Today I saw a guy with Prada shades and Gucci suit arguing in a Starbucks about the amount of shots in his latte. He left no tip.
I saw a man talking with the barista about the end of his unemployment benefits. He left a $1 tip.
I saw a 70-year old woman tweeting on her iPhone.
And I saw a teenager crafting a handwritten Thank-you note.
My agency is in downtown Los Angeles. It makes for great people watching. And free focus groups.
I prefer watching real people compared to relying on segmentation studies. You can gain more insights walking around an urban center than reading a blog post or studying research.
Basing your next marketing campaign/initiative on studies, successful work of other agencies or focus groups is inherently dangerous. Why would you go where others have gone before? The real richness of life can be found walking around and having an open mind to the little thing we call the human experience.
A good point, but surely hard to build a business case on a few anecdotal trips to Starbucks? (other global coffee chains are available).