In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007,
this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time,
approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man
noticed that there was a musician playing.
He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet
his
schedule.
About 4 minutes
later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A
woman threw money in the hat and,
without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6
minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen
to him, then looked at his watch
and started to walk
again.
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged
him along hurriedly.
The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard
and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time.
This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent -
without exception - forced their children to
move on quickly.
At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people
stopped and listened for a short while.
About 20 gave money but continued to walk at
their normal pace.
The man collected a total of
$32.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No
one noticed and no one applauded.
There was no recognition at
all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua
Bell, one of the greatest musicians
in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin
worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston
where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and
listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing
incognito in the D.C. Metro Station,
was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about
perception, taste and people’s
priorities.
This experiment raised several
questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an
inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate
it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected
context?
One possible conclusion reached from this
experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world,
playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments
ever made…
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, now the above story has been posted many times in blogs and facebook.
As a marketer, I have a slightly different opinion about this story.
This story shows how ridiculous it is to do business at the wrong timing and aiming
at the wrong target. It also shows how important it is to have brand recognition.
If somebody speaks out, telling people who he is and how special this music is,
then the result of the experiment would have been changed.
This is a very good experiment or research on how important the power of marketing
is and how it affects our life and business.
" Tons of proven real case studies and revolutionary ideas for FREE... "
For those who wish to receive this free e-magazine, please fill in the information below :