Wim GE De Vos

Small businesses with a BIG impact

Iconic brands: Steinway & Sons 🎹

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Spirio by Steinway
iconic Steinway & Sons

A lot of brands claim or want to be iconic. But few truly are…

Steinway & Sons 🎹 without a doubt is. They are what pretty much every brand aspires to be. Truly iconic.*

Let me give you just one example as to why:

While other brands pay 💵celebrities for endorsements, Steinway & Sons get paid by those endorsing their brand. Say what ?!?!?!?

YES. Celebrities pay 💰Steinway & Sons.

In order to become a Steinway & Sons artist there are three requirements:

  1. artistic quality
  2. buy a Steinway & Sons piano
  3. share a recording of them interpreting a piece

So the artists pays in 3 currencies: credibility – money – content.

The Jedi move here is that all 3 currencies are reinvested back into musicians (education) – products (eg Spirio)- customers  (Spirio clients getting a monthly upgrade on their library). Looks like they will remain iconic for years to come…

So what brands do you consider iconic and why?

*discaimer: we have a Steinway Spirio in the Genesis Technologies VIPlounge in Marbella and simply fell in love with it…🖤

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Social media democracy

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The art if simple. Genesis Technologies.

A few weeks back I jokingly asked feedback on how to brand my car 🚙 via Facebook & Instagram for Genesis Technologies.

It was by far the post with most interaction, shares and likes in 2018. Pretty cool 😎 to have so many involved with our brand. Engagement. Enrolment. Jedi Master Seth would be proud.

The post showed a clear preference for one design over all others. So here it goes 💥

Thank you 🙏🏻 everyone for speaking up. I sincerely hope you will continue to give feedback 📣 as I throw more questions at you.

And lets toast 🍷 to #theArtofsimple – the raison d´être of Genesis Technologies.

 

 

When elegance wins…

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In mathematics, architecture, business, physics, product design,… there are complex problems. And true artists look for elegant solutions.

Elegance is

  • to choose simplicity and avoid the complex
  • when less is more (Mies van de Rohe)
  • to pause when others accelerate
  • to accelerate when everything is standing still
  • to be creative to avoid routine
  • in the detail

Elegance is eternal. It is the art of simple.

Just like Andrès Iniesta.

How do you choose elegance to create impact with your business?

 

 

What I learned @ Barco Digital Cinema 📽️

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Back in the early 2000’s I was working for Barco Cinema division in China. A unique experience and years later I value greatly what I learned.

  • The power 👊🏽 of intercultural teams.
  • The importance of co-creation 🤝 when making a strategic plan.*
  • Ways of creating internal buy-in with management🤵.
  • The value of brand positioning when entering a new market💹.

In 12 months we landed a multi-million dollar💰 contract that laid the foundation for dominant market share for Barco in ditigal cinema in China.

Working in a start-up venture inside a big company was both challenging and very rewarding. I highly recommend everyone to grab such opportunities when offered the chance. #offthebeatentrack #buildingabusiness.

Following this adventure I moved to Barco’s home cinema division which was the start of my journey in the smarthome and private cinema market…

Do you look back and value past experiences? And how do you connect the dots into the future?

*More on co-creation in a future post.

What I learned from IMAX

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Larry, a teacher and a friend

A few of years ago I worked with IMAX as they joined ICE-cinema into the market of super high-end private cinemas with their IMAX Private Theatre. We visited their Canada & New York offices and they in return visited us at our ICE-cinema experience centre. Very interesting encounters for both it seemed later.

Here are some lessons learned:

  • Do not underestimate 🎱 yourself when up against a mogul. You may have more to offer than you think.
  • read “Negotiating with Giants” when dealing with one 😉.
  • Keep looking 👀 for the value beyond the brand.
  • Learn📚 from market leaders instead of simply looking up to them.
  • Small and 🎯 focussed can beat big 💸and powerful.

Clients for IMAX Private Theatre and ICE-cinema are (U)HNWI´s. They deserve and want the best. #thebestornothing. What we offer them is an experience and a service rather than a product.

How to reach and serve these clients is something I greatly enjoyed discussing with my IMAX counterpart and friend Larry O´Reilly.

Larry shared some pearls of wisdom which I have incorporated in the partner trainings we run on how to sell ICE cinemas and #makeWOWthestandard.

But, in order to share knowledge we have to acquire it first.

So thank you 🙏🏻 IMAX and Larry for our open dialogue. Encounters that made us move forward. And it is clear the future looks bright for both of us 😎 as we bring immersive experiences to peoples homes.

Question: what mogul did you deal with recently? What did you learn?

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ICE Cinema lobby