About John Santeler
You could say John is “hard wired” for experiential marketing.
Setting the Foundation...The Ohio State University
Even as he was pursuing his Masters Degree in Business Administration and Computer Sciences at The Ohio State University, John was not interested in computer programming. Instead, he was interested in understanding the impact that technology would have on the way a business is run, the way people think and experience the world.
^top
Making His Way to Silicon Valley...The HP Way
As John was graduating, Silicon Valley was really heating up. After interviewing with multiple high-tech companies around the country, Silicon Valley quickly emerged as the place John wanted to be. The tech companies were more on the edge. People were thinking about technology differently.
John got his start at Hewlett-Packard. At the time they were pushing the envelope and HP gave him a chance to see and understand the impact mini-computer technology was having on businesses around the world.
At the same time Hewlett Packard had a strong sense of business ethics. The “HP Way" had an incredible influence in John’s approach to doing business.
^top
Catching the Entrepreneurial Spirit...Apple Computer
During his HP stint, entrepreneurial companies were sprouting up all over Silicon Valley. In 1981, one of those start ups, Apple Computers, recruited John. He managed Apple II developer programs, merchandising and events.
^top
Growing Out on His Own...Santeler Marketing Group
By 1985, John caught the entrepreneurial fever, as well. He started his own company, Santeler Marketing Group, to help high tech companies brand their products by expanding beyond features and benefits marketing, focusing on the user experience.
Fueled by this vision, SMG began creating product introductions, industry conferences and trade show exhibits that dramatized the end user experience, creating product stories relevant to real customer experiences.
^top
Designing His First Event Experience...Appleworld
During John’s first year out, Apple president, John Sculley, asked John to be a part of a team to design and produce a “mega-event”, for 5,000 of Apple’s most valued customers, worldwide. The event was to be a celebration of all things Macintosh and would introduce the first open, color Mac.
They called this first Macintosh fan gathering, AppleWorld.
It was a breakthrough industry event and a breakthrough for SMG, launching them down the experiential events path long before Experiential Marketing was the buzzword it is today.
^top
Establishing a Track Record...The Fortune 500 Brands
By the nineties SMG was working with some of the biggest, hottest, and brightest Fortune 500 companies. They were designing and delivering break-through events and exhibits that were experiential in nature. Experiences that drove core brand identities for companies and alliances such as Apple, IBM, Motorola, Kodak, Sony, Adobe and Disney. All of these experiences had the same focus — engaging audiences in a single, focused message and transforming them into brand advocates.
 Watch Video: POWERPC: THE APPLE, IBM, MOTOROLA ALLIANCE
Watch Video: IBM: INTRODUCING THE eBusiness BRAND
Watch Video: SONY: INTRODUCING DIGITAL TELEVISION
Watch Video: MOTOROLA: THE FUTURE OF COMMUNICATIONS
^top
Creating EXP...The Experience Company
The year 2000 brought another big change. As John's team was working with Disney to develop interactive themed guest experiences for the Innovations Pavilions at Epcot and Disneyland, one of SMG’s Disney clients suggested that the name SMG didn't communicate the core value that the team brought to a project - the ability to translate brands into highly entertaining consumer experiences that engage and educate audiences.
As a result, in 2000, SMG became “EXP – the experience company.” This new name better reflected the work that SMG had been doing for more than a decade. They had always been walking the walk. Just not talking the talk.
^top
Building the EXP Brand...Event, Exhibit & Mobile Experiences
EXP continued this focus, strengthening its partnership with Disney, building multiple entertainment experiences for their key corporate partners. A primary focus was the design, development and staffing of the Kodak sponsored experiences at Disney Theme Parks in Orlando, Los Angeles and Paris. This included an 18 minute, pre-show for Honey I Shrunk the Audience and the Post Show Experience for the Imagination Ride.
In addition EXP is staffing the Kodak Pavilion at Epcot and has expanded the design and theatrical staffing of branded experiences into the Intel Museum in San Jose California.
During this time, we extended into mobile marketing. Designing and developing major mobile tours for Kodak, Disney, New Century Mortgage and Adobe.
Watch Video: DISNEY’S “HONEY I SHRUNK THE AUDIENCE” PRESHOW
Watch Video: BUENA VISTA FILMS: BUGS LIFE EXPERIENCE
Watch Video: THE KODAK IMAGINATION RIDE POST SHOW
Watch Video: THE KODAK MOBILE ROADSHOW
^top
Introducing Santeler Consulting...Focus On Strategy
For years, EXP has been researching the best techniques, identifying best practices and studying the successes and failures in the experiential marketing world.
After being in the experiential marketing trenches, John is expanding his focus to include more of an emphasis on strategic design consulting, best practices and speaking.
Through consulting at the strategic level and offering a variety of workshops and labs, John helps clients apply real world experiences to assessing and designing strategic, breakthrough experiences for their audiences.
For John, Experiential Marketing is more than his business. It’s his passion.
^top
|
