We Need To Talk About a $3.5 Million Violin And Your “Packaging.” It’s a Game Changer.

“Mark my words. Perception is reality and how someone perceives you is their reality.”

- Chris Murray

One cold, January morning, a young man in a baseball cap walked to a local subway station in Washington. He pulled out his violin, and, over the next 45 minutes he played his heart out, playing five of the most complex pieces of music ever written.

Over a thousand people walked past. It was morning rush hour.

But no one took much notice. A few people stopped and threw a couple of dollars into his open violin case. One child yanked on his mommy’s hand and told her he wanted to stay to listen to the “cool music,” but they ended up staying only a few minutes.

After 45 minutes, the young man concluded his performance.

There was no applause. No one even noticed.

He counted the money he made - a total of $32.17.

How ironic, given that the young man was none other than Joshua Bell, a Grammy award winner and one of the world’s most accomplished musicians. Even more ironic was the fact that the violin he had been playing was a 300 year old Stradivarius, worth $3.5 Million.

Just two nights earlier, Joshua had played to a sold out concert venue in Boston where tickets averaged $100 each, and in fact regularly played at sold out performances at the world’s most prestigious concert venues.

So why did so few people listen to him, when they could have appreciated his immense talents, for free?

Simply put - because his “packaging” was all wrong.

Take a look at these two images:

We have the same musician, playing the exact same music, on the exact same multi-million dollar violin.

Yet in one situation, this world-famous musician can’t draw even a tiny crowd despite all his talent, playing for free in the subway. But in the other situation, he’s able to make millions from sold-out performances in the world’s greatest concert halls.

What’s the difference? People’s perception is their reality.

His “packaging” is the game-changer. By “packaging,” I mean his branding.

In the photo on the left, Joshua looks like a regular street performer playing an ordinary violin. No one took the time to listen because, frankly, they were too busy getting to work. Even his exceptional musical talents couldn’t capture their attention.

But in the photo on the right Joshua looks every bit like the world-renowned virtuoso that he is; the perfectly fitted tuxedo, the gilded frames and candelabra, the opulent environment that only the lucky few get to experience.

The difference between him making $32.17 and millions of dollars is - branding and positioning.

This is an excellent example in luxury branding and the right and wrong way to sell high-end goods and services.

Key Takeaway

Unless your marketing is as exceptional as your business , then your brand - and your revenue - are suffering. Leverage the lesson in this “subway experiment” to maximize your revenue by ensuring that every touch-point along the customer journey is rave worthy - from the user experience and look and feel of your website, to the way your staff answers the phones - and everything in between.