Marketing to the Music

by Sean Purcell

Real Estate Renaissance Man

Author website

It has been over two years since the Washington Post decided to have a little fun with people going to work.  In January of 2007, they asked Joshua Bell, an internationally acclaimed virtuoso, to play his violin at an entrance to the D.C. metro during rush hour.  It was conceived as a social experiment regarding the appreciation of art.  You can read the full story here.  I bring this up, not as a lover of classical music (I am woefully ignorant), but as a lover of people.  What we do and how we do it – the way we interact with actual life – this I find incredibly interesting.  I also find a great deal of practical use.  Take this story for instance:

Joshua Bell is considered one of the greatest musical artists living today.  His violin, hand made by Antonio Stradivari himself in 1713, is a musical masterpiece worth over $3 million.  For his “subway” performance he chooses Bach’s Chaconne, said by those who should know to be one of the greatest pieces ever written: emotionally powerful and structurally perfect… it is also considered one of the most difficult pieces anyone can play.  So there’s Joshua Bell, who a few nights before had sold out Boston’s Symphony Hall (where tickets in the parking lot start at $100),  playing possibly the most difficult and most powerful piece of violin music ever written on one of the rarest and most perfect violins ever made.  What do you think happened?  He made less than $100 in tips, a couple of people slowed down to listen, one gentleman stopped for almost 3 full minutes and over a thousand people rushed by without a glance or a moment to listen.

Actually, that’s not entirely true.  Some listened… some listened intently.  But they could not stop.  They were pulled along against their will even as they craned their little necks.  Children “heard” the music.  Children “saw” the man.  Children “knew” they were in the presence of something.  They knew this because they themselves were present.  Watch the video (did I mention the whole “experiment” was videotaped?) and you’ll see lots of people caught up in their past worries and future fears hurrying along.  But then notice the children – happily living in the present – try and stop; try and go back; try and hear what the man in the Levi’s with the funny instrument is playing.  They recognized the awesome beauty of what they were hearing.  They may not have been able to express it, but they knew they were in the presence of something transcendent.

I bring this up as a marketing article because marketing opportunities are very similar to the violin player in this story.  They are magical and they are transforming and they surround us.  As you go through your busy, busy day try to be a little more present.  Not only does this lead to lower stress and greater enjoyment, but you’ll appreciate the marketing opportunities that play all around you.  Just slow down… and listen for the music.