Copyright 2009 by Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. For reprints, call HBS Publishing at (800) 545-7685.

BH 320
Business Horizons (2009) 52, 167—176

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www.elsevier.com/locate/bushor

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Using ‘‘biztainment’’ to gain competitive advantage
Mi Kyong Newsom a, David A. Collier b, Eric O. Olsen c,*

a
Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, 2100 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A.

yo
b
Lutgert College of Business, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South,
Fort Myers, FL 33965, U.S.A.
c
Orfalea College of Business, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, U.S.A.

KEYWORDS Abstract Biztainment is a practice by which entertainment is added to a bundle

Entertainment; of goods and services in order to gain competitive advantage. The achievement of
Service design and this goal is illustrated herein using economic examples of increased revenue,
paradigms;
op
repeat business, and profits, and by extending the product lifecycle, thus ensuring
Economic advantage survival of the firm. The general premise is that biztainment is an increasingly
popular business strategy, applicable to all industries. For example, consider the
goods and services provided by Build-A-Bear stores: children can select the fabric,
eyes, and buttons to create a unique tangible good, while the memorable process
of building it (employing self-service, too) with family or friends adds extraordi-
nary value to the purchase. Build-A-Bear’s use of biztainment has resulted in 370
stores worldwide on five continents, expanding at a rate of 25 locations per year,
tC

and earned revenue of $474 million in 2007 (Build-A-Bear, 2008). This article
concludes by offering examples of ways in which managers can evaluate
their current product-service strategies against the environmental drivers of
biztainment.
# 2008 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.
No

1. Value-added entertainment bundle of goods and services in order to increase the

Why would people pay to pick their own strawber-
ries, crush grapes with their feet, or make their own
cosmetics? Might it be that the process of doing
these things is as valuable to the customer as the
outcome itself? Adding entertainment content to a
Do
value perceived by the customer is nothing new
(Chase & Garvin, 1989; Collier, 1994; Collier &
Meyer, 1998, 2000; Grönroos, 1990; Holbrook &
Hirschman, 1982; Pine & Gilmore, 1998). Neverthe-
less, the addition of entertainment to the organ-
ization’s bundles of goods and services is part of a
broad competitive trend across many industries
which provides unique opportunities for companies

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: newsom.25@osu.edu (M.K. Newsom),
to grow revenue by designing new, and enhancing
dcollier@fgcu.edu (D.A. Collier), eolsen@calpoly.edu existing, products (Holbrook, 2000; Holbrook &
(E.O. Olsen). Hirschman, 1982).

0007-6813/$ — see front matter # 2008 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2008.10.005

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168
Biztainment is the practice of adding entertain-
ment content to a bundle of goods and services in
order to gain competitive advantage. Biztainment
initiatives must be thoughtfully designed and exe-
cuted using service management concepts and
methods (Collier & Evans, 2007). Entertainment
can be defined as the act of providing hospitality,
escapism, fun, excitement, and/or relaxation to
people as they go about their daily work and per-
sonal activities. For example, a BMW automobile
dealership in Fort Myers, Florida recently opened a
new 52,000 square foot facility that offers a putting
green, private work areas, a movie theater, wireless
Internet access, massage chairs, a golf simulator,
and a café, so that customers have multiple enter-
tainment options during their visits (Diaz, 2008).
The old business model of just selling and servicing a
physical vehicle is gone. Today, how a firm bundles
entertainment, information, and service to goods
and services is often the marketplace order winner.
The three objectives of this article are as follows:
1. To document and define the phenomenon of
using entertainment in a wide variety of busi-
nesses to gain competitive advantage (i.e., biz-
tainment);
op
2. To show how biztainment is a viable economic
strategy that generates additional revenue and
profits; and
3. To help practicing managers learn about biztain-
tC
ment and apply their knowledge, so that they can
recognize opportunities to use biztainment in
their product-service strategy.
Managers in every industry should be asking: How
can we use biztainment to generate more revenue
and profits?
