<< Previous :: Next >> By Date :: Top Recent :: Top 30 days :: Top 365 days :: Back

We Know That Sex Sells. But, Will Gimmicks Sustain the Business? - By John Hendrie

2013-02-12

Send

PDF

Bookmark

Text Size:

LRA Worldwide Oh, those come-ons. We all pay attention, and perhaps those of us a bit more adventurous may actually visit these businesses. You know, like the nude motel in Florida, or the hotel concept, wrapped around a weekend and a divorce, or even that hotel in Europe expressly made for exhibitionists, with a window on the street. These are a next level up in the experience business. Naughty, maybe even tawdry, but they caught my attention, for sex sells.

Oh, those come-ons. We all pay attention, and perhaps those of us a bit more adventurous may actually visit these businesses. You know, like the nude motel in Florida, or the hotel concept, wrapped around a weekend and a divorce, or even that hotel in Europe expressly made for exhibitionists, with a window on the street. These are a next level up in the experience business. Naughty, maybe even tawdry, but they caught my attention, for sex sells.

Moving onward into the restaurant scene, we have a few operations which also sport a resounding sexual appeal. Consider the Tilted Kilt, Twin Peaks, Brick House Tavern and Tap, and Hooters, where uniform requirements (or lack thereof) constitute quite the presentation. As summarized in The Commercial Appeal with a quote by a Boston University Hospitality professor, Chris Miller, “The allure is simple: "Being able to freely gawk and leer at young women in scanty clothing. That's no longer socially acceptable, so we institutionalize it and give it a venue." Hooters has been around the longest, yet the Brand is struggling, with their executives hoping to attract more female patrons with new décor and salads. We’ll have to see how well that works.

One of the pioneers was Hugh Hefner with his Playboy Bunny operations – clubs and even resorts, starting back in the 1960’s. For newly emancipated men and women, this was quite the social entry – stylish, sophisticated, readily promoted by Hefner’s various communications vehicles. Where are they now? Have we outgrown them, or was it the overpriced lousy steaks?

Gypsy Rose Lee in the musical, Gypsy, and her fellow strippers laid out the gimmick premise quite well: “Electra - If you wanna make it, Twinkle while you shake it. Tura - If you wanna grind it, Wait till you refined it. Mazeppa - If you wanna stump it, Bump it with a trumpet! ALL - Get yourself a gimmick and you too, Can be a star!”

We also know that Stars fade. A cachet today is passé tomorrow. Ultimately, what brings value to your Brand is your integrity, your delivery and your emphasis on service. That is the experience our guests seek. A little spice in the mix is fine, but do not forget that your final product must have some memorable meaning, sufficient for a return visit and positive word of mouth advocacy. Just like sex, good news sells.

LRA Worldwide is a leading research and consulting company in the emerging discipline of Customer Experience Management (CEM). We work with our clients to help them design and deliver consistently exceptional customer experiences in order to drive customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy, and company growth and profitability. We have built a range of quality assurance, mystery shopping, research, training and consulting solutions to help them do so.

Today, we are a growing company operating in more than 120 countries throughout the world, servicing our clients from offices and resources in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and helping clients such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the National Football League, Avis Budget Group, Madison Square Garden, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group deliver exceptional customer experiences. Every touch. Every time. For more information, visit us at www.LRAworldwide.com.

Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.