Why expert rating is still thriving as phenomenon marketing

When my husband and I got married, we wanted to make a tradition of celebrating our anniversaries at the same restaurant every year. We wanted the restaurant to be somewhere classic and consistently good. Gary Danko, a French American cuisine restaurant that opened in 1999 seemed to fit the bill. It is located in one of the most iconic SF spots, Fisherman’s Wharf, and serves fine dining in an unstuffy way. Plus, until it lost its star just this year, Gary Danko held onto its one Michelin Star rating for 17 years since the first Bay Area Michelin Guide came out in 2007. We kept this tradition for the first five years of our marriage until we decided to explore other Michelin Star restaurants. Michelin Guide has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Chefs strive for Michelin stars for both global recognition and tangible impact on business (20 percent more business with one star, 40 percent more with two, and 100 percent more with three stars). How does the phenomenon marketing of expert rating, like the Michelin Guide, maintain its strong relevance in today's world of influencers? What role does it play and what does its future look like??

Expert rating is a process where a recognized authority or group of experts, not the target audience, systematically evaluates a set of products, services, individuals, or organizations based on predefined criteria. This evaluation results in a rating, score, or ranking that is communicated in a clear and understandable way to the public. The most notable examples include Michelin Guide in food, Robert Parker rating in wine, Newbery Award in children’s literature, and Gartner Magic Quadrant in technology. Michelin Guide and Newbery Award have existed for over a century, and are continuing to thrive. What makes these expert ratings thrive are threefold:?

1. Compelling user benefit: While the influencers can also shape the consumer choices, expert rating offers two distinctive benefits.

• Simplifies complex decisions: Expert rating provides credible purchase recommendations to people who are often overwhelmed with too much information. The Gartner Magic Quadrant has become a leading authority in the tech world through their rigorous methodology, unbiased evaluation, and clear visual framework in a quadrant. For vendors, being recognized as a “leader” or “visionary” serves as a powerful marketing tool that could lead to a 10% to 20% or even higher business growth. For buyers, many businesses rely on the Quadrant to make technology purchasing decisions. Similarly, Robert Parker's 100-point rating system makes wine purchase decisions easier and less stressful.
• Promotes excellence: Because expert rating is done by a recognized authority or group of experts using objective and standardized evaluations, the recognitions given by them set a clear benchmark for excellence. Their evaluations offer valuable feedback on strengths and weaknesses that helps improve individuals and organizations. The Newbery Medal, for instance, is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. They also share Newbery Honor Books that were leading contenders for the award. Winning a Newbery Medal brings prestige and recognition to authors and illustrators, encouraging them to continue creating outstanding children's literature.??

2. New and hip brand stories: Expert rating can act as a catalyst for uncovering and sharing compelling stories. In fact, the Michelin Guide itself has a great origin story. In 1889, brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin founded their tire company in central France. To help motorists plan more trips, thereby boosting tire sales, the brothers developed the Michelin Guide that was filled with helpful information such as maps, gas stations, restaurants and hotels. More than a century later, Michelin Guide is helping uncover other incredible stories. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a 2011 documentary that featured Jiro Ono, a then 85-year-old sushi master and owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a then three Michelin Star, 10-seats sushi restaurant located in Tokyo subway station. The film shows him massaging octopus for 40-50 minutes to achieve the ideal tenderness. Another striking scene shows Jiro's apprentice making over 200 tamagoyaki (a Japanese omelet) over three months before finally earning Jiro's approval. His story captivated the world audience by portraying his relentless dedication to his craft and unwavering commitment to his customers. His story has touched so many lives with the universal themes of living with passion, purpose, and pursuit of excellence.?

3. Synergy across categories: Every industry has adapted expert ratings and that created great synergistic effects with one another, amplifying the phenomenon marketing effect of people’s reliance on expert ratings. This is why when we see news, we no longer just learn the facts. Oftentimes, we also get opinions of the events from a panel of experts. This is also why people use MasterClass, an online streaming platform that offers classes taught by experts in a variety of fields. The platform leverages the expertise of its instructors to attract the users. All these trends have contributed to the public's reliance on expert opinions to simplify and seek solutions.?

In order for the expert ranking systems to really take off as a phenomenon, they had to tap into the three enablers below:?

1. Latest marketing channels with new drivers for earned media: Tapping into the latest channel for earned media is critical to phenomenon marketing. Streaming services, particularly Netflix, played a significant role in popularizing Michelin Guide and bringing them into the mainstream. Michelin Guide was being actively promoted by Netflix, despite the fact that the brand itself only went fully digital in 2021. Starting 2011, Netflix began making original content to differentiate itself from its competitors. Many of their hit shows and documentaries featured Michelin-starred chefs and restaurants such as Chef’s Table, The Final Table, and Michelin Stars: Tales from the Kitchen. These shows humanized Michelin star chefs, making them more relatable and approachable to the broader audience. Netflix’s global platform also allowed Michelin stars to be more recognizable across the world.???

2. Ecosystem effort with a long run customer centric approach and key breakthrough moments: Expert rating systems can really flourish when there is collaboration between public and private sectors. The popularity of the Michelin star phenomenon led to an ecosystem that includes economic development and tourism. For instance, it’s been working with the government of Thailand, to expand the Michelin Guide there. The government is supporting this effort as it is fully aware of the business impact of having Michelin star restaurants in the country. In 1997, Michelin Guide created Bib Gourmand that recognizes best value for money restaurants and street food eateries. This has helped expand the recognition of the Thai culinary scene to the world while contributing to Thai government efforts to invite more tourists to the country.

3. An incubation center to create and refine the benefits and ecosystem: Phenomenon marketing requires an incubation center to continue to innovate and evolve. Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, which has easy access to the newest technology in New York City and Boston. In 1979 when Gartner was founded, New York was the hub of technological innovations. Biggest technology vendors such as IBM and Xerox, and buyers such as Wall Street were all in New York. Gideon Gartner, the founder of Gartner, was a former Wall Street analyst himself and thus was well connected with the buyers. In addition, Connecticut offered a strong pool of skilled professionals in technology, consulting, and research. Proximity to technological innovations and access to talents made Connecticut the ideal incubation center to refine the research and rating systems.?

While some people argue that expert rating is overrated, subjective or biased, it is here to stay. Its ability to simplify complex decisions and promote excellence is continuing to appeal to younger generations. Especially now when we live in a world of information overload, the benefit of simplifying purchase decisions is compelling. As it has thrived through Industrial, Global, and Digital revolutions by tapping into the newest channel for earned media, it will have to continue to reinvent itself for the AI revolution. After ten years of research, Michelin Guide just released their first Michelin Keys to award excellent hotels. They intend to use the same rigorous standards and anonymous inspections to identify exceptional hotels. Whether the Michelin Guide can translate the success of Michelin star to keys to turn that into a phenomenon marketing would be worth paying attention to.?