No
2. Laying the groundwork for
biztainment
We recognize four drivers for an increased aware-
ness and application of biztainment. The first is the
evolution of the consumer from an information
processing perspective to an experiential view (Hol-
brook, 2000; Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982; Pine &
Gilmore, 1998). Our conceptualization of biztain-
Do
ment is very much a practical operationalization of
experience and entertainment in Holbrook’s broad-
ened view of the experiential consumer (Holbrook,
2000). Entertainment in itself can add value to most
goods and services, such as music, wireless Internet,
and a fireplace at a coffee shop.
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M.K. Newsom et al.
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The second driver is management’s recognition of
potential synergies between the consumer’s willing-
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ness to view certain aspects of the operation as
entertaining and the opportunity for the business
to add value or save cost. Biztainment finds a par-
ticular advantage when blending entertainment
with operational requirements and service-provider
behavior. Consider, for example, the following sit-
uations in which entertainment is bundled with
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goods and services, thereby providing the opportu-
nity for the business to charge higher prices:
 Playgrounds at fast food restaurants, with con-
trolled patron access;
 Young girl makeovers at Libby Lu’s that train
customers in product application;
yo
 Information-related stimuli like visual animation
on a website, such as the online touring of a house
for sale and its neighborhood;
 Powerful oratory from a wine steward that aids in
ordering and enjoying a great wine with dinner;
 Factory tours that familiarize customers with the
processes used to create value;
 Grape stomping in bare feet, invoking all the
human senses in the service experience, thereby
bringing customers closer to the winemaking pro-
cess; and
 Retail product demonstrations that are funny and
enlightening.
The third driver is an artifact of the economic
shift from agriculture, to industry, to services, to
information. Customers are becoming more distant
from their agricultural and manufacturing roots. In
these industries, this trend is likely to increase as
offshore sourcing of goods continues with globaliza-
tion. Many current U.S. service sector employees
are not exposed to the farm and factory experiences
of previous generations. This creates feelings of
nostalgia, or simply curiosity, that drive customers
to want to experience what it was like to work on a
farm or manufacture goods in a factory. As proof of
this claim, it is documented that there are now over
460 active factory tours operating in the U.S.
(http://factorytoursusa.com/).
The fourth–—and most important–—driver of in-
creased awareness and application of biztainment is
as a powerful source of additional revenue and
profits. Table 1 provides examples of how different
industries use biztainment to increase revenue and
Using ‘‘biztainment’’ to gain competitive advantage
Table 1. Examples of the economics of biztainment
Examples of biztainment
Agriculture (Agritainment) — farm tours, hayrides,
horseback rides, camp fires, petting zoos,
you-pick food, destination and haunted mazes,
winery tours and tasting, festivals, animal cams,
courses, make-your-own wine, grape stomping,
camps, picnicking, local & state fairs,
cooking seminars, treasure hunts, etc.
Manufacturing (Manutainment) — old and new
factory tours, showrooms, customer training
courses, virtual tours, short films, comic books,
brand magazines, driving schools, history lessons,
brand marketing, etc.
Retail (Retailtainment) — shopping malls, simulators,
product demonstrations, climbing walls, music,
games, contests, holiday decorations and characters,
blogs, interactive store designs, aquariums,
movie theaters, makeovers, etc.
Restaurants (Eatertainment) — toys, themes,
op
contests, games, characters, playgrounds,
live music, etc.
Hotels (Hoteltainment) — kid’s spas, health clubs,
casinos, cable television, arcades, massage,
wireless Internet, arts and crafts classes, pools,
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family games, wildlife, miniature golf, etc.
Telecommunications (Telcotainment) — cell phones,
picture mail, text and video messaging, downloading
music, cool ring tones, designer phones, etc.
No
profits and, in several cases, extend the product life
cycle and the survival of the business.
This article begins by reviewing the literature of
biztainment in industries such as agriculture,
manufacturing, retail, restaurants, hotels, and tele-
communications. The more applications of biztain-
ment the manager sees, the more he or she is likely
to understand how it might apply to their organiza-
tion’s goods, services, and processes. Company
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websites and online tours are referenced during this
review, and examples of the economic impact of
using biztainment are provided. The article con-
cludes by suggesting ways to build the voice of
biztainment into management decision making at
all organizational levels.
