I’ll Take The Popular One
Writing last week’s piece about experience stories got me started thinking about what you can actually build into a product. Products can obviously have Creation Experience - that is, they can come about in an interesting way, and when you buy one, you get to own a piece of that story, tell your friends about it, etc. But can products come with other sorts of stories, like a 3rd Party Experience?
A 3rd Party Experience is about the person who found the product and sells it to you; in buying the product you gain a story about finding it. So the nice lady at the antique store who found this lamp in an abandoned house in Maine sells you not just the lamp, but her experience of finding it. When you or others admire your lamp, you get to think about, and tell, the story of how it was found.
But inherent in 3rd Party Experience is a 3rd party - someone who found the product before you did, and has something to tell you about it. Without that 3rd party, can a product possibly come with the associated experience of someone else? I wondered this idly while shaving, and happened to notice my wife’s hair brush. I bought it for her maybe 10 years ago - it’s a fancy Mason Pearson model. I can remember when I bought it, looking at the various models and wondering which one to get her - Boar Bristles? Nylon? A mix of both? And what size?
It turns out, Mason Pearson made the decision very easy. The different models all have names - “Pocket,” “Large,” “Universal.” And one of them comes with its own 3rd Part Experience: the “Popular.” Aha - I can’t go wrong choosing the model that many other people have also chosen, can I? In buying that hair brush, I got not only the history of Mason Pearson, but also the experience of all the other people who bought that model and (presumably) liked it. I didn’t meet the 3rd party, but I got 3rd Party Experience.
Other products use this tack - when you buy “the choice of a new generation,” you’re essentially getting the extended experience of the members of that group. You’re buying their story. Even the “Member since 1985″ mark on an American Express card is bestowing some 3rd Party Experience - you’re a member of the club, which is only valuable because of the association with other members.
So there it is: products with 3rd Party Experience but no explicit 3rd party.
Question for you: does your product have 3rd Party Experience built in?
My favorite is Saab’s campaign from the early 90’s which said something like, “Most people who test drive a Saab usually buy one”
I mean, what the hell? So if I test drive it and don’t buy it I’m the oddball and if I don’t test drive it I’ll never have that 3rd party experience you’re obviously suggesting I should have.
By the way, I’ve watched every episode of Mad Men. Genius. Pure Genius. Did you see the finale? When Don Draper does the pitch for the Kodak Carousel Projector? Brilliant.
Aaron, I miss you.