The Washington Post ran an article this past Monday about a musician who showed up to play violin at the entrance to one of the D.C. Metro stops. The full article is here – Pearls Before Breakfast – and it’s absolutely stunning on several different levels. In a nutshell, most of the passers-by that morning ignored or were annoyed by the man playing some of history’s most complex masterpieces on a $3.5 million Stradivarius violin. The man was Joshua Bell, the Avery Fisher honoree as best classical musician in America. Only one woman recognized him.
The story is strangely stirring and moving while disappointing. Something about it pulls at the heart strings, urging us, showing us that greatness is out there to be found and to be found within us. Anyone who has ever pursued artistic and/or musical endeavors can feel it.
Anyway, read the article if you’re in for a moving (if disturbing) experience.
Now – on to the marketing angle. There’s a point in the article that describes people playing Lotto while the virtuoso flails away on his Stradivarius. One man can even recite the exact amounts of the tickets he played and the money he lost. Pathetic.
If you’re involved in marketing, however, you recognize this particular scenario as pedestrian. People are commonly motivated by what’s in it for them. They are hard-pressed to part with quarters, even though Bell commands ticket prices of $150 and up, when a personal return is not blatantly obvious (you have to give some people a break – many are not classical enthusiasts). They are highly motivated to improve their lot in life, however, even though the lottery is not the best way to do it. They are motivated to go to work (as you’ll see most doing in the videos embedded in the article) to perform their missions and realize their dreams and deliver on their purpose. These areas are where marketing power lies. Personal agendas are a huge deal. People almost always look out for #1 first (even though it may be sad at times).
If you held a contest where Joshua Bell plays more popular tunes and the audience guesses their names a la “Name That Tune” you’d have a recipe for something different, I suppose. You’d need a cheesy MC like Richard Dawson, too. In that scenario, there’s something directly participatory and rewarding involved with the audience.
Another point to take away is that even genius needs window dressing – or “framing” as the article describes it in relation to paintings. Greatness needs to be introduced, and the audience needs to be instructed as to the level of competence they are encountering. Comparisons, testimonials, and, yes, even hyperbole are necessary to introduce kings, queens and accomplished musicians.
Marketing 101, perhaps, but very interesting to contemplate this with respect to the Bell/Post experience in the subway.
