thinkORBIT

In a digital and social age, pipes are less important. People are the channel. You don’t own or rent them. You can’t control them. You can only serve and support them.

The center of Starbucks’ orbit strategy has been the concept of Third Place. Starbucks is not just about selling coffee — it is a “a third place between work and home. A place for conversation and a sense of community.” Comfortable couches, pleasant music, and free Wi-Fi pull people in, and the experience is monetized with coffee, food, and merchandise.

Vail Resorts has created an orbit strategy that put skiers, and their friends, in orbit around a mountain. The program is called EpicMix (www.epicmix.com). Skiers can see where their friends are on the mountain, how fast they went down a particular run, and earn status badges and rewards based on their activity on the slopes.

Companies are turning to “purpose” and “authenticity” as a way to engage consumers and employees. But it’s hard enough to find a purpose in life if you’re an individual, let alone an entire company. And being authentic is a bit like being cool — sometimes the harder you try, the less you are.

thinkORBIT

At the center of Nike’s orbit strategy is Digital Sport, which includes Nike+ for Running and the Nike FuelBand. Fortune Magazine wrote, “Digital Sport is not just about creating must-have sports gadgets. Getting so close to its consumers’ data means it can follow them, build an online community for them, and forge a tighter relationship with them than ever before.”