The Kool-Aid Point

Over at the Creating Passionate Users blog, Kathy Sierra urges marketers to forget the tipping point and instead, seek the Kool-Aid Point. The Kool-Aid Point is the “threshold when enough users become so passionate that others accuse them of drinking the Kool-Aid.” Kathy goes on to alert marketers about the positive sugar-high pratfalls stemming from sweet-to-drink company Kool-Aid.

”You don't really have passionate users until someone starts accusing them of "drinking the koolaid." You might have happy users, even loyal users, but it's the truly passionate that piss off others enough to motivate them to say something. Where there is passion, there is always anti-passion... or rather passion in the hate dimension.

If you create passionate users, you have to expect passionate detractors. You should welcome their appearance in blogs, forums, and user groups. It means you've arrived. Forget the tipping point--if you want to measure passion, look for the koolaid point."

Having been punch drunk from swimming in the Starbucks company Kool-Aid for eight-plus years, I can clearly relate to this thinking. Starbucks progression from access to excess has yet to impede its success. And that’s because its passionate users are still drinking the Starbucks company Kool-Aid. Just check out the Starbucks Gossip blog for evidence. I’m always amazed whenever a passionate detractor makes a scathing remark about Starbucks on the blog, throngs of Kool-Aid drinking Starbucks customers and partners (employees) passionately defend the company they adore.

Great stuff from the Creating Passionate Users blog … READ MORE HERE.

Comments

[Spike Jones]

Hmmm. And I always thought that the Kool-Aid point was when a customer got so excited about your company, product or service that he busted through a brick wall in a big red pitcher and shouted the name of your company.

"Kool-Aid!!!!!!"

But I digress (sometimes)...

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

HEY KOOL-AID!!!!! [.jpg]

[Spike Jones]

That's what I'm talkin' about!!

[Jim Seybert]

In Wyoming, we used to take a huge vat of Lime Kool-Aid and make it drinkable by pouring in a fifth of EverClear, a 180 proof booze. The hooch added an interesting twist to the Kool-Aid and kept people coming back for more.

So, the secret to avoiding Kool-Aid burn-out is to continuously update, change and freshen your product. I refer to this as "Thing One & Thing Two."

You can do a different thing or do things differently.

[David Culbertson]

A tangential reply to this topic...

"drinking the Kool-Aid." This was originally attributed to the followers of Jim Jones at Jonestown in Guyana, who supposedly committed suicide by drinking Kool-Aid laced with cyanide. In fact, it was not Kool-Aid, but lesser known competitor Flavor-Aid.

The power of brand and word-of-mouth combined powerfully here. Just do a google search on "jim jones kool-aid" and then "jim jones flavor-aid" It ain't even close! The former beats the latter almost 2-to-1.

[the head lemur]

Step away from this meme as fast as you can!
http://theheadlemur.typepad.com/ravinglunacy/2005/08/the_kool_aid_po.html

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

HL (can I call ya HL?) ... I read your meme and found it interesting but it didn't connect with me.

Is Kathy saying anything revolutionary (or revelationary for that matter) by observing the Kool-Aid Point? Nope.

But her observation did resonate with this true school marketer who seeks to learn more about tapping into consumer's 'want-states' than their 'need-states'. Leave 'need-state' marketing thinking to those businesses which have nothing else to promote but low-prices.

[Brian Orders]

I have been saving my kool-aid points for more than twenty years. I find it very disapointing, the selection of items the company has to offer for redeaming my points. I was hoping that with my more than 15,000 point would be able to receive something of use. i do however realize that the kool-aid company is not targeting the older generation for there product. However as a child i remember seeing promotions of prizes that could be earned for thousands of points.

fairly disapointed
Brian Orders

[peggy camp]

what does my eight year old recieve for saving his kool-aid points? please show a list of items for each amount of points earned.starting at fifty,etc. or whatever your points start at?

[wendy]

I've been saving points since my son was old enough to drink koolaid! He's 21 now and i dont know what to do with them!

[wendy from mass]

What can I buy with 21 years worth of saving them!

[ernest daniels]

this dosen`t make any since i got so many points i think i got enough to get a car ha'ha' ha' ha'.i can`t even sale them on ebay.i wish i can used them as stamps.

[Pam]

I was just thinking of the thousands of Kool aid points we have saved from when our now teenage son was little.
I just checked thier site...
I am very dissapointed they have so little to offer.
What ever happened to the good stuff that you could get by saving thousands of points?
Even my young daughter doesnt want this cheap looking stuff!

[sara]

I read all your complants and decided Kool aid stinks

[terry zehring]

my boy friend has been saving his kool aid points for more than 10 years more than 20 years what doeshe do with them

[Laura]

I think that if enough complaints are logged in about kool-aid ending its point redemption program, they'll eventually have to bring it back to keep its customers happy,....right? I hang on to my points a little longer, you never know!