Until They Experienced It, They Would Not Be Able to Aggressively or Successfully Promote It.

When I worked with our external consultants, in particular the Advertising and PR agencies, I wanted them to be clear about our expectations and to be clear about their commitment to the client.  

In a client and consultant relationship, the client is the priority, and there should never be a question regarding this.  The client is the customer, and while the customer is not always right, he must always be satisfied.   Working “together” is always my goal.   It was important that the consultant understood clearly our expectations as a client.   Very vividly, as if it were yesterday, I remember this meeting when the agency was appointed, where I expressed clearly and honestly these words.

“When we laugh, we laugh together and when we cry, we cry together.”

“If we win, we win together and if we lose, we lose together.”

Those words have a strong meaning to me, and I expected them to have a similar impact on the consultant.   Its true meaning is exactly in the words as they are stated.     It was the most fundamental term of engagement for us.   We could only work together if they accepted this and committed to it.   These were the words that created the partnership and bound us together as a unit.

The Ocean Park Halloween event, which literally led to the revival of Ocean Park, was a very good example to describe this concept.     Halloween was new to most of Hong Kong and to most of its people.    To publicize and promote Halloween means to educate the public about its significance and how it is celebrated and enjoyed.   What is “Trick or Treat?”

When Halloween was first introduced, I recall being asked by our own staff, "What is Halloween?"   My response was simple: “It is when the ghosts and goblins come out to play.”  We provide the ghosts and their scares, and people pay us for it.    The staff quipped, “You mean we want to scare people and have them pay us for it?”   Absolutely, and the more we scare, the more they pay.

 This was new to the staff, but even more so for the agency teams.  How could the agency develop a publicity or advertising campaign without experiencing the true sense of the ghosts, goblins, and above all, the scares?    Certainly, it was not possible to write copy or develop strategies sitting in an office.  The Halloween event focused on several “Haunted Houses.”  The scares were provided with a walk-through in each of the haunted houses.

I insisted that before any campaign was developed or copywritten, the team must fully understand the intricacies of each of the houses down to each of the scares.  

Everyone involved in the work must walk through the house and experience the scares, feel their adrenaline rise, and scream like everyone else.   Only after experiencing this can they create strategies and action plans to promote Halloween.   Some in the agency were apprehensive, but to me, experience was a must.  With some encouragement, they all had the full Halloween treatment and, like everyone else, enjoyed the experience.  They felt their hearts beat, the anticipation grew, adrenaline rose, their faces flushed, and they expressed screams of fright and excitement.   Now, they were ready to write and talk about it!

We followed this pattern with every new product introduction.  Until they experienced it, they would not be able to aggressively or successfully promote it.