I want a trick pony...

...but will my favorite brand give me one?

I am all for devoted, passionate, meaningful customer service. The recent reaction of KLM to create a flight to answer the call from a Dutch DJ who wanted to make it to the Ultra Music Festival in Miami this March is amazing.

An impressive example of reacting quickly and with meaning to consumer desires. But when will all this immediate reaction to customers slow down? I don't think brands will be able to keep up. It would be great if they can, but I cannot imagine they have the bandwidth to do so. How much is too much? Or maybe to support these initiatives there will ultimately be significant shifts from marketing spend - is customer service the new experiential?

"stealth luxury"

Thank you Valerie Steele, director of the museum at FIT, for using the term "stealth luxury" in the January 3, 2011 issue of The New Yorker in regards to Bottega Veneta. I also love Tomas Maier taking the "h" out of his given name Thomas to correct the asymmetry of his written name. Brilliant!