Michael Counts; Don't Have Customers Sit Outside Your Story

As entrepreneurs, we craft stories. We wield the power to create storylines that prompt our customers to buy. 

But, how many of us actually put our customers inside the story? 

Sure, we may discuss their pain points, but do we show them to them? Do we have them experience them? 

Our latest guest on The Art of Making Things Happen Podcast with Steve Sims has been helping brands do just that. 

For the past 30 years, Michael Counts has helped brands create powerful immersive experiences that put customers inside the story. 

He’s seen and done everything from consulting with Disney on theme park attractions to designing total immersive experiences for Michael Kor, Nike, and other international brands!

We discussed his legacy of creating immersive experiences and the importance of having a coach to reach your potential. Here’s what he had to say. 

Why Immersive Experiences? 

As a member of the video game generation, Counts considers himself lucky. He realized he spent a portion of his youth wrapped up in games where he was the center of the action. 

Whether it was playing on Sega, Nintendo, or Playstation, the result was always the same. Video games have the power to bring you into the story. 

Even though you were staring at a screen, you made decisions as the main character, which brought an immersive feeling. 

He works to create those same kinds of experiences on a larger scale. Counts says there’s a big difference between looking at something and experiencing something — and the latter is what he’s always been after. 

Whether he was putting on immersive experiences through his own media companies or for other brands, the inspiration was always the same — to take people from the sidelines of a story and put them in the driver’s seat. 

Who ever said stories have to be a spectator’s sport?

Past Projects

He has created projects in Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Diego, Tokyo, Rio, and more.

His immersive experiences are as diverse as they are spectacular. Here are just a few of the projects he was able to design around the world: 

• Dante’s Inferno – takes ten participants through an immersive experience of Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Created within the confines of an escape room game, each person experiences the levels of Dante’s journey and must solve riddles, puzzles, and the like to move forward. 

Walking Dead – seven lowly participants are dropped right in the epicenter of the zombie apocalypse. Throughout a 30-minute, full-throttle, heart-pumping immersive experience, participants experience the upheaval and social disorder on the night of the outbreak.

With far too many projects to mention, he has created theatrical immersive experiences for operas, brands, and his own media company around the world. 

His newest experience is set to take place in Myrtle Beach, SC. August Moon is an immersive experience that sets people inside an American drive-in theater in 1965.  

Why Everyone Needs a Coach

Through his 30 year career of doing the unthinkable, Counts has had to learn to push through boundaries of what he thought was possible. He was an early adopter of coaches and believes in the power of having a coach. 

The reason: we cannot see ourselves as others view us, and that’s where a coach comes in. 

In an effort to help others, he created a coaching business to help others push past their limitations. 

He has teamed up with his first coach, to bring together a team of fifty experienced coaches to help others create success in all areas of their lives. 

If you’re looking to push past your current limitations and achieve more, check out A-Plan coaching. You can also download their free app to learn more. 

As always, if you’re looking for more great interviews from some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, check out The Art of Making Things Happen Podcast with Steve Sims. 

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