From the Signing the Messaiah at the Avonlee Mall, the Philharmonic Choir of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra in St. John’s Newfoundland to the Bay Centre in Victoria BC, flash mob choirs are sharing their voices in the malls to shoppers out seeking the ideal gift.
A new idea, no but one worthy of spreading yes. Over 6 million people have seen the 2009 Antwerp Central train station flash choir mob video where Julie Andrews and hundreds of people shared a dance version of ‘Doe a deer a female deer’ in the train station. The response was wonderful!
What do these random acts of culture offer the mall visitor that is just like crafting a great tourism experience:
- the element of surprise
- good quality
- opportunity to engage
- a taste of culture from the local area
- happy memories
And then there comes the ‘distraction’ from the joy we must be careful of with experiences. This year’s flash mob in Victoria was all over the news. As I wasn’t in the Bay Centre when hundreds of choir singers appeared I sought out the video link through the newspaper only to find corporate advertising prior to reaching the music. This seriously detracted from my experience and made me search ‘further’ for a ‘real video’ from a consumer who didn’t need to put advertising in front of the key message prior to sharing. My how our behaviors have changed on the consumer side. Are you thinking about this with your business?
The lesson here is in harmonizing the environment – what memory do you want to leave your guests when you provide an experience? The less clutter with distraction (e.g. in the case advertising) the better! Granted, the newspaper is not in the experience business they sell ads to pay for newspapers, but it is interesting the visceral reaction from ‘enjoying’ many flash mobs as they come along – to immediately clicking away from the ones that have advertising required before enjoying the music. Is there anything you business is doing that is negatively changing the experience for your customers? Something to think about!
So enjoy one more holidays ‘flash mob’ with a little “Joy to the World” from Richmond Mall in Nelson NZ!
