"The Power of Living Environments in a Changing World"
Lee Ater
Principal and Creative Director Arscentia
Scribe: John Uppendahl Introduced by: Lennie Lutes
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IN THIS ISSUE
The Power of Living Environments in a Changing World – Rotary Foundation Update – New Member Induction – New Blue Badgers – Rotarian of the Month – Bellevue 10K/5K – Student of the Month – Rotary First Harvest Hearts & Wine 2015
SPEAKER PROGRAM
Lennie Lutes introduced guest speaker Lee Ater, Principal and Creative Director of Arscentia. She spoke about the power of living environments in a changing world. She talked about creating a space or environment that makes you feel alive, with a deep connection that makes you feel excited so you want to stay there and engage.
Starbucks, Nike, Umpqua Bank and Apple all became great examples of providing a deep and immersive brand experience for their customers. It really started with Walt Disney, which was founded in 1923. In 1955, he opened Disneyland which was all about Fun and accessing what it was like to be a child experiencing fantasy, surprises, adventure, delight, etc. Every detail was orchestrated, even how trash was picked up.
Howard Schultz launched the first Starbucks in 1987 to create the Italian coffee shop experience with a retail experience.
Nike created Niketown in November 1990, which became the model for brand experience stores.
Steve Jobs recruited executive team members from the Gap, Disney and Target. He was driven to control the entire brand experience through design – the Apple store. On May 15, 2001, the first two stores opened in VA and CA and reached over $19 million in retail sales in 2001. Later, Jobs became a board member at Disney and brought back learning from the Apple stores’ success to bring things full circle.
This trickled over into the service industry. Umpqua Bank created the banking “store” and opened the first retail-oriented “store” in 1995. It took the lead from the retail and hospitality industries. The bank became a community center and neighborhood store.
The new face of healthcare: Are you in a hotel or hospital? It is a changing marketplace due to increased competition and a measure of quality and credibility. Patient experience, surveys and research indicate that in such a competitive environment with many choices, the physical environment becomes the deciding factor.
The high tech workspace: Is it a theme park or workspace? Does this really work? It becomes a bargaining tool to recruit and retain top talent.
People want more and learn to expect more from a brand. Experience sticks – we can’t get it online. Environments are an expected part of the experience, not only for retail but across industries.
Building success. Emotive experience. Meaningful content. Honest extension of brand values. Wholly integrated culture.
What’s next? Mobile experiences – taking brand and experience culture on the road. Brand experience as art or exhibit.
CLUB Business
Rotary Foundation Update
Out of 3,400 Rotary clubs in the world, 15 clubs have the honor of being top givers to The Rotary Foundation. BBRC is the #3 club in giving from the district. Congratulations BBRC!
New BBRC Members
Jonathan Heras was inducted as a new member with the help of sponsor John Martinka and mentor Jim Gordon. He was one of the members of the Flex Club (which folded) and he chose to become a full-fledged member of BBRC. Welcome Jonathan!
Blue Badges
Carmela Ramaglia and Nic Wildeman received their blue badges.
Rotarian of the Month
Colleen Turner is the Rotarian of the Month.
Bellevue 10K/5K
John Martinka is co-chairing the Bellevue10K/5K with Mike Ralph and Nic Wildeman. We are organizing teams and the theme is Fast Animals. We need your ideas and engagement now to help make this year’s race the best ever.
Student of the Month
Katie Holmes is the Student of the Month.
Rotary First Harvest Event
Mark your calendars for the upcoming Rotary First Harvest Hearts & Wine 2015, to be held on Friday, February 6th, 2015 from 6-9:00 pm at The Foundry. This year’s event will include sampling of wines from over 20 of the region’s finest wines, live jazz by Jazz Night School, food by Herban Feast, and a mini live auction of limited release wines and wine experiences. All proceeds from the event will support RFH’s work connecting farmers, truckers, volunteers and food banks for hunger relief in our community. Ethan Stowell will be joining us as our special guest for the evening. Ethan, who was recently named “Best New Chef All Star” by Food & Wine, will share his thoughts about the important connections between food and community. If you’re a fan of some of Seattle’s best restaurant experiences like How to Cook a Wolf and Staple & Fancy, you won’t want to miss this opportunity. We expect tickets to sell out, so please be sure to reserve your space soon. BBRC’s goal is to have three tables of eight people attend. Purchase tickets today!