Thanks to Krispy Kreme, I can't even get fresh in the Gas Station anymore.

I am a Marketers dream.

I love to be marketed to and appreciate a great marketing experience more than most people.

As far as I am concerned, companies need and should be rewarded for taking the time to go the extra step and create a story around their products...because stories are what I connect to.

Thing about stories are that you need to decide if you are going to work in the fiction or the non-fiction world.

What I mean is once you develop your story (feel free to substitute the word "story" for "competitive advantage" if you wish) are you going to live it or just pretend to do so.

Stories can change over time but if you have a story and drop it all together I promise you that people will notice it.

I started thinking about this last night when I was in the gas station and I noticed something different from Krispy Kreme. A lot has been written and analyzed about the downfall of Krispy Kreme so I am going to skip that angle (if you are not sure what I am talking about read this post by Andy Sernovitz) and talk just for a second about Krispy Kreme promise (story) of HOT AND FRESH. Sure we can all agree they abandoned their story of "Hot" a long time ago but I was surprised to see last night that in the fancy Krispy Kreme showcase that used to be a home for delicious "fresh" donuts was now a home for piles of individually wrapped donuts (not even on racks) with something on the packaging I never expected to see on a Krispy Kreme donut.

There was a best before date sticker stating that this product will be good for 8 days!

So basically after long abandoning the "hot" in their "hot and fresh" promise they are now walking away from the "fresh" part as well reducing their brand to just another packaged baked good available in a gas station...while keeping the premium price...and to be honest, if I am buying baked goods in a gas station I would rather pick up a Hostess Fruit Pie because as far as I can remember, Fruit Pie the Magician has never not kept HIS promises to me.