The Experience Economy, With a New Preface by the Authors

2

Setting the Stage

On a hot August night you find yourself in Evanston, Illinois, at the corner of Dempster and Elmwood. You spy a storefront named LAN Arena and, wondering what it might be, step inside. A T-shirted Gen Xer with “Commander Francisco” printed on his badge looks your way and mouths some words of greeting from atop his elevated platform. You nod in that general direction but decline his offer to explain the strange surroundings as you take a few more paces inside.

The walls are bare, the floor nearly empty. A faint odor of cement after a summer rain wafts its way into your nostrils. The tonal range looks decidedly gray. The sights and sounds soon draw your focus to the very heart of the place, in front of the Commander’s platform, ...