Standing out from the crowd

I recently returned from a few days in Grand Cayman (trip report here - if you want to read about my stingray bite) and i was going to write about how service levels can change when you're a captive audience (think of the microblogging service Twitter - their service / uptime levels are appalling, yet people have nowhere else to go), but while I was there I started thinking about differentiation - standing out from the crowd.

Grand Cayman is a Caribbean island, I went there dreaming of curried conch, jerk chicken, rum cocktails and key lime pie. Yet, it seemed that every restaurant touted its "extensive French wine list" and its "superb Italian cuisine". Coming from New York, I didn't feel like trying the local twist on Pasta Carbonara, and so, ironically, it was the places serving local food that were most visible to us.

I think its the same with wine: critter labels themselves are not distinctive, it depends on the context they are viewed against. A screwcap, or a box wine will stand out against a sea of Bordeaux bottles - each with a stencilled sketches of their Chateau. The reverse holds true too - a traditional bottle, with gold leaf and raised lettering will probably stand out against a bunch of whimsical labels and cute brand names.

And so, at the end of a tough day of lying on the beach, when I wondered into the local liquor store to grab a bottle of wine, I found myself picking up the one thing that stood out from the crowd : the tetrapak box of Three Thieves Bandit Chardonnay.



Was it good? That's irrelevant here - it was the fact that the packing got me to buy it.