I have taken the family to New York City between Christmas and New Year’s a few times, but we’ve never been there for the big night — the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. This year I decided to brave it.
We stayed at the Renaissance Times Square. This made waiting a lot more convenient since we didn’t have to do it like everyone else, standing around in a corral all day. It is amazing that more than a million people flock to the area each year to catch a glimpse of the ball drop.
On Broadway and Seventh, the police set up corrals for the revelers. As the corrals closest to Times Square were filled, the police would move up the street to create the next corral. These corrals filled the street from Times Square all the way to Central Park, more than a half mile away. Yes, both Broadway and Seventh were filled with people for more than half a mile.
As hotel guests, my family spent the evening hanging out in our rooms. My wife and son took naps while my daughter, Samantha, and I switched the television between the college playoff games and coverage of the Times Square festivities right outside our window.
Around 10 p.m. we went out to a frozen yogurt place. Yeah, it was 40 degrees, and I decided that frozen yogurt sounded good. It was. Afterward, we hung out for the Luke Bryan concert. It was two, maybe three songs. I’m not a fan, but my wife and daughter are. I suspect it has less to do with his music and more to do with how he looks in blue jeans.
After another brief rest in our room, we came back down around 11:30 for Carrie Underwood’s performance. Again, only two or three songs, but she definitely looks good in blue jeans. Shortly thereafter, the ball dropped.
One of the most striking discoveries for me was how international the event has become. We joined a corral for the ball drop. No one around us spoke English. I heard Spanish, Chinese, French, and a host of other languages, though. I’d never understood how international the event was from watching the coverage on television. Times Square for New Year’s Eve isn’t only an American tradition — it’s become a worldwide phenomenon.
People from around the world flock to New York City to be in or near Times Square when the ball drops. Why? They feel important because they were there for an important event. For the rest of their lives, they can say, “I was there, and I did that.” They take that feeling of importance home with them. It’s amazing what people from around the world will do to make themselves feel important.
As membership marketers, this is our business. The same force that draws people to Times Square is the force that draws them to participate in discussion forums. It’s the same reason your members desperately want to be recognized. Making your members feel important can be huge retention building benefit of your membership beyond the great “stuff” you deliver.
I’ve got two challenges for you in 2016. First, what can you do that you’ve always wanted to do that you never thought possible? Times Square for New Year’s Eve? Alaska cruise? Trip to Australia? Put it on the calendar and make it happen. Secondly, how can you transcend trading money for stuff and give people what they really want, a feeling of importance because they are part of your community? These questions can produce a great business and a terrific life.
About Robert Skrob