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169
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Example economics
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 Bateson Farms of Ohio: For seven dollars you can find
your way through a 7-acre corn maze, in roughly one
hour for an average person (Combs, 2003).
 ‘‘Forty-three percent of total sales for California,
Oregon, and Washington wineries come from the
tasting room, as do 68% of total sales from other
states’ wineries’’ (Fisher, 2007, p. 1).
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 In 2004, Ford Rouge Factory tours operating at a
sold-out capacity (Waddle, 2004).
 The History Channel and The Discovery Channel
use shows like Modern Marvels and How It’s Made
to increase viewers and, ultimately,
advertising revenues.
 Club Libby Lu’s sales per foot are substantially
higher than Saks’ department store average,
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indicating the ultimate girl experience is
generating phenomenal success (Yerak, 2005).
 ‘‘Build-A-Bear Workshop is perhaps the
fastest-growing kiddie-focused retailer in the
country....The bear chain boasts an average of
$600 per square foot in annual revenue, double the
U.S. mall average. The privately held chain pulled
in perhaps $50 million in operating profit on $200
million in sales in 2003’’ (Fass, 2004, p. 88).
 ‘‘Sales in same-store company-owned cafés were
up 8.2% during this period (first half 2006), with
food and beverage sales up 9.6%, and merchandise
and sales up 5.2%’’ (Hard Rock Café International,
2006, p. 1).
 Holiday Inns found that hotels with holidomes have
a 20% higher occupancy rate and room rates are on
average $28 higher (Chittum, 2005).

In the first year of operations, Nickelodeon Family
Suites has entertained 396,241 kids
(PR Newswire, 2006).
 Verizon’s phone-music player called ‘‘Chocolate’’
sells for $249; a song from VCast Wireless Service
can be downloaded to Chocolate for $1.99, or 99
cents to a computer (Sharma, 2006).
3. Industry applications of
biztainment
3.1. Agritainment
Traditional farms–—especially those which are small-
er and family owned–—are increasingly threatened
by corporate farms, urban sprawl, and offshoring.
This has resulted in many traditional farms seeking
to diversify via the addition of entertainment to
their goods and services. Rural recreation first be-
came noticeable as a phenomenon during the late
1800s, as urbanites began visiting the country to
escape busy city life. As the U.S. agriculture industry
shrinks, a growing percentage of the population
170
lacks experience on farms. Generating a desire in
many to return to their roots (Wolfe & Holland,
2002), farm nostalgia prompts urbanites to seek
hands-on rural experiences (Barbieri, 2004).
Agritainment is a strategy of adding entertain-
ment content to the farm consumer benefit package
(CBP) to gain competitive advantage and increase
revenue. Agritainment encompasses a variety of
ways to add value to the customer experience, as
enumerated in Table 1. A high degree of customer
participation is involved in farm activities such as
you-pick produce, hayrides, and horseback riding.
Agritainment has been expanded to children’s play
areas, children’s discovery farms, camping, and
destination corn mazes. Most of these value-added
services extend the life cycle of the farm, and can
contribute to the survival of perceptive small family
farms even in the face of competition from large
agri-businesses.
In the 1980s, for example, Brown’s Berry Patch
(www.brownsberrypatch.com) added entertain-
ment with pick-your-own berries, apples, and
pumpkins; a farm market and gift shop; and a child-
ren’s play area. Not only does the customer contrib-
ute labor for these services, but they also buy the
op
physical goods. Here, the primary goods and serv-
ices–—such as strawberries (physical good) and you-
pick (self-service)–—are of equal importance. This
strategy generates more revenue than either the
physical good or service alone, and that is a key
advantage of biztainment. Brown’s Berry Patch is
selling a customer benefit package where informa-
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tion, service, and fun are bundled with the product
to create a total customer experience (Collier,
1994). Today, agritainment accounts for more than
50% of Brown’s Berry Patch income.
