Pro to Pro

Belief Is the New Brand Metric

Why the next generation of growth won’t come from ads — it’ll come from experience. In early October, Anthropic opened Claude Café in New York's West Village, a quiet space where people could slow down, write by hand, and think. No product demos. No hard sell. Just a thoughtfully designed room and an invitation to pause. More than 5,000 people came through. Social posts and press generated 10+ million organic impressions. Cost: $50K. Compare that to a $50K billboard in Manhattan: 1.5 million impressions, fleeting glances, zero connection. On paper, similar cost. In reality, completely different returns. Here's what metrics miss: not all impressions are equal. Someone scrolling past an ad and someone spending 20 minutes in your space both count as "impressions," but the impact is worlds apart. One builds customers who refer others and return. The other just counts eyeballs. Belief doesn't come from being seen; instead, it comes from being experienced. BELIEF: THE BRAND METRIC WE'VE BEEN CALLING SOMETHING ELSE Belief is measurable. It shows up in retention curves, referral rates, and customer lifetime value—the metrics that track whether someone comes back, spends more, and brings others with them. Finance teams already measure these outcomes. They just...