The Power of Social experience

I was recently in Reading, Berkshire, doing some Christmas shopping and I discovered that my local HMV had turned one of its floors into a gamer ‘café’, called GamerBase. The love-child of a games arcade and an internet café, at Gamebase people pay a nominal fee to play the latest games on the store’s rather flash gaming equipment, while socialising on comfortable sofas. And of course you can then buy the game in the shop. This is an excellent bit of ‘social experience’ marketing, as the structure of the rather aesthetically pleasing, yet luxuriously comfortable space encourages people to play together (encouraged by HMV’s offering of 2-for-1 deals for first time players) and so increases the chance that players will influence each other’s buying decisions.

GamerBase echoes some recent research which states that people make decisions based on the recommendations of friends, rather than networks. It makes sense – a follower (or followee) on Twitter may recommend a product or service, but you’re more likely to listen if your friend makes the recommendation. And you’re even more likely to if your friend is right there with you, egging you on!

This is why both employers and marketers interested in Generation Y need to realise that, while social technology is the new thing, just being on Facebook and Twitter won’t be as effective in attracting and retaining this cohort, as inviting Generation Y to experience the potential of what you have to offer with a friend or two.

For example, Google recently opened its employee-sourced Zurich office, designed with the input of 800 workers. Through working with its staff, Google realised that employees are more productive when sharing fun and harmonious experiences, resulting in the installation of slides, fireman poles and baths! Another case in point is Volkswagen’s The Fun Theory campaign, wherein people’s behaviour was changed for the better by creating fun social experiences, such as a set of piano stairs which played the notes of keys when stepped on, and a bottle bank set up like an arcade game.

Generation Y is a fun-loving social generation, so surely the best way to engage this group is to target this valuable trait?