This is cool to me

A few years ago I was in New York with friends, and they decided to see Hamilton on Broadway. They asked if I wanted to join. 

I said no. 

Why?

Because Hamilton wasn’t cool to me. 

Would it have been an amazing show? Would I have enjoyed it? Would I have come to appreciate musicals? Yes to all. But at the time, spending a few hundred dollars on back-of-the-theater tickets wasn’t worth it. Because it wasn’t cool to me. 

After coming home from New York, I spent a few hundred dollars on game tickets to see my favorite baseball team (the San Francisco Giants) play in Los Angeles. I asked my friends if they wanted to join. 

They said no. Because it wasn’t cool to them. 

Musicals and baseball games are both live entertainment. They both offer drama. They have heroes, villains, stars, and community. The dedicated fans of each might dress up or memorize the lines (lyric lines or stat lines). 

But one is cool to one group, and one is cool to the other group. 

This explains sneaker heads. It explains viral cosmetics. It explains video game skins. It explains every expensive purchase you don’t understand. 

Every purchase has deeper implications. To me, Hamilton was just entertainment. Worth it for a few hundred dollars? No. But to my friends, Hamilton was so much more—a chance to see performers they admired. An experience with music that resonated with them. And most importantly, a status symbol and conversation piece for their communities. “You saw Hamilton on Broadway? Oh my gosh, how was it?” Getting that question was worth the price of admission for my friends.

Whatever you’re making and whatever selling, don’t fail to understand the emotional benefits. Make sure you capitalize on the social and communal value. Because that’s how you turn products and shows into high-ticket status symbols.