Has Transparency Killed Brand Magic?
This morning I ran across an intriguing article at Daring Fireball about the new Disney stores. Disney got Apple's Steve Jobs to help rework their stores. And for the past year they've been incubating and building the idea in an unmarked warehouse somewhere in Glendale, California.
Transparency has been a buzzword of the social web and in the startup world over the past two years. The mantra has been:
Iterate - and do so publicly
Mistakes - be straight up about them
Action - tell customers as it unfolds
I definitely understand the desire for transparency. I support ethical business policies (right? Who doesn't?). It can be quite a spectacle for a brand when they aren't transparent. In many cases it's not a lack of transparency, it's a flat out lie that gets companies and the people who run them in trouble. But I can't help but thinking transparency has taken the fun out of brands - both corporate and personal.
I love that Disney has taken a year and built this store out - under the radar. I love the magic (of course, it's Disney and they are all about the creation of magic, are they not?) of doing it behind-the-scenes. They have made mistakes, to be sure, during the process. But we'll never know about them. And what difference does it make? I would argue it makes no difference whatsoever that you don't know about a mistake they may have made with shelving units in month three.
Here's the thing. An experience requires a bit of magic if it's to be of lasting relevance for you. Gold from the New York Times report on the stores: "'The world does not need another place to sell Disney merchandise — this only works if it’s an experience,' said Jim Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide." Same goes for your product.
So what does it take to build an experience for someone? For a customer or lover or friend celebrating her 30th?
That question has been answered for me the past two weekends. Last weekend, in Guerneville at the Broad Summit and the weekend before with the Brand About Town advisory board in St George, Utah.
The Broad Summit was magic. It was in the Redwoods, for starters. The four women in charge of making it the experience it was are all tops in their fields. Their combined strengths allowed them to create an experience that has left the participants, by all accounts, in awe. Take the perfect setting, a hot tub and bright, generous-spirited people, add wine, mix.
You know, magic isn't elaborate. It's equal parts effort and effortlessness. The effort you exert should be exerted behind the scenes. The effortlessness starts when the party kicks off. I don't want to know that the hotel where you're hosting your conference is charging you $27 a head for wifi connections. That's you asking for effort on my part. It may seem like transparency to you, but I think we've taken the transparency notion too far.
To answer the question, "what does it take to create an experience that has magic?" it takes, in a word, commitment. It's not about brand transparency. It's about commitment to creating an experience. The companies that are committed to the experience of the user or customer are the ones that will lead the way out of the recession. In the emerging economy it won't be about what's cheapest. It will be about which is the best quality experience.
For the record, I think you can be completely honest without being completely transparent. Dishonesty isn't what I'm promoting here. I'm wondering along with you whether it might be time to hold back a card or two. For magic's sake, if for no other reason.
What do you reckon? Has transparency killed brand magic? Or are you all about transparency policies? Where does honesty meet transparency?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Reader Comments (8)
Gwen,
I think you hit this nail on the head. I wonder if instead of transparency, what we really want is simply to be able to trust people to do the right thing, to consider the consequences of their actions. The lack of consideration of consequences in this country, from the CEOs running Fortune 500 companies, down to the college freshman getting wasted, scares me. I don't mind having some fun, letting loose, or being a smart business person. You can and should do those things... just be aware. Aware of what you are doing. In each moment. Bring mindfulness to it. Be transparent to yourself. That's what I really want from you and your brand.
Great post, Gwen. I've been pondering some of the same questions lately. Transparency for its own sake probably won't accomplish anything to help your business or personal brand. Like you said, transparency can take the fun or "magic" out of things and result in too many details that people don't really want to know. Instead, I think what people are hungry for is authenticity and honesty. You're right about being completely honest without being completely transparent. It is not only possible, but preferable depending on the situation.
I was just thinking about this - as a blogger, where does one draw the line between honesty, transparency and looking like you know what you're talking about. I think we all have different levels of commitment to these concepts.
Sometimes my respect and admiration grows for people who are authentic about their struggles and learnings, at other times it makes me think "good for them but I wouldn't hire them cos they are still struggling with this and I want someone who makes me feel secure about their "expertise" / has already crossed this line".
So if you said this is what happened and this is how I overcame it and how I can help you, it makes your "authority" rise in my eyes and if you said this is what's happening right now, let us figure it out together, I would support you and still learn from you but that X factor would be missing. Guess what I'm getting to is that the level of transparency in a small business would determine who your clients are and vice versa.
As for big brands, what you were talking about seemed more like internal workings and logistics than transparency to me. So of course we don't need or want to know about that as customers cos it's boring and why do I need to know? But if they talked about how a new concept or character came to life, I would be super interested.
It's a tricky one hey, knowing that fine line! Thanks for getting me thinking more about this :)
Tia @TiaSparkles
To echo, people do want authenticity, sincerity, reliability, and lots of other "vintage" values (in individuals, companies, and products). When people first started talking about "transparency" I thought it was a great thing, but you're right that lines have been crossed; when transparency is seen as a method to employ instead of a value to uphold, suddenly there's a stream of needless (endless) "info."
What I first thought of when I read your post is about romance and how a little mystery keeps it alive. (ie. How some long-time couples still never go to the bathroom in front of each other.) Yes, honesty is supreme in every personal/professional relationship, and without trust as a foundation the outlook ain't good! But honesty versus discretion is key. Transparency lacking discernment can be boring and even sometimes vulgar. Example: We don't need lots of, ahem, bathroom details when a friend is sick ... and this rule should apply across the board. Honesty = "I'm really sick. Stomach bug. I'm staying home so I don't spread germs." Ridiculous transparency = "Yeah, man, it's coming out both ends [add in lots more colorful details here]."
Oy, is this timely - and well said.
I once asked a gun-shy client, who was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't see the twists and turns ahead (and gee - who hasn't done that?), to imagine being able to see it all - every single blink. When he thought about it a minute, his blood ran cold: he realized he'd be bored out of his gourd and completely checked out.
It was the unfolding mystery of his own life, and the magical allure of finding out what happens next through living it, that kept him engaged and wanting to play at the top of his own game. Without the element of mystery there was no magic: all he saw was snore city.
Ever see J. J. Abram's Magical Mystery Box TED Talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/j_j_abrams_mystery_box.html? Now, there's a man who knows the value - and brand traction - of a good mystery. And the different between it and dishonesty.
Not all magic's black, who better than Disney & Jobs (and you, Ms. Bell) to remind us of that. Great post. Thanks.
Great post. There is definitely a sweet spot for brands between humanity and delight. It all comes down to understanding one's audience. Some fans want to be dazzled, others want to be included. (Lovely to meet you this weekend, Gwen.)
I think the key to effective transparency is relevance - relevance as judged by the customer (or the person undergoing the experience), not necessarily by the company (or the group creating the experience).
For my part, I love magic. Hold back those cards!
As a human -- blogger aside -- I tend to be tooo honest and put too many cards on the table. I don't know if its a blessing or a curse, but I put it all out there.
As a blogger, I'm different. I don't know if my mom, acquaintance, or employer might be reading so I tend to keep it a little more buttoned up.
In general, I favor the trend toward more transparency, but we will all have to figure out the right lines. Thanks for the thoughtful post.