Davis’ Farmland in Sterling, Massachusetts began
its agritainment efforts with a small petting zoo in
the dairy farm. This initiative has now expanded to
include a zero-depth water spray ground, Junior
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Farmer day camps, and a three-dimensional corn
maze designed by the world’s leading maze archi-
tect, Adrian Fisher. Agritainment is the only source
of revenue for Davis’ Farmland, where attendance
totals more than 200,000 people annually (Barbieri,
2004).
The ‘‘maize craze’’ isn’t unique to Davis’ Farm-
land: maze architect Adrian Fisher has designed
over 400 mazes in 23 countries during the past 25
years, and maze architect Brett Herbst has designed
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in excess of 460 mazes in 140 communities through-
out North America and Europe over the past 9 years.
At Bateson Farms of Ohio, a visitor can find his or
her way through one such 7-acre corn maze in
roughly one hour, for the price of seven dollars.
The destination also offers concession stands,
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M.K. Newsom et al.
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catering, treasure hunts, hayrides, campfires, and
haunted mazes–—all for additional fees, of course
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(Combs, 2003).
Wineries are the most established and enduring
form of agritainment, numbering over 1,500 in the
United States. A $33 billion industry in California
alone, wineries traditionally offer production facil-
ity tours, wine tastings, and cooking seminars,
among other experiences. Ironically, agritainment
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in wineries recently provided the setting for a more
conventional form of entertainment: in the movie
Sideways, the main characters encounter agritain-
ment in the wine producing county of Santa Barbara,
California. Traditional vineyard tours and wine tast-
ings satisfy the wine connoisseur’s thirst for knowl-
edge, social interaction, fun, and a break from busy
urban life. For a more hands-on experience, wine
yo
fanatics can participate in St. Supéry Winery’s ‘‘Har-
vest Adventure.’’ Here, winemaking is explored
from harvesting, to grape stomping, to a blending
seminar, concluding with a gourmet lunch and wine
sampling (St. Supéry Vineyards and Winery, n.d.). In
addition, the U.S. wine country tour industry has
expanded its offerings by including fine dining,
lodging, spas, historical attractions, and seasonal
festivals (www.sonomacounty.com). Wineries such
as Bartholomew Park Winery (www.bartpark.com)
and St. Supéry Vineyards and Winery present their
information online with pictures and text, while
Kendall-Jackson winery’s website offers slideshows
and video tours (www.kj.com).
3.2. Manutainment
Manutainment is a strategy of making entertain-
ment an additional factory output to gain competi-
tive advantage by fostering customer loyalty and
brand image, thereby increasing revenue. Customer
participation in, and knowledge of, the manufactur-
ing process leads to repeat purchases. Opened in
2004, the Ford Rouge Factory Tour was operating at
sold-out capacity within 6 months (www.hfmgv.org/
rouge). The tours are physical in the sense that
customers walk through an operating factory and
use all five human senses–—sight, sound, smell,
touch, and taste–—to experience the excitement
of building a physical good at the lowest possible
cost. The same customer tour could also be a virtual
tour, dependent upon only sight and sound. In either
case–—physical or virtual–—the flow, movement, col-
or, and power of the production process is analogous
to the progression of a movie plot: both have a story
line and climax, adding to the customer’s percep-
tion of total value.
Manufacturers are no longer just producers
of physical goods; they have become ‘‘service
Using ‘‘biztainment’’ to gain competitive advantage
factories’’ (Chase & Garvin, 1989, p. 61). In partic-
ular, the showroom concept is building momentum.
This showroom phenomenon is common to manu-
facturers of automobiles, consumer staples, and
beer. By adding customer factory tours, the plant
becomes a showroom that enhances customer edu-
cation about the manufacturing process, and the
importance and historical significance of the goods-
producing industry; in combination, this reinforces
goods quality and manufacturing superiority, thus
extending the brand. On television, cable networks
The History Channel and The Discovery Channel are
utilizing manutainment to increase viewers and,
ultimately, advertising revenues by broadcasting
programs such as Modern Marvels and How It’s
Made.
