Scot Nery’s Boobietrap was going really well, the bar was making money, the buzz before and after were great, but we didn’t know what happened before the doors. We set up a goPro at the box-office and recorded a night of people walking in. It was amazing to watch. Our box-office people are great! They’re so kind, and fun, and interesting, and communicative. They get the welcoming vibe that we want to project perfectly. They are the beginning of the experience.
One of the fantastic discoveries of watching the video was that, even though everyone got in fine, there was no clear first location for a ticket holder. When you walked up to the door, there was a table and a bouncer and two ticket people. So, folks would wander up, slow down and someone would call them over, or they would just float in the vicinity. That’s not fun.
Since I believe entertainment is about leadership, we had the opportunity to start leading as soon as people saw the door. We put up signage and ropes and stuff to show people what to do. Ticket buyers didn’t have to think so much or feel they were doing it wrong. We tried setting up areas for people who were waiting for friends.
Now that we’ve been away from the show for a little bit, I’ve been thinking about other ways to make the entertainment bleed out further in all directions.
Can we make that entrance more of an adventure with clear paths? Could we make it a puzzle that’s fun? How much more entertaining could we make our ticket buying process online? What fun emails could we send to ticket buyers before the show to get them salivating or excited or curious? What fun emails could we send them after to help them enjoy and appreciate the show even more? What content could we continue to create that expands on the core value of the show experience? What could we do during the show that’s interactive in a different way or connected to something that engages the mind ( a narrative, a game, an activity ).
Here’s a purchase confirmation email that delighted CD Baby customers…
| Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved “Bon Voyage!” to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Friday, June 6th. I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as “Customer of the Year.” We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!! |