer, of course. It also tracks them—which is exactly how it knows when visitors have arrived at a restaurant.
This tracking system allows Disney to understand patterns and obtain more comprehensive data on consumer movement. At any given time, Disney knows which rides are popular when, or which exhibitions get crowded at which times. But this will give them a more comprehensive look at patterns—where people go and why. It will allow them to better understand the flow of the park, the times and reasons people do things. It will help them trace buying patterns.
More and more retailers can take advantage of this kind of tailored tech and personalized mobile marketing as well. This can be an incredible tool for Consumer Insight Managers.
These sorts of programs, for restaurants and retailers, might become more and more common as apps for smartphones or possibly smartwatches. In theory, you can have dozens of different MagicBands in your pocket. The information this can provide is enormous.
Let’s say a girl—we’ll call her Lauren—goes into Forever 21, having already ordered three shirts. While in there, she buys another shirt, a pair of jeans and a fun summer dress. These purchases don’t just provide money for the brand— they provide information. Among the things the company can glean are:
Lauren’s own habits
The habits of people similar to her
The way people like Lauren move from place to place in the store
Companies are functioning in the era of Big Data. The seemingly-paradoxical flipside of this is that the data is far more personal than ever. We have access to information from millions of people, regarding thousands of factors, but the smallest possible unit is the individual consumer. This is the heart of personalized mobile marketing.
We know what our consumer is going to do. We understand her habits, what she buys and when. We can use geotargeting to send coupons, deals and even items. Imagine getting a ping saying Lauren has ordered some pants and is coming in. You can prepare a few more items that she likes. You greet her by name as she walks in, hand her what she purchased and can say: “Lauren, we also have this cute shirt that you’ll love!” Maybe she’ll buy it and maybe she won’t, but the point is that personalized mobile marketing allows retailers an easy way to become the consumer dream: a personal concierge, who can anticipate needs. Your brand almost becomes a friend of sorts.
That’s kind of magic that might not be a featured attraction at a Disney park but can change your relationships with the consumer.
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