12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 3
12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 3 We’ve reached the conclusion of this short series – better late than never! Though the cruise itself is long past, the memories and lessons learned in each port remain. Out of curiosity – are you paying attention to the experiences you have to see what branding and audience engagement lessons can be learned? If so – let me know of a tip or technique you gleaned from an experience in your own life! Amazing tip #9: Put something awesome out of sight to reward the devoted. Holyhead, Wales – What do you know about Holyhead, Wales? That’s about what I knew, too, as we went ashore for our first visit to Wales. The town is centered around St. Cybi’s Church, which is actually built in what was an old Roman fort. There are lots of nooks and crannies to explore, but the real treasure here isn’t in town. You have to take a cab or a tour to get to South Stack Lighthouse, but even when you are able to see it, you can’t experience it without hiking down 400 steps and walking across an aluminum footbridge. Then you get to climb the 400 steps on your way back. But the reward is a tremendous view of coastline cliffs and the lighthouse itself… an experience you won’t ever forget. Put some not-so-obvious rewards in place for those willing to seriously engage with your brand! Amazing tip #10: Make sure your brand has attentive, observant ambassadors. Liverpool, England – Rosemary and I arrived in Liverpool on a relatively gray day. Cloudy morning, scattered showers, and a blustery wind. We decided to brave the elements and so we made a trek to Liverpool Cathedral. This impressive building – the largest Anglican cathedral in the UK – was full of interesting and beautiful art. It was reverent and inspiring. But it became an unforgettable experience when I was approached by Brian Jackson. A smiling gentleman with a long robe quietly asked how I was enjoying my visit. We began talking about our experiences in church and found common ground instantly. He took me and Rosemary on a private tour, unlocked a walkway across the expanse of the interior, and told us numerous little stories (including a great one about the chairs where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh sit). This visit was unforgettable because an ambassador perceived my interest and probed effectively, then delivered an exceptional experience. Does your brand have attentive, observant ambassadors on site? On the phone? Online? Amazing tip #11: A fresh approach can make old things new again. Inveraray, Scotland – Inveraray Castle in Scotland looks like a fairy tale with its conical spires on towers. Since the 1200s the site has been the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll – yes, the same family from which we derive argyle sweaters and socks! While the castle is centuries old, it recently enjoyed a renewed interest when it was used as a location for the 2012 Christmas episode of Downton Abbey. The popularity of a current hit translated into additional visibility and tourism for a site that was relatively unknown to many outside Scotland. By the time Rosemary and I arrived, we were primed to be receptive to much more of the real history of the location based on our interest in a fictional story! Can you connect your brand to something in the news, or some phenomenon in the popular culture? If so, you have a golden opportunity to boost sagging interest in your message. Amazing tip #12: Craft a presentation worthy of your content. Dublin, Ireland – Dublin is home to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Ha’Penny Bridge, and a thousand pubs. It is also home to one of the best universities in the world, Trinity College Dublin. Here, at the alma mater of Swift, Burke, Beckett, Stoker, Wilde, you can view the Book of Kells and marvel at a unique object with artistic, philosophical, and historical significance. But while the pages of that book inspire reflection and introspection, when you walk into the Long Room you will find yourself awestruck. This vast, expansive space houses only 200,000 of the library’s roughly six million volumes. Even so, the presentation of this subset creates a feeling of near infinite knowledge. The levels, the arches, and the sheer visual impact create an experience that inspires respect for the work of masters whose thoughts are recorded in these pages. Presentation doesn’t replace the knowledge in those volumes, but it certainly inspires a high level of respect for whatever you might find in there. Just as the theatre in St. Petersburg primed us to appreciate beauty, this room primed us to respect intellect. When your brand is unveiled for a new audience, what feelings does it inspire? You can read the other entries in this series via the following links: 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 1 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 2
12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 2
12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 2 This follow-up is long overdue, but worth the wait! Here’s part 2. Amazing tip #6: Encourage your audience to walk through your experience on occasion, instead of always streamlining everything. Dover, England – With London only a short drive away, people often skip Dover as they are embarking or disembarking. But Dover Castle has a charm of its own and it’s worth the trip to the top of the hill to see the view. It was worth it to walk up rather than take trolleys or cabs – we climbed a beautiful staircase in the woods. While walking through the city toward the castle, we found a number of shops and a great place to eat when we came back down. Once in a while, it may be worthwhile to buck the trend of hyper-streamlining an experience and encourage your audience to walk and take the stairs. It was strenuous and we had to catch our breath, but the experience was richer and more memorable than a taxi to the front door. Amazing