In addition, a clean and organized factory hum-
ming along at high efficiency is a tremendous adver-
tisement that builds the customer’s perception of
quality. Involvement theory (Traylor, 1981) implies
that factory tours establish a closer bond between a
consumer and the manufacturer, therefore increas-
ing brand loyalty, sales, and profitability. Manutain-
ment is moving from a mere service experience to
the telling of a powerful business story that builds
op
buyer-seller relationships. For some troubled auto-
makers this strategy helps extend the product and
firm life cycles, and generates more repeat business.
Due to safety concerns, some factory tours have
eliminated the physical factory tour, instead creat-
ing an interactive exhibition and video presenta-
tion, or virtual tour. Examples of interactive and
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virtual factory tours include making chocolate at
Hershey (The Hershey Company, n.d.), a Crayola
Factory field review (Kirby, Smith, & Wilkins,
2008), and a tour of the bottle works at Coca-Cola
(World of Coca-Cola, n.d.). Child-friendly and safe
discovery centers are delivering tours to approxi-
mately 4 million visitors annually (Koranteng, 2004).
No
3.3. Retailtainment
Retailtainment, also referred to as ‘‘shoppertain-
ment’’ (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 98), is a strategy
of adding entertainment content to retail busi-
nesses. In 1992, Mall of America introduced the
nation to an unprecedented mix of retail and
entertainment on a large scale. With 4.2 million
square feet of retail space, over 520 stores, the
nation’s largest indoor family theme park, the
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world’s largest underground walk-through aquari-
um, a four-story LEGO showplace, A.C.E.S. flight
simulation, NASCAR racecar simulation, 50 restau-
rants, and eight nightclubs–—all under one roof–—
Mall of America has redefined the American shop-
ping experience (Mall of America, 2008).
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171
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Niketown stores present an interactive and im-
mersive environment–—called a ‘‘servicescape’’ by
os
Bitner (1992, 1993)–—with a high-tech, high-energy
nightclub atmosphere. Niketown has 17 flagship
stores worldwide, which average 30,000 square feet
of retail space. Niketown Chicago features a bas-
ketball court, so patrons may test the footwear,
clothing, and sports equipment in action. Customers
can also watch inspirational videos featuring bas-
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ketball greats like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James,
and learn the history of various sports through
interactive displays (Nike Inc., 2008).
Other retailtainment examples include Build-A-
Bear Workshop1 (BBW), friends 2B made1, and Club
Libby Lu. At BBW, customers can participate in
manufacturing their own bear by selecting any ani-
mal shell, stuffing it, dressing it, and grooming it.
yo
For individuals who cannot get to a Build-A-Bear
Workshop1, the BBW bus tour travels to local county
fairs and festivals. BBW describes its business as
a company providing a make-your-own stuffed ani-
mal interactive entertainment retail experience
(Build-A-Bear, 2007). Launched in 1997 in St. Louis,
the company boasts 370 stores worldwide on five
continents, and continues to expand at a rate of 25
stores per year. A leader in interactive retail, BBW
earned revenue of $474 million in fiscal year 2007
(Build-A-Bear, 2008). In November 2004, the com-
pany launched friends 2B made1 as a brand by
opening stores in Columbus, Ohio and Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; here, children can make their own
dolls and dolls’ rooms. This undertaking won the
Chain Store Age 2004 Retail Store of the Year Design
Competition-First Prize: Exterior-In-Line Store Cat-
egory (Build-A-Bear, 2007).
Customers could easily go to a retail store and buy
a bear, or surf the Internet and order one. However,
the process of making a bear has tremendous value to
the child, and the practice of watching a kid have fun
is an extraordinary value-added experience for par-
ents, family, and friends. Founded in a day and age
when children are exposed on average to 6.5 hours a
day of media including television, computer, and
video games (Elias, 2005), Build-A-Bear Workshop1
founder and CEO Maxine Clark noted that ‘‘the world
was screaming for something high-touch’’ (Sheban,
2005, p. E6). A basic principle of service management
is that the process is the service.
