On a recent visit to Starbuck’s, I put on my biz owner hat to see what I could learn from one of the icons in entrepreneurship. I noticed the non-coffee, non-edible items that Starbuck’s sells—beautiful coffee mugs, CDs, books on organic farming, and board games. I got the sense that I was on a movie set, with all the props needed to create whatever scene my imagination triggered.

The next day, the Wall Street Journal reported on a new Chinese "subopera"–part soap opera, part advertising that is played in short installments on the Shanghai subway.  It’s called "A Sunny Day," about a girl from the countryside who moves to the big city. And guess what?  Starbuck’s, one of the sponsors, is part of the movie set, with scenes of boy meets girl over coffee.

Planting the seed of what’s possible is what marketing should be about.