Old man Disney was no fool.
After he and his Imagineers had completed the GE “Carousel of Progress” for the 1964 World’s Fair, Walt invited a gaggle of GE executives to the studio for a peek at the show.
They loved it.
But Walt wasn’t so sure.
“It doesn’t have a wienie!” he said. “Come back in a couple weeks and I’ll show you.”
The puzzled executives did as Walt asked. A week later they returned to see the show again. It was virtually identical to the first version – with one exception: Walt had added a comical audio-animatronic dog with a wagging tail to each scene.
It was the “wienie.” The “finishing touch.” The delightful, magnetic bonus.
Wienies are extra.
Wienies are what you give the audience after they think they’re already satisfied.
Wienies are what you add when what you have is good – but not good enough.
No boss will demand that you add a wienie. In fact, your boss would prefer that you don’t waste your time with wienies.
The wienie is the seamless way the glass fits into the metal on an iPod. It’s the solid slam of a Mercedes door closing. It’s the “Easter Egg” on that DVD you just bought. It’s the glow of the logo on the back of my MacBook Pro.
The wienie isn’t what you must do It’s what you want to do. Its delightful impact arises from the sheer joy of its creation and the desire of its creator to share that joy with others.
Wienies are to powerful brands what cost cuts are to cash flow.