Also, notice that self-service has value to the
customer and employer. BBW focuses on selling a
memorable and personal experience, plus a physi-
cal good at higher prices. In contrast, a traditional
retail store defines its business as selling a man-
ufactured good–—a toy bear made of fabric, but-
tons, thread, plastic eyes, and so on–—at much
lower prices.
172
Club Libby Lu continues the trend of ‘‘an experi-
ence-based retailer’’ for Tween VIPs: Very Important
Princesses between the ages of 6 and 13 (Club Libby
Lu, 2006). Club Libby Lu offers make-your-own bath
products and cosmetics, along with tiaras, bed
sheets, clothing, and pajamas. Even more fun,
the store offers makeovers whereby the VIPs receive
a hair styling including hair extensions, makeup with
lots of glitter, and polished nails for the ‘‘ultimate
girl experience’’ (Club Libby Lu, 2007). Prices for
the primary service–—the makeover–—range from
$21-$35. This includes transformation of the Tween
VIPs into princesses, rock stars, or favorite celebri-
ties, as well as cool peripherals including lotion,
makeup, glitter, tattoos, backpacks, and lip gloss
kits. Saks Inc. purchased this young girl shopping
experience in 2003, and now owns 38 freestanding
locations and 22 store-within-a-store boutiques in
Saks locations. Per foot, Libby Lu’s sales are sub-
stantially higher than the Saks department store
average, indicating the ultimate girl experience is
generating phenomenal success (Yerak, 2005).
3.4. Eatertainment
op
Eatertainment is a strategy of adding entertainment
content to food service. The most prevalent exam-
ple is fast food restaurants that have added indoor
or outdoor playgrounds to their facilities and pack-
aged children’s meals that include a toy. Toys with a
meal have become a standard peripheral service
(good) for establishments like McDonald’s and Bur-
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ger King that helps extend firm life cycles. In addi-
tion, sports bars have included multiple screens
broadcasting sporting events, bars have included
live entertainment, and dining experiences have
included themes such as those found at Planet
Hollywood (www.planethollywood.com), The Hard
Rock Café (www.hardrock.com), Chuck E. Cheese
(www.chuckecheese.com), Benihana of Tokyo
No
(http://www.benihana.com), and Rainforest Café
(www.rainforestcafe.com). Indeed, even Planet
Hollywood and The Hard Rock Café have extended
their reach with hotels and casinos selling their
brands: celebrity and rock ‘n’ roll, respectively.
The mission of Mars 2112 Restaurant & Bar in New
York City is to sell an out-of-this-world experience,
as ‘‘space travelers’’ go on an expedition to the Red
Planet. In August 1998, midtown Manhattan was
introduced to the 35,000 square foot, bi-level, mul-
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ti-dimensional facility that immerses guests into a
new reality and fantasy dining experience. The
exploration of Mars includes mysterious landscapes
and exotic cuisine. Servers are dressed like Martian
family characters and the Crystal Crater provides
videos of Mars. Food items on the menu are second-
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M.K. Newsom et al.
t
ary to the experience of spacecraft service to Mars
(www.mars2112.com).
os
3.5. Hoteltainment
Hoteltainment is a strategy of adding entertainment
content to hotels, and includes services such as
cable television, movies, wireless business offices
and spaces, swimming pools, social happy hours
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hosted by management, and exercise facilities.
Las Vegas, popularly known as ‘‘the entertainment
capital of the world,’’ is home to 15 of the world’s 20
largest hotels. Las Vegas hotel/resorts combine
casinos, famous gourmet dining, shopping, elabo-
rate shows, and nightlife.
Beyond Las Vegas, two examples of hotel/lodging
designed around selling the experience, and adding
yo
fun and entertainment to the CBP, are Disney’s
Animal Kingdom Lodge and Nickelodeon Family
Suites by Holiday Inn1. The Animal Kingdom Lodge
is situated on a 33-acre wildlife reserve that fea-
tures 30 species of animals in open, natural habitats.
