Key Concepts from the Lecture on Idea Diffusion and Marketing Strategies

Introduction

• Discussion of examples:
  • Silk tripling sales
  • Jeff Koons' rise from obscurity to fame
  • Frank Gehry redefining architecture
  • Personal failure with a record label marked by a product called "Sauce"
• Importance of idea diffusion over invention
• Otto Rohwedder's invention of sliced bread and its initial failure due to poor idea spreading
• The necessity of spreading ideas for success rather than just creating them

The TV-Industrial Complex

• Definition: A process involving buying ads, interrupting audiences, gaining distribution, and reinvesting profits into more ads
• Historical effectiveness in idea spreading
• Recent decline in its effectiveness

Changing Marketing Landscape

• Example of a product that spent $100 million in advertising but was ignored by consumers
• Hydrate Magazine and the plethora of niche products and media
• Arby's marketing with Tom Arnold
• Consumers' indifference due to choice overload and time scarcity

Remarkability in Marketing

• Consumers ignore the ordinary (cows) but notice the extraordinary (purple cows)
• Remarkable means something worth making a remark about
• Examples: Hummer, Mini, new DVDs, Tiffany's, Krispy Kreme

Idea of Marketing to the Otaku

• Targeting people with a strong obsession for a niche
• Strategies involve focusing on those who care deeply and will spread the word
• Examples of niche markets: hot sauce, yo-yos, loud car stereos

Successful Marketing Examples

• Steve Jobs: Engages an audience that cares deeply and spreads the message
• Pearl Jam: Profitability through targeted online sales
• Dutch Boy: Innovation in paint can design leading to increased sales
• AmIhotornot.com: User engagement through remarkability
• Cremains gems: Innovative products generating interest

Key Lessons

• Design is free at scale
• Safety is risky; being remarkable is safe but fringe
• Very good is not enough; it must be remarkable
• Market to those who care about the fringe

Conclusion

• Silk's strategy: Placing non-refrigerated product in a refrigerated section
• Jeff Koons' art: Presence of remarkable public art
• Frank Gehry's architecture: Economic change by remarkable design
• Personal learning from marketing music to the wrong audience
• Proposal for a remarkable tourist attraction in Soap Lake: A 55-foot lava lamp

Final Thoughts

• The importance of creating something worth noticing, akin to a purple cow, in a world full of choices.