01 October 2007
Ciao. As you may have guessed from the photo I have recently been in Venice, an extraordinary and evocative place. Somehow it seems to exist in a world entirely separate from anywhere else...
And yet on I think Venice has some things to teach us here at Semantic, and perhaps more generally.
1) Anything is possible
These folk built a city (on sticks) in the middle of a lagoon. It may also very well be the most beautiful city in the world. What excuse do we have for not getting things done.
2) Be a place, not a thing
A clever friend of mine once likened great brands to bells... you can look at them from different angles, but wherever you strike them the ring sounds the same. They are consistently great.
In contrast most places (or businesses) are attractive because of one or two great "things". The rest of the experience may be just "okay"... but the landmark features (Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Pyramids, Customer Service, Speed of Delivery... whatever) make up for it.
Venice is different. Move away from the main tourist traps and it gets, if anything, more beautiful. It's not about the landmarks (although it has many)... it's about the whole place having the same great feel, and it reminds me why we draw smily faces on our invoices.
3) Beware the success that breeds failure
The worst thing about Venice (and I'm aware of the irony) is tourism. Every day we descend plague-like from cruise ships, ferries and planes. We arrive by road or train, and we all head to St Mark's Square and the Rialto bridge. On any day less than two in ten of the people on the island are Venetians. Some say it's more like one in ten. 1 in 10!
Venice is a victim of it's own magic and you can see it in the crowds and in the queues. Tourism takes the edge off of the experience... maybe not a lot, but some.
Semantic is a small agency, and we have to remember that the reason our clients love us is the service we provide. It's the service that has driven our success... but the success also threatens the level of service we offer. This is an old conundrum for us, but one that Venice throws into sharp relief.
Posted by Nick Warren at 1:11 PM
