Scott - Marketing very often IS performance. When you're representing a brand, you have to be "on" all the time.

I worked retail (high end jewlery sales) in my youger days and considered every interaction with a client a performance ... not in that I was being disengenuious, but in that I was "on" - doing everything I could to deliver the service and experience that the customer wanted and expected.

With the social Web, brands and their representatives have to be "on" in the digital world as well as the real world. When talking to a company or individual about a possible entry into social media, one of my first questions is always, "How do you like the spotlight?" The people representing a brand need to embody everything that brand stands for and present themselves accordingly - whether the experience needs to be hip, adventurous, luxurious, or homey.

Thanks for engaging me in the conversation. Always a pleasure.

Jamie you're right on with the insights. Particularily that peformance
isn't ungenuine. Theatre isn't ungenuine, it is genuine! More in a
later post though...

Jamie you're right on with the insights. Particularily that peformance
isn't ungenuine. Theatre isn't ungenuine, it is genuine! More in a
later post though...

Scott - Enjoyed the insights you shared during the interview with Josh. I am a big believer in the compelling nature of experiences - whether positive or negative. When it comes right down to it, experiences are the only truly lasting elements of our business and personal interactions. And it's amazing how the smallest things can make or break an experience. For instance, surly waitstaff can ruin the most decadent dining experience. On the other hand, somehow the Apple store staff managed to make my three-hour wait for my iPhone (with 5 yr-old daughter in tow, thank you) an enjoyable (and MEMORABLE) experience.
Lots to think about. Thanks again for sharing. Glad to know you!

Jamie-thanks for the kind words.

I am continually astounded at the power of experience to influence our
lives. When talking about consumers, I totally agree that a negative
experience can become a positive one. I wrote about an experience that
my mother in law had with a bottle of sherry on the
aarongouldageny.com blog.

What made your 3 hours in the apple store enjoyable?

Enjoyable bits of waiting in queue for 3 hrs to buy my iPhone:
* General good nature of the Apple staff - cruising the line to answer questions and get people excited about their pending purchase
* The cart that came around at decent intervals with iced coffee from Starbucks (I don't drink coffee, but the offer gave me a warm and fuzzy)
* The sense of being part of something - all a bunch of iPhone geeks brought together in a temporary community
* The ease of the actual transaction - no muss, no fuss. Everything worked. Quick & courteous without being stuffy. Not an iota of condescension towards my newbie questions.
* The sense of enthusiasm that staff had - made me feel like they were just as excited as me about my purchase. Felt like I was being welcomed into a special club.

So, in short, the little niceties combined with service provided by genuinely nice and authentically engaged staff.
Not so tough, is it? ;)

Apple do know how to work the experience. There aren't too many other
products that people line up 3 hours for

The key to experiences is realising that work is theatre. Apple
'perform', the staff are the 'cast', the Apple Store is the stage, etc

Even things like Apples creative use of their uniforms- or costumes-
as part of the whole experience

Hey Scott,

Thanks for a fantastic interview, you provided some incredibly smart insight, and helped me to understand a LOT more about experience and how it relates to a companies marketing scheme.

You are welcome back for an interview anytime you like :)

Josh