Author Archive

Close your eyes and imagine driving down the highway on your way to work. Take a deep breath… what is that smell?  Could it be a peppery, juicy steak on the grill?

If you are driving down N.C. 150 outside of Moorsville, NC that might just be what you smell. Bloom Grocery Stores have built a billboard that emits that exact smell in an effort to engage your senses and sell more of their new line of steaks.

Now, I haven’t seen it (or smelled it) but the Charlotte Observer reports that the billboard will be grilling steaks until June 18.

We need to remember Adweek’s review of brand sense: “83% of ...

Overland Park, KS: At approximately 8:00 AM CDT Jeff Kallay, TargetX’s Apostle of Authenticity, reported that Godzilla was found missing from the TargetX GPACAC Exhibit Booth. He said “I walked up to the table started to cry when I realized that he was missing.”

According to reports filed, Godzilla was last seen by exhibitors at approximately 5 PM CDT.

It is suspected that he was kidnapped by a roving gang of Admissions Counselors.

Godzilla traveled to Kansas from Atlanta to work with TargetX in the promotion of its session “Pecha Kucha – Japanese Efficiency for Better Campus Visit Presentations”.

According to Adrienne Bartlett, TargetX’s ...

You aren’t a billionaire with a dream, nor are you a global brand that everyone recognizes.  So what can you learn from CNN, The Olympics, Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium?

These were questions we asked this year’s TargetX Xpert Summit participants.  Part of this two-day event in Atlanta was an experience excursion where we took everyone (all 115 clients in attendance) to the CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park (did you know that the 1996 Olympics were in Atlanta?), the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. We weren’t there to play tourists.  We wanted to see what we could learn from the experiences being hosted by these popular destinations and discover what might ...

We have all walked into the door of a store and found the clerk on the phone and just ignoring us. As a customer, it doesn’t feel very good, but that would never happen in college admissions, or would it?

Join me as I talk about “The Not so Welcome…Welcome”

Upon arrival, one of the first questions prospects and their families ask once they reach the admissions office or welcome center is “Where is the restroom?” No matter if a family has just gotten out of the car from traveling or has just returned from a tour, every visitor needs a “bio break” at least once while on campus.

This spring, during my travels to campuses, I have begun to notice a common theme: These restrooms are giving a horrible first impression.  I have seen amazing admissions spaces where attention has been paid to every detail — except that of the loo.  Much like your public spaces, these spaces “behind close doors” need to have the look and feel of your ...

I am blogging today from Delta flight 1006 en route from ATL to PHL on my way from the TargetX Atlanta office to the main office in Bristol, PA for a few days of meetings.

Wi-Fi hot spots are nothing new, they are on campuses, in coffee houses and can be found in tons of public places. For as much traveling as I have done in the past several years this is a first time I have had a “hot spot in the sky.”

I just couldn’t resist and had to share this “very cool” experience. Delta is in the midst of installing GoGo Wi-Fi on board its fleet of aircraft so passengers can check e-mail, surf the web, twitter, and ...

When I came to work for TargetX I had a long conversation with Jeff about my title.  As you know he is the Experience Evangelist. This is a perfect title for him being a graduate from Lee University and he really does preach The Experience Economy.  I even became one of his followers long before he had the official title.

My title as the Experience Evaluator is very much what I do.  Jeff mentioned in another blog entry that by definition, an evaluator is “an authority who is able to estimate worth or quality” and “an expert who appraises and assigns a worth to assets for which it is difficult to determine market value.” I spend time on campuses closely (and ...