||| March 2, 2025 by Philippe Ravanas

Enter, the immersive Experience Model

In the book The Experience Economy we are reminded that work is theater and every company can find inspiration from the performing arts.  So why is it that many arts organizations make theater feel like work?  It is time for the arts to flip the tables and find inspiration from some of the organizations we helped inspire.

You must understand how people interact with your service and the different ways customers use you.

Last Wednesday, those lucky enough to attend the AEE Open Forum, had the opportunity to hear from Denis Weil, Vice President of Concept and Design at McDonald’s Corporation.  This imaginative thinker reminded us all that customer experience design methods and practices are not strange foreign business tools that never apply to the arts.  In fact it is art.  Creating a complete experience eliminates distractions and allows audiences to focus and the art to work harder.  McDonald’s is surly a leader in its dedication to studying and improving these experiences, but Weil insists that his ideas do not only apply to big organizations, but they  represent a entrepreneurial mindset that can apply directly to the arts.

Enter the Immersive Experience Model.  Weil suggests these 5 tools are a way of looking at your customer service journey and for McDonald’s they work to ensure brand loyalty.  Here in a nutshell are Weir’s “5 Tools of the Trade.”  Hopefully they will inspire your organization to examine your own experience practices.

5 Tools of the Trade

1) Focus on the Customer Journey
You must understand how people interact with your service and the different ways customers use you.  In Weil’s slide presentation (click here to see it)  he explains McDonald’s  Service Blueprint, a system the company uses to analyze every moment a customer spends in contact with the store.  Before you can get to the burger you have to enter the store and after you eat it you have to exit and even before that you figure out what you want is McDonald’s.  You have to think about it all.  The biggest lesson is to be intentional.  And remember it is not just about adding things, sometimes it is about eliminating things

Arts Example: Joshua  Prince-Ramus’ design for The Seattle Public Library applies focusing on the customer to architecture.  He asked the library team to identify all the different uses of the library  Those uses were then organized based on the number of times patronts were using the  space for a specific purpose,  and the bulding was designed accordingly.  Watch the presentation here.

2) Tell a Story
Weil shared that McDonald’s has a story that has changed over time.  From the beginning the company has a comprehensive approach to running a business.  When the company expanded and added departments  and the center of communication shifted, the original approaches had to change.  These kinds of shifts are subject to the evolution of a culture.  At one time preparing hamburgers in an open kitchen with an industrial process was a good thing.  It insured quality.  Today, industrial processes hold different connotations.

An important part of any story is the ritual.  This is particularly important for McDonald’s or any organization with a big staff turn around or large volunteer groups. It gives returning customers something to hold on to.  Think about how all McDonald’s bags come double folded.  These little touches can go a long way.

Arts Example: Chicago Symphony Orchstra’s Afterwork Master Works cioncert series.  The musicians don’t wear tales, the conductor speaks, and drinks are served at end.  The story is, “ we want you to come to symphony after work and it is going to look and feel like something you want to go to after work”

3) The System, stupid!
There is a difference between component design and system design.  A component has a specific function and solution.  You can easily detail the design based on set criteria.  What will this counter be used for and what will it look like?
 
To design a system is more difficult.  You must have a goal, then test strategies and principles to get you to that goal.  How will the production of this hamburger work and interact with the other components of the kitchen and “front of house?”   In so many ways, this is the EXPERIENCE of Experience Design.

Arts Example:  The Detroit Institute of Art has taken a look at the ways people interact with different periods and styles of art. Instead of treating all art the same, each section has its own feel.  Information on contemporary art can be found on computer kiosks, while the modern art uses projected titles to group similar or related work.  (see the photos in the slide show)

4) Experiment
McDonalds is a leader in experimentation.  From its Innovation Center (located in the corner of a happy meal toy warehouse), the company can simulate any kind of situation from anywhere in the world to ascertain the impact of speed and productivity.  They can recreate pick-up windows, interactions at the counter, and any kind of kitchen configuration.  The objective is to make every moment in the store hold as much impact as possible.    With or without the Innovation Center, surely arts organizations can see the importance of thinking through an evperience and do some kind of testing.

One important thing to remember is that this is not a focus group, it is an experience.  Ideally you want to talk with a customer during the interaction and ask them to talk out loud about what is happening to them and how they are feeling.

Arts Example:  The Art Institute of Chicago’s Red Cube Project asks participants to find  500 red boxes  hidden throughout the city and document the hunt with social media.  If the goal is to increase social media's impact on audience engagement, this project gives AIC one measurable event to test the effectiveness of audience participation on electronic platforms.

5) Imagine Far, Plan Near
Be clear about your final destination but dream a little. Free yourself from restraints for a little while and dream.  What could our organization be?  Weil tells us , “If you only make incremental changes you never get to your final destination.”

McDonald’s knew it had to become a coffee destination to compete with changing markets.  Although they started these efforts in Australia (they are now the largest coffee provider Down Under), the process of making McDonald’s a coffee destination in the US only started a few years ago.  First they improved coffee, then ice coffee, and now they provide the  complete McCafe.  Once the final destination was chosen, the company developed a clear path to take them there.

Denis Weil and McDonald’s methods  are important to understanding how people want to interact with you.  These practices apply just as effectively to corporate America as they do to arts organizations.  I encourage you to think about these ideas and use them.  ANd plese keep us informed on your thoughts, your successes, and your failures.  As an arts community we have  much to learn from each other.

After Weil’s presentation he conducted three “Fishbowl” consultations.  Check back here shortly to read some of the ideas they sparked in our fish.

Tags: Customer Service