70 years of Bond - pleasing the crowd

Inspiration to succeed against the villains of our time

Phoebe Groves review of the relative successes of all the James Bond films raises a very interesting point in relation to the respective commercial success of, seemingly similar, consumer propositions. After all, Bond is Bond, right?...

?...well, of course, not! Not only is there the eternal Sean Connery vs Roger Moore debate (to which I think you can now add Daniel Craig into the mix), there are also a large number of variations in the plots, cast, villains and scenes from each film that make them all different from each other.

?In this way, they stand apart from each other and so have very different reactions and ratings from viewers. This can vary from the almost universally popular Goldfinger, Dr No and Casino Royale (2006) to the more mixed reception received by Casino Royale (1967), Never Say Never Again and Moonraker.

?When you plot the viewer ratings (for which we've taken the rating from IMDb) for each film against the inflation-adjusted box office results Phoebe ran, you can see a strong relationship between the "crowd pleasers" and commercial success.

This is especially valuable data - the James Bond franchise goes back 70 years to 1953, spanning several economic cycles and therefore providing insight to those looking to understand the present and future environment. It clearly demonstrates that those which meet and exceed expectations are the most successful. Extending this analogy from films to businesses - those that are truly customer centric, providing services and products that customers want, in a way they want and which works for them, will thrive.?

?So, who are some of these crowd pleasers who exceed customer expectations? My family recently put this to the test, with a trip to the US with our son in a wheel-chair - creating a greater level of service requirement, and something I became very aware of. (As an aside, this has opened my eyes and I am now very conscious of the greater effort that must be made to cater for all people less physically able. The built environment makes things even more difficult for these people and their families - be it lifts not working, hidden away down corridors, obstacles on pathways, inadequate restroom facilities, poor understanding of their needs etc.)

First off, Disney. Wow! Truly, "the happiest place on earth", at the heart of which is how the cast and organisation looks after its friends - generating its long term success. The way this is so sensitively done for those with more difficult physical needs is admirable - the policies in place, and the culture that everyone we met was going out of their way to help us and our son. Truly an exceptional business which deserves many plaudits for this.? Mickey Mouse and friends - I salute you. The evidence came in their results announcement last week - smashing expectations and the share price going up 9% on the day.?

?Next on the roll of honour, British Airways. Thank you. Throughout the booking journey, check-in and boarding processes, your systems and teams to get assistance were there, readily accessible or volunteered. It meant a lot. You absolutely lived up to your mission statement of, "Flying is magic - connecting us to our world and bringing people, places and communities closer together". Quite simply - we couldn't have got there without you, and I hope that this is only a temporary blip until you again feel confident calling yourself, "The World's Favourite Airline," as you deservedly did for such a long time.

?Finally, Starbucks ("To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time"). When looking for places to eat, snack, or sit for a bit, each one of your stores delivered. The wide aisles, easy access and wonderful staff empathy were truly remarkable (and separated you from a number of your competitors). I truly thought the store planning and staff training to make our customer experience the best was spot on. The team building such a successful $100bn business over 30 years has clearly not been by chance.

?So there we go. Of course, there are many other great businesses as well. I hope that by using these as examples, I have shown that even in uncertain times and difficult markets, a long term customer-centric business will shine through and succeed.?

?We at PwC Corporate Finance have a deep understanding of the Consumer sector and considerable experience identifying, working with and helping such businesses to reach their goals. In the last few weeks Nigel Espie and Phoebe Groves have explored expected areas of resilience in the sector, and please look out for Amit Aggarwal piece next week on creating communities.?

?Of course, if you have any questions or would like to speak with us directly, please do drop me an email [email protected] and I look forward to speaking together.?