The safari experience includes viewing the exotic
wildlife from the hotel room balcony, eating Afri-
can-inspired cuisine at four dining facilities, and
watching animals after dark with night vision bin-
oculars. The daily kids’ activities are packed with
cultural experiences, and the lodge itself is filled
with African artwork, artifacts, and music. Disney’s
peripheral services include spa and fitness centers,
childcare, and arcades. Additional resort amenities
include a zero-entry pool, a 67-foot waterslide,
a wading pool, hot tubs, and a playground–—all
of which overlook the savanna.
Holiday Inn has resurrected the hotel holidome
that it invented in the early 1970s. The new, up-
dated holidomes create a huge indoor space for
pools, water parks, spas, mini-geysers, mini-golf
courses, tree houses, and the option for aquatic
sports such as water polo. Hotel holidomes are best
for colder climates and family experiences. The
bottom line is underscored by a study commissioned
by Holiday Inn, which found hotels with holidomes
have a 20% higher occupancy rate and room rates
that are, on average, $28 higher (Chittum, 2005).
In May 2005, Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holi-
day Inn1 opened in Orlando, Florida. Featuring
semi-private kids’ bedrooms with televisions, movie
rentals, game systems, CD/DVD players, and activity
tables, the Nickelodeon-branded hotel features two
interactive water park areas and Studio Nick. Other
resort amenities include a kid’s spa (hair braiding,
hair wraps, temporary tattoos, etc.), character
breakfasts, a 3,000 square-foot arcade, and the
Kid’s Desk where daily scheduled on-property activ-
ities are posted. The property’s website also
Using ‘‘biztainment’’ to gain competitive advantage
presents an online photo gallery (http://www.
nickhotel.com/photo_gallery/index.cfm).
3.6. Telcotainment
Telcotainment is a strategy of adding entertain-
ment content to telecommunication services. Cell
phones have become the gateway to the world for
service, information, and entertainment content.
Verizon recently announced a new cell phone
called ‘‘Chocolate’’ that also plays music, much
like Apple’s iPod (Sharma, 2006). Chocolate sells
for $249 with a 1-year service contract. Parent
company Verizon also offers a digital catalogue
of over 30,000 ring tones and 1.3 million songs,
the latter of which can be downloaded to Chocolate
for $1.99 and to computer for 99 cents. For its part,
Sprint offers on-demand live television and radio
streaming downloaded directly to cell phones.
Moreover, teleconferencing, virtual hotel and real
estate tours, webpages, high definition television
and computer integration, wireless home security
systems, blogs, virtual factory tours, online auc-
tions, global positioning technology, and the like
are all examples of adding excitement, service,
and information content to telecommunication
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services. The iPod + iTunes bundle of goods and
services is another example of using biztainment
to increase revenue and profits in the telecommu-
nications industry.
Fantasy football illustrates intangible outcomes
that are controlled by the customer. Eight million
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Figure 1. A customer benefit package example for purchasing a vehicle
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Source: Adapted from Collier (1994, p. 67)
Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617-783-7860.
173
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clients played fantasy football in 2004, and the
Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates there
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are about 200 websites which offer fantasy sports
(‘‘Fantasy Football,’’ 2005). League Manager 2005
software allows customers to set up their own
teams, with their own rules, on their own league
websites. Real-time online drafts or auction-style
drafts, whereby team owners bid on certain players
subject to team salary caps, are just a few of the
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options available in online fantasy sports.
4. Practical implications for managers
In the preceding sections, we highlighted the ubiq-
uitous nature of biztainment by citing examples
across six broad industry categories. Although
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largely anecdotal, the economic effects of
biztainment suggest that businesses may benefit
from reevaluating their current product-service
management strategy. We advocate a proactive
approach to integrating biztainment into a custom-
er benefit package (Collier, 1994). An example of a
CBP for a vehicle is shown in Figure 1. Managers
should assess whether the four drivers of biztain-
ment–—experience, operations-entertainment syn-
ergy, nostalgia, and revenue enhancement–—offer
opportunities in their particular businesses. A prod-
uct-service management strategy model that we
find useful in this assessment is shown in Figure 2.
