The Washington Post conducted an interesting experiment in Memetics. They asked Joshua Bell to play the violin in the subway.

When Joshua Bell, one of the worlds great violinists, plays his $3 million Stradivarius wearing a tux on a concert stage a ticket goes for as much as $150 ...and it's hard to get one. But when he played in the subway at rush hour almost nobody stopped to listen and hardly anyone threw money in his case.

What does this say about the value of a brand and the importance of a story?

Two memes. One is Joshua Bell, world-class violinist, classical music superstar playing a Stradivarius in a grand building. The other, a street fiddler in a baseball cap playing an old violin in a dirty subway. The music is the same.

It's the memes that matter.