Bubble-Bursters: The Case for Unexpected Additions
The local record store recently promoted itself by adding one extra piece of vinyl for every one you bought yourself. Very smart—it convinced me to shrink my wantlist by ticking off a long-time rock favorite, a national treasure and live superpower, and a shady Eurovision guilty pleasure.
Three bought vinyls, so three extra surprises for me. And regardless of whether those three extras were worth it for me (to some extent, they were), I very much liked this marketing idea. Not for it being a clever sales strategy, but rather the bubble-burster that it is: three pieces of music that I would not have bought out of my own interest, but that expanded my musical tastes nonetheless.
These bubble-bursters1 feel like a very good idea in a broader perspective. Buy a newspaper at the local kiosk and get the best articles from its rivals for free. Opt for an online course that also lets you enroll in one other adventure that opens your mind. Buy a bag of crisps in the supermarket and get a more healthy alternative for free as well.
Free alternatives that make you look beyond the obvious and outside of your own street. Helping you to see things from another perspective. It sounds exactly like something the world needs right now.
I'm unsure if anyone claimed this term before, but if not, you saw me use it right here first.↩