If you’re wondering whether brand awareness matters, just remember: last week I was feeling nostalgic for college, and so I bought some bubble tea.
My first experience with bubble tea is forever ingrained in my memory, intertwined with my first experience on my own, at college, living in Boston. The first day of classes, as I wandered through campus, I saw the sign: bubble tea. Here was a sign for an exotic, never-before-heard-of beverage, the likes of which I would never have found in the small town where I was raised. It sounded elegant and worldly. It was everything I had dreamed college would be. I immediately bought one (with my brand new debit card), and watched as they put tapioca pearls (!) into a smoothie glass and added something viscous yet light. I raised the straw to my lips, took my first sip, and hated it. I don’t think I managed to finish half of it before throwing the rest away – altogether unsurprising, since I didn’t particularly like tea, juice, or tapioca. Since then my tastes have changed, I’ve come to love tea and enjoy (some) juices, but tapioca and bubble tea have never made the cut.
I don’t like bubble tea! I bought it anyhow.
The experience I had – the smell of the leaves outside, the excitement of my first day living in a city, the first use of my new debit card – that was all important, but the business can’t ensure I’ll have that experience. They can, however, improve the likelihood that I’ll create that experience with them (and not the equally exciting espresso shop next door) by showing up, making their signs memorable and their storefront unique.
They say that 90% of being a good parent is showing up. This company showed up, and has forever imprinted my impressions of freedom and excitement with bubble tea.