There's No Business That's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture

Chapter 2Immersionary Show Spaces

In the Arundel Mills mall outside Baltimore, Maryland, there is a new space for customers that is a little hard to describe, but it could be a model and a portent for the future. Part retail store, part branded environment, part classroom, part playroom, part product testing lab—Crayola Works might be confusing to a traditional marketer, but to customers it's just plain fun.

From outside, Crayola Works catches the eye with its bright blotches of playful color; inside it is like being in a crayon box—with rainbow colors in flashing lights and patterns on the floor. Transparent pillars are filled with colorful crayons and a black-and-white Volkswagen Beetle is available for kids to color on with markers. The space ...