Injecting Art, Play and Irreverence Into Your Creative Business
There’s a new type of entrepreneur plying his art on the streets of Melbourne. When cars stop at a busy intersection he turns it into his stage, performing a short show with a crystal ball. He balances the ball on his head and then skilfully moves it around his body in a performance that appears to be equal parts juggling and mime. He then gives drivers in the stopped cars the opportunity to reward his efforts by throwing him some money. The lights change and the show ends.
He’s applying some creative business principles in a really effective way:
Subvert people’s expectations
when you stop at a red light in Australia, the only person you expect to see working is a window washer. A mime artist breaks people’s expectations and grabs their attention. When people see something original or unique they pay attention.
Connect with a large captive audience
At a busy traffic light at rush hour this guy probably gets an audience of 20-50 people every 3 minutes who have nothing to look at but their dashboard. While the light is red he owns that market.
Appeal to an audience’s need to escape
Consumers typically want to be transported from where they are by the promise of where a product or service can take them. Some roadside theatre is just the thing to help transcend rush hour monotony.
Inject art, play, and irreverence into business
People are looking beyond products and services. They want an experience. Something different. A story.
