On a beautiful, sunny Balinese morning, the 2011 Global Spa Summit opened with welcoming remarks from both Pete and Susie Ellis.  Susie, in particular, focused on how the GSS has evolved over the last five years, and the current mission is to continue sharing information and research among the entire spa community, not just those fortunate few who can attend the Summit.  Anne McCall Wilson, Summit co-chair, proudly announced that the 2011 Summit was, once again, a sold-out event with 250 delegates; additional staff and spouses bring the total attending to close to 300.  This year, the delegation represents 35 countries, which are fairly evenly split among world regions; 26% from Europe, 39% from Asia, and 29% from the Americas.

The theme of this year’s Summit is “Engage the Change” The Customer.  The Money.  The Future, and Summit presentations are arranged around these three topics, one for each day.

Our first presenter was Brit Kate Ancketill, Managing Director of GDR Creative Intelligence. Trend forecaster  Ancketill’s presentation was entitled “Engaging the Future from Nano-Technology to Gaming Theory: How Trends from Outside the Spa Category Can Inform and Inspire.”

In the first segment of her presentation, Ancketill focused on brands that are currently broadening their offerings of both products and services, and companies using technology to build market share in new and innovative ways.  Some examples:

• Tide creating pens to clean dirt, mobile app for laundry and cleaning advice, and even a new concept drive-in cleaning center.
• Beverage companies offering mixology classes in the evening, actually social get togethers.
• School of Life in London; an apothecary of learning, giving people practical life skills such as how to be a better conversationalist; ideal for people who are self-actualized and value learning and development.
• The Craftsman Experience in Chicago, where clients can try out, learn how to use and purchase tools and equipment, plus enjoy celebrity demonstrations which are streamed live via the web.  Ancketill sees the particular relevance of this concept since spas have so much to teach our clients.
• H&M using augmented reality apps which allow participants to take photographs of their friends wearing virtual outfits from the store to receive a discount coupon in the store.
• Organovo, a regenerative medicine company that creates 3D printing of arteries.
• The Sleep Cycle App for Iphone; put it under your pillow and it measures your sleeping movements, waking you up when you are coming out of rem sleep, rather than at a pre-set time which might be the wrong moment in your sleep cycle.
• Many brands are using “nano” words to describe their products.

Anckentill gave a few examples of brands using video, which she reports has “phenomenal” ROI.  Marks & Spencer started featuring a video for women’s clothing and sales went up 26%; another retailer used one to demystify wine and sales went up 90%.

On the mobile front; widespread use of QR codes now give inanimate objects a voice.  PepsiCo Stickybits allows consumers to read barcodes from cans with an app on their phone to see what other folks have said about the soda, converting a can of Pepsi into a two-way media channel.  Many retail clothing stores now have Twitter cameras outside changing rooms, so consumers can send photos of potential purchases for approval with their social group.  The Miele Inspirience Center in the Netherlands allows consumers to select preferences and then the store customizes to them; for example, if you say you like sports, when you go through the television department sports will be playing on all of the TV’s, or a scent you like will be evident in a specific area.  She also mentioned the KLM Surprise promotion, which involves staff at KLM tracking the preferences of passengers who have “checked in,” both at an airport and in a social network, and hand-delivering the a surprise gift customized to their likes.

As for Facebook and social media, Ancketill discussed what she called F-commerce; 87 of the top 100 retailers are now on Facebook, and clients who shop through the portal are more loyal, and more likely to recommend the brand to others.  Facebook Deals allows customizable deals for individuals, friends, loyalty and charity reward segments.  She shared a promotion by Gucci which allowed 10,000 people to attend one of their fashion shows, virtually, and large groups of participants had their faces shown on a screen, watching the show, and friends could see and IM each other during the show.

According to Ancketill, all of these trends and technologies have many potential applications in the spa world, including therapies to diagnose allergies & food sensitivities, anti-parasitic diagnostics, weight loss, trichology, cognitive behavior  therapy and neuro-linguistic programming.  The relevance of gaming theory is that learning and playing in social environments appeals to cultural creative and the up-and-coming spa audience.

Ancketill cautioned that people can only engage at a high level with perhaps 30 people, and within a larger circle perhaps 200.  When presented with so many engagement opportunities, there is bound to be a dropout factor, or engagement fatigue.  Spas should cultivate social circles that are specific to the spa.  When asked what her one piece of advice for us was, she advised, “Get your services on video.”