tip #7: Make it worthwhile to look past the surface. St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands – Castle Cornet on the island of Guernsey is, for some travelers, just “ABC” – that is, “another bloomin’ castle.” But taking the time to explore yielded multiple intriguing stories ranging across centuries. There’s nearly always more to “ABC” than you might think, which means it can be rewarding to explore unknown brands. At the same time, it’s incumbent upon the owner of the lesser-known brand to take whatever it is that they’ve got, frame it effectively, and communicate it to the audience in a way that makes them curious enough to dig one level deeper. Amazing tip #8: Effective branding overcomes a change of context. Waterford, Ireland – When you think of Waterford, Ireland, you probably think first of Waterford Crytal. In addition to their worldwide fame for making crystal dining ware, they are also well-known for their creation of art objects and trophies such as the crystal football BCS trophy. The city is also home to Reginald’s Tower, a relic from the town’s Viking history. In the midst of all the things that Waterford is best known for, though, I have another unforgettable memory of Waterford, Ireland that has nothing to do with its history. As I crossed a busy street, I recognized the logo of my alma mater on the jacket of a gentleman crossing in the other direction. I greeted him with “Hail State!” and we have stayed in touch since then. That recognizable brand did its job, allowing fellow fans to establish a connection even in an entirely unrelated context. There was no reason for me to be looking for that logo or thinking about my alma mater, but the sight of the school colors and the logo instantly transcended the context of the environment. Not every brand has a goal of facilitating interpersonal relationships among alumni, but every brand can aspire to the powerful goal of being instantly recognizable even in an unrelated context. You can read the other entries in this series via the following links: 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 1 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 3
12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 1
12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 1 I recently returned from performing magic on a couple of European cruises which combined to fill nearly the entire month of August. My wife joined me on this adventure as the dates overlapped our 19th wedding anniversary. We started with five days in Stockholm, Sweden, where we saw the sights and I visited a friend who had been an exchange student to my high school many years ago! We concluded with three days in Dublin, Ireland. While we were in Russia, I was inspired by one experience to make a change to the way I think about my business, my performances, and my keynote presentations. As I gave it more thought, I realized that each stop along the way taught me something important about providing amazing and engaging experiences for my audiences, both at live events and for my brand’s audience. What did I learn in each port? Here are some of my takeaways. The rest will appear in the next post. Amazing tip #1: Guide your audience to an experience that most people miss. Stockholm, Sweden – In the five days we were in Stockholm we covered a lot of ground, from visiting royal palaces to shopping in Gamla stan. But the most amazing experience to me was the opportunity to reconnect with my friend Anna, whom I hadn’t seen since high school over 25 years ago. Her insights and advice led us to explore a part of the city we might otherwise have missed. Amazing tip #2: Put a hidden gem somewhere in the experience for your audience to discover. Tallin, Estonia – This wasn’t a port we expected to love, but we were tipped off by Rosemary’s aunt that it was a hidden gem. It didn’t have the name recognition of a St. Petersburg or Helsinki. But it turned out to be a favorite stop – lots of history, interesting things around every corner, and easy to walk and explore. Amazing tip #3: You don’t have to be “on” all the time; create multiple ways for your audience to explore your offerings on their own. Helsinki, Finland – This port had name recognition, but our visit was on a Sunday and so we encountered a lot of closed stores until later in the day. This meant that we had quiet streets and little traffic all morning. We couldn’t get into every location because some places are closed on Sunday morning. But we got to peek inside a Russian Orthodox cathedral during a service and that was a beautiful experience. Amazing tip #4: In every possible interaction, prime your audience to appreciate the beauty in what you will share with them. St. Petersburg, Russia – Rosemary and I spent an evening at the ballet. We saw “Sleeping Beauty” at the Alexandrinsky Theatre. I was intensely moved by the beauty of the building, the sets, the costumes, the music, and of course the dancers. The moment we entered that theatre, we knew something special was going to happen. We were primed to appreciate the beauty to follow. I was inspired to add something beautiful to my presentations – something that gives my audience a chance to appreciate art for the sake of beauty. Amazing tip #5: Make sure the experience you deliver stands up to repeat engagement. Add layers if necessary. Copenhagen, Denmark – This was my second visit to Copenhagen, and it was easy to pick up right where I left off on last year’s trip with my daughter. Since my wife and I had only a single day in port, though, we had to budget our time. We chose to limit the number of attractions and explore more thoroughly, meaning that even though I visited Rosenborg Castle last year, I actually got a bit more out of the visit this year. There’s more to come in part two! Stay tuned! You can read the other entries in this series via the following links: 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 2 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 3