The primary and peripheral wants and needs of the
customer can be strongly influenced by their desire
174
Figure 2. A product-service management strategy model
to become more involved in the production of prod-
ucts and services that they consume (experiential
consumption driver). This is certainly the case for
Build-A-Bear. In many industries, the outsourcing
of manufacturing and the distancing of the
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manufacturing process will create feelings of loss
(nostalgia and curiosity driver) that can be ad-
dressed by adding tours like the Ford Rouge Factory
to the customer benefit package. This is an example
of an instance whereby the drivers create new
wants and needs as defined by customers.
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The other two drivers–—operations-entertain-
ment synergy and revenue enhancement–—tend to
affect how management defines the CBP and the
operating system. Managers can examine their CBP
to see if adding a peripheral entertainment service,
such as a children’s play area, can reduce operations
cost by reducing accidental damage and personnel
distractions (operations-entertainment synergy
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driver). A resulting effect on the operating system
might be the need to create a system for responsibly
checking children in and out of the play area.
Operations such as McDonald’s even avoid this cost
by making their play areas easily visible to parents in
convenient areas within the restaurant. The em-
ployees running the climbing wall at Dick’s Sporting
Goods must have excellent service management
skills while ensuring the safety of all customers.
The addition of a climbing wall entertainment to
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the CBP causes the requirement for safety in service
operations.
The opportunities for revenue enhancement
often come from adding entertainment variants
to the CBP. Variants are elements of a CBP that
depart from the standard CBP, and are normally
Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617-783-7860.
M.K. Newsom et al.
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location- or firm-specific. A successful variant can
eventually be incorporated and standardized into
all locations. An example of a revenue-enhancing
entertainment variant is a Holiday Inn Holidome.
The desire for an expansive, all-weather recrea-
tion area is not new to customers, but the oppor-
tunity to offer it in conjunction with existing hotel
services results in higher occupancy and room
rates (revenue driver). Starbucks experimenting
with music sales and wireless Internet in select
stores is another example. Overall, by reflecting
on the environmental drivers of biztainment in
conjunction with a product-service management
strategy model, managers can make their busi-
nesses more responsive, efficient, competitive,
and profitable.
5. Let the ‘tainment begin!
Modern economies are becoming more dependent
on the integration of entertainment, service, and
information. Tours of all types, for example, edu-
cate and entertain the customer in effort to sell
more goods and services. Restaurants satisfy the
customer’s appetite and need for social interaction
and fun by utilizing biztainment. Corn mazes
occupy and delight families as they search for a
way out of the labyrinth, families which ultimately
leave with farm goodies in the trunks of their cars.
Build-A-Bear, friends 2B made1, and Club Libby Lu
offer customized tangible goods while the process to
produce them using customer labor adds tremen-
dous customer value and options to increase reve-
nue. The cell phone and its hybrids are rapidly
Using ‘‘biztainment’’ to gain competitive advantage
changing how we do business and interact with one
another. For example, MySpace.com, a social net-
working website, is providing a new venue for hu-
man interaction.
What customers get (technical quality) is not as
valued as how they get it ( process quality). Almost
two decades ago, Grönroos (1990) identified
technical and process quality as key drivers of
performance and value. In most service situations,
process quality is the order winner, and deficien-
cies in process quality can negate excellent tech-
nical (outcome) quality. As noted by Collier (1994,
p. 61), ‘‘How well you integrate service-, enter-
tainment-, and information-content into your con-
sumer and employee benefit package(s) are keys to
competitive advantage–—perfect physical goods
are not enough anymore.’’ If, by chance, your
organization has not noted recent increases in
the entertainment content of products and
services, or you have not analyzed your product-
service strategy with respect to biztainment driv-
ers, begin today by using this article as a resource
for references, examples, ideas, and possible
initiatives.
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