Flour, eggs, butter and chocolate chip cookies and . . .

I recently visited a quick business lunch at the Port Chester Coach Diner in Port Chester, NY.  Upon paying at the counter I noticed a bowl of miniature chocolate chip cookies.

Here is the recap of the experience from Synergy’s VP of Brand Experience Tim Heath:

“I recently enjoyed a business lunch on the fly with a colleague. We were pleased with the rapid and attentive service and quality of food. I walked away from the table content; but you guessed it, I was seeking a little something more from the dessert to satisfy my appetite. Much to our pleasure, there was a container of complimentary small chocolate chip cookies morsels next to the cash register. My colleague and I looked at each other simultaneously with a smile and then enjoyed. We both consumed two free cookies and we shared our pleasure with the owner/manager who was observing our enthusiastic response to his offering. A pleasant ending to a fine lunch. I look forward to my next meal at the Port Chester Coach Diner”

The chocolate chip cookie has been a thread throughout the Purple Goldfish Project.  The very first submission from Tom Haidinger was the DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie.  DoubleTree and their signature chocolate cookie was named so many times they own the distinction of being the first brand inducted into the Purple Goldfish Hall of Fame.

DoubleTree was followed by Midwest Airlines (now Frontier) and Fort Wayne International Airport.  The trio has given away more than 250 million chocolate chip cookies collectively.

Recent entries have included Pot Belly Sandwiches and now the Port Chester Coach Diner.

It begs the question  . . .what’s so special about a chocolate cookie?

DoubleTree offers an explanation right on the brown paper bag the cookie comes in. “Why a cookie?” the headline asks. “Cookies are warm, personal and inviting, much like our hotels and the staff here that serves you.”

Quoted in an article by the NY Times, Erich Joachimsthaler, chief executive of Vivaldi Partners said,

“when consumers don’t know how to judge the benefits or the differentiation of a product — I don’t know the difference between Midwest and JetBlue and United — then a meaningless attribute like cookies can create meaningful differentiation . . .The giveaway creates buzz, it creates differentiation, it increases a purchase decision.”

I’m not sure if I agree with meaningless, especially if that little extra is a signature element.  I subscribe to the philosophy that Malcolm Gladwell offered in The Tipping Point,”The little things can make the biggest difference.”  The chocolate chip cookie is not just a chocolate chip cookie.  It’s much more than that.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – the Doubletree has given away over 215 million chocolate cookies.  Here is some background:

Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe,  i.e. purple goldfish,  is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’.  It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.

Where is the lagniappe in your marketing? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Slideshare preview of the Book here

These examples were featured in the book, What’s Your Purple Goldfish? How to Win Customers and Influence Word of Mouth