Waiting For an Experience?

We took a little field trip to Georgetown this past weekend and after trying cupcakes from such nationally famous places as Sprinkles and Cake Love, we opted to stand in line for some local cupcakes. When we arrived around 1 p.m. there was a line around the building. Four hours later when we decided to try the cupcakes the line was around the corner and working it's way down the street. Georgetown Cupcake seemed to have quite the reputation though - good reviews, a mayor from Foursquare and recommendations from friends.

So we waited.

For 45 minutes.

For a cupcake.

Actually by the time we were heckled multiple times by passing pedestrians and people in cars for standing in line, the excitement continued to build and we ended up with more than one cupcake each. We ended up with more than two cupcakes each. Okay, okay. We bought an entire dozen for two of us. *smile*


After waiting that long, we realized that the joy, the success of Georgetown Cupcakes was a combination of not only a quality cupcake, but an entire experience. We waited in line with other cupcake lovers. We peered in through the glass windows at the trays of cupcakes. We chatted with the door person who would only allow so many people in at a time. We shared jokes with the other people in line while watching traffic. And finally we picked out our cupcakes, placed the order and watched them fill in the pretty pink box and seal it with a flower sticker. Before we knew it, we had our box of cupcakes and we were ushered back onto the street again.

One thing we never did?

We never once complained about the line or got upset because someone was taking too long. We were curious and we were rewarded for the curiosity with some excellent cupcakes.

I know I'll never stand in line at a Sprinkles or a Cake Love again. But I will stand in line at a Georgetown Cupcake again. Why? Because it wasn't just about the cupcakes - it was about the experience.

Think about it. What kind of experience does your business offer?

Shattered Glass

I dropped a picture frame the other day and shattered the glass. I was lucky enough that the picture didn't suffer any damage and that my clumsiness wasn't going to cause me seven years of bad luck. As I was cleaning up the glass I realized this was a perfect example of the media picture we're faced with in business.

Every day I get another postcard, envelope or proposal for some kind of new medium. And I'm not the only one - if you own a business, every day you are confronted with a shattered fragment of what could be a part of your media plan. It is difficult to know how to put those fragments back together.

According to a Nielsen study about Digital Advertising, "The number of television stations received by the typical household has increased sixfold since 1985. Advertising itself became more varied, spreading from the airwaves and magazine pages to become a ubiquitous presence, adorning everything from bathroom stalls to race cars."

This means it is increasingly difficult to decide where you should place your advertising and it's not getting any easier. With the introduction of digital advertising, the opportunities keep growing. The world of media is growing so rapidly that no one can keep up and the bigger ad agencies are having a very hard time moving quickly enough to account for the latest changes.

Seth Godin's "Small Is The New Big," says it all. The smaller, boutique ad agencies are going to be the place to go in this changing ad world. You already buy specialty cupcakes, gourmet pizzas, expert dog training services. You can now add specialty ad strategy experts to that list and welcome in an era of niche services.

And yes, I do suggest you hire an expert for this one - it's going to be a long, bumpy ride.