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It’s not everyday that a huge marketing machine like Apple has a big event in the Southern Hemisphere, and this week it was one of those ‘special’ moments. Apple was opening the second biggest Apple Store in the world – Apple Store Sydney.

Two years in the plan and build, a big dose of interwebs hype and media attention for the people camped out on the door step two days prior resulting in about 4,000 people queuing for hours, some in the rain, just to be some of the first people in the door.

I was within the first 500 in the queue, biding my time with many other enthusiasts from around the globe. Just in front a group of school kids, excited to be part of an Apple event for the first time, recounting stories about the time when they got their first ipod and their first iBook.

It got me thinking about when I first started using the Apple Macintosh, over twenty years ago, before these school kids were even born! I remember getting goose-pimples down my arms when I first saw a Macintosh on the television thinking “this is nothing like the Apple IIe, it’s going to change the world”. For a 14 year old, that was a big thought, not so grand in the big scheme of things. My school got a Mac only a few weeks later and my world changed forever.

A lot of people ask what is it that draws these people, sometimes from the other side of the world, to an opening of a store. There’s no new products on offer, and there were no secret announcements. Just a cheap – but effective – limited edition t-shirt give away at the door.

Did I queue for the t-shirt – well yes, and no. Did I queue to buy some product – not today. Did I go in the hope that there would be some secret announcement – not really. So why did I go? I went to experience how Apple markets something like the Apple store. Unlike most in that queue I went to experience the queue, just as much as the store.

Most sane people would not queue for street blocks, waiting sometimes hours in the rain just to see a new store. But this is no ordinary store. It’s an Apple Store. It’s somehow more special, more attractive and more deserving of the wait. Perhaps it was how long we’ve had to wait for a store like this in Australia, perhaps it was the build up and plans under wraps, but never before have I witnessed this type of cult-like following for the opening of a store. It was all quite remarkable.

So what did the queue teach me? It taught me that strong brands can get people to do things out of the ordinary and it showed me that smart marketers can tap otherwise hidden opportunities when these extraordinary events happen.

Today I want to share with you three marketing observations and a missed opportunity.

While I waited in a queue I witnessed music stores, sports stores and even recruitment agents handing out flyers to the sitting ducks waiting patiently behind carefully constructed barricades. No message, no shared enthusiasm, simply an opportunity to hand out pieces of paper to people with no attempt to connect.

I saw others who served the crowd coffee from mobile vans – definitely meeting a need on a cold winter day. There were friendly smiles and interactions and people were getting some needs met. There was no sell, these people were offering free coffee in the hope that it might bring them business somewhere down the track.

The best marketing I witnessed was from Nudie a niche crushed fruit juice maker – a quality product with quirky branding that always makes me smile. They were handing out product by the handful to the waiting crowd. A small juice to take away the thirst, but what made it special was the extra step. They connected with the crowd. As they were handing over the bottled drinks they were smiling and sharing the enthusiasm. Their message was creative and hit the spot with the people who were waiting:

“Nudie loves Apples too!”

What wonderful brand alignment. They met my need, and with a simple message aligned their brand of juice with the buzz, excitement and brand of Apple.

And the juice didn’t taste too bad either!

Now, it rained on the opening night and what happens next is the missed opportunity.

Apple had umbrellas but were only giving them to people queuing and then recycling them back out into the crowd once safely inside. But what about on the way out? You guessed it, no umbrellas. For me it was a bit like the caring, the cheering and the love stopped when you walked out the door.

There was a huge missed opportunity for Apple. They missed a huge opportunity to send a very powerful message that they care as much about their customers as their customers care about them

What you may not have realised is that Telstra have their flagship mobile phone concept store right across the road from Apple.

Now imagine if Telstra turned up on the footpath to meet exiting customers with an umbrella. What message would that send? What huge marketing inroads were lost through a lack of agility and insight?

It just gets you thinking…