Growing a business strategically means knowing which new ideas to seed, and feeling confident they will take root. When one of Cleveland's cultural gems, Cleveland Botanical Garden realized a need to re-envision their visitor experience, they turned to Smithink.
Smithink collaborated with the Garden's management team to cultivate a target audience strategy, re-invigorate their brand and plot an earned revenue strategy to provide measurable returns on both investment and Mission. We then developed a master plan and several high concepts to help a re-imagined visitor experience begin to bloom. Now comes the best part: watching this Garden grow.
How can we help your business plans take root?
Wandering through an outdoor market in Granada, a burst of light and color stopped us in our tracks. A beautiful collection of hand-made works of art was inviting us to challenge what we think of as lamps.
Sometimes looking at something without naming it is the first step in freeing the imagination. And with freedom comes opportunities, and space to redefine. To challenge conventional thinking. To help companies push past limitations. To innovate.
That’s where Smithink thinks differently.
What are you thinking of?
In any industry, some are content with maintaining the status quo. Others believe that decisive action can change the world—and not just their own. The visionary team at the Indianapolis Zoo is committed to changing the role of zoos and in so doing, significantly changing people’s attitudes and their actions in conserving wildlife and wild places.
When faced with creating a new vision for the Zoo and an actionable roadmap to get there, the Indianapolis Zoo reached out to Smithink to lead the development and implementation of their strategic plan. With years of experience in changing the landscape of how humans and animals interact combined with a practical business perspective, Smithink guided the Zoo’s key stakeholders through the creation of an impactful 10-year strategic plan—one which will help them realize their vision for changing the world we share.
What is your vision for the world?
When people think of themed entertainment, they often think biggest, fastest, newest. When we put our heads together to create and launch a new, high-end destination park in Orlando, we challenged ourselves to create an entirely different experience. And with that, the “-est” mold cracked.
Discovery Cove was positioned as an exclusive destination limited to only 1000 guests, with a high staff-to-guest ratio, pristine beaches with room to spread out, dolphin swims in a peaceful lagoon, and experiences that connected with guests on an emotional level. A daringly different model for Orlando, but a strategy that paid off, with projections exceeding all expectations.
By engaging all five senses in a way that connected with the hearts and minds of guests, we were able to strategically conceive of and deliver a truly compelling, one-of-a-kind guest experience...one that effectively differentiated the best from the “-est.”
How could you differentiate your guest experience?
As brands grow and extend into new areas, choosing the right name can seem intuitive. Yet without careful, strategic thinking, a wrong name can rapidly undermine a brand’s equity, and set a series of mistakes into motion. Faced with the fortunate yet equally risky luxury of two powerful brand names – Nickelodeon and its well-known “Nick” name – Nickelodeon Recreation partnered with Smithink for strategic guidance in creating a nomenclature strategy as their brand grows.
While known as an edgy, irreverent brand that stands for “breaking some rules,” Nickelodeon also recognized the need for a disciplined structure and strategic guidelines to lace its attractions and experiences together. The nomenclature strategy we developed will serve as a guide to provide equal clarity to both Nickelodeon Recreation’s audience and its licensing partners, while reinforcing the strong equity of the brand. Even for Nick, having a few rules is cool.
What purposeful thinking can help you extend your brand?
It's one thing to dream big. It's quite another to turn those dreams into reality. Especially when you're the one charged with leading a team to make that happen, all in a place where sand slips through the hourglass at an accelerated speed. Welcome to "Dubai time."
In 2008, Smithink was awarded the role of executive producers of Worlds of Discovery Dubai, a multi-year, multi-billion dollar project - a credit to our years of executive leadership experience in assembling and motivating diverse and talented teams, making confident decisions, and knowing how to close the distance between dreams and reality.
What are you dreaming of?