How to get your ideas to spread | Seth Godin

TED

17 May 200718:58

Summary

TLDRThe speaker discusses how spreading remarkable ideas is crucial to success, using examples from business, art, and marketing. From Silk tripling sales by placing their product in the refrigerated section to Frank Gehry revitalizing a city with innovative architecture, the focus is on how ideas spread when they stand out. He emphasizes that in today's world, simply being 'very good' is not enough—ideas must be remarkable to get noticed. The talk encourages finding passionate audiences and leveraging their enthusiasm to achieve impactful change.

Takeaways

💡 **Remarkability drives success**: In today's world, products or ideas that stand out and are worth talking about are the ones that spread.
📈 **Idea diffusion is key**: Success isn’t just about having a good product or idea, it's about spreading it effectively.
📺 **The decline of traditional marketing**: The TV-industrial complex of interrupting people with ads is no longer effective; people have more choices and less time.
🔍 **Find your niche audience**: To succeed, target the people who care deeply (the 'otaku') about your product or idea, and let them help it spread.
👀 **Being different matters**: Two of the hottest-selling cars have nothing in common except that they are different from the rest.
🛠️ **The safest choice is to take risks**: In today’s market, playing it safe is risky; you must stand out by being remarkable or unique.
💬 **Design for word-of-mouth**: Products and ideas should be remarkable enough that people will naturally talk about them and share them with others.
🎯 **Focus on early adopters**: Cater to the people who are obsessed and passionate about your idea or product, and they will help it spread.
🏙️ **Remarkable ideas change cities**: An example is Frank Gehry’s museum design, which revitalized an entire city’s economy by attracting global attention.
🎨 **Innovation can redefine industries**: Companies like Silk (milk alternative) and artists like Jeff Koons achieved massive success by doing something new and remarkable.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the transcript?
-The main theme of the transcript is how ideas spread and how to make products, services, or concepts remarkable so that they capture attention and gain traction in a world saturated with choices and information.
Why does the speaker mention the invention of sliced bread?
-The speaker uses the invention of sliced bread as an example of how a good idea can fail initially because it wasn't marketed well. The success of sliced bread came only after Wonder figured out how to spread the idea, illustrating that spreading ideas effectively is key to success.
What is the 'TV-industrial complex' described in the transcript?
-The 'TV-industrial complex' refers to a traditional marketing model where companies buy ads to interrupt consumers, gain distribution, sell more products, and reinvest profits in more ads. The speaker argues that this model has become less effective in the modern era.
What is meant by 'remarkable' in the context of marketing?
-In this context, 'remarkable' refers to something worth making a remark about—something that stands out enough to get people talking. This is essential for spreading ideas, products, or services in today's market.
Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of 'otaku'?
-The speaker emphasizes 'otaku'—a Japanese word describing obsessive interest—because targeting people who are passionate about a niche can help spread ideas through word-of-mouth, making them more likely to gain wider attention.
How does the example of Silk tripling its sales relate to the speaker's point?
-Silk tripled its sales by placing its product (which didn’t need refrigeration) in the refrigerated section, where people were used to looking for milk. This action made the product remarkable, showing how innovative placement, not just advertising, can drive success.
What lesson does the speaker draw from Frank Gehry's architecture?
-The speaker uses Frank Gehry's work to illustrate how doing something extraordinary and at the fringes—like Gehry's unconventional museum design—can have a transformative impact, even on a city’s economy. It emphasizes the value of uniqueness in spreading ideas.
What is the significance of the purple cow metaphor?
-The purple cow metaphor signifies that ordinary things (like cows) go unnoticed, but something out of the ordinary (like a purple cow) grabs attention. This metaphor supports the idea that for an idea to spread, it needs to be remarkable and stand out.
Why did the speaker’s attempt to market SACD music fail?
-The speaker’s attempt to market SACD music failed because they targeted audiophiles with $20,000 stereos, who weren’t interested in new music. This highlights the importance of understanding your audience and their specific desires.
What does the speaker suggest is the riskiest approach in today’s market?
-The speaker suggests that playing it safe—by offering average products for average people—is the riskiest approach today. To succeed, companies need to be remarkable and target niche markets that care deeply about their product or idea.

Outlines

00:00

💡 The Importance of Spreading Ideas

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses the concept of spreading ideas and how it relates to various industries and individuals. Examples include the invention of sliced bread by Otto Rohwedder and how its success depended on marketing, not the invention itself. The speaker emphasizes that spreading ideas is critical, regardless of whether you run a coffee shop, are an intellectual, or in any other field. He introduces the notion of 'idea diffusion' and highlights that people who can spread ideas are the ones who succeed.

05:02

🤔 Consumer Disinterest and Marketing Challenges

The speaker addresses how consumers are overwhelmed by choices and disinterested in most marketing efforts. Using examples like Arby's spending millions to promote an oven mitt with Tom Arnold's voice, he shows how marketing is often irrelevant because consumers focus on themselves. The notion that consumers only care about what directly impacts them leads to the analogy of a 'purple cow' — something remarkable that stands out. The idea is that for a product to get attention, it must be remarkable and worth talking about.

10:05

📈 Targeting the Right Audience

Here, the speaker delves into the concept of finding a specific, obsessed audience, or 'otaku,' who deeply care about a product or idea. By marketing to this niche group, companies can spread their ideas more effectively. He provides several examples, from expensive yo-yos and car stereos to Steve Jobs' keynote presentations and Pearl Jam's exclusive album sales, demonstrating that appealing to people who care enough to share their passion can result in widespread success.

15:06

🎨 The Power of Remarkability

In the final paragraph, the speaker gives examples of companies and individuals who achieved success by doing something remarkable. From Silk's unconventional product placement in grocery stores to Frank Gehry's transformative architecture, the speaker illustrates how standing out from the norm can drive success. He ends with a humorous account of his own failure in targeting the wrong audience with a record label, concluding with a story about a 55-foot lava lamp proposal in Soap Lake, Washington, as a symbol of creativity and boldness.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Idea Diffusion

Idea diffusion refers to how ideas spread from one person to another, gaining popularity and impact. In the script, it emphasizes that success is often not about the product itself but about how effectively the idea behind it spreads. The example of sliced bread illustrates this concept, showing that the invention was initially a failure until the idea was effectively marketed by Wonder Bread.

💡Remarkable

Being remarkable means being worth talking about—doing something that stands out enough that people want to discuss it. The script highlights that success in business or art comes from being remarkable, as seen in examples like Frank Gehry's architecture, which redefined a city's identity, or Jeff Koons’ art, which captured public attention through its uniqueness.

💡TV-Industrial Complex

The TV-industrial complex describes a marketing model where companies buy ads to interrupt people, get distribution, and use the profits to buy more ads, creating a cycle. The script argues that this model, once dominant, is now failing because consumers are overwhelmed with choices and have learned to ignore traditional advertising methods.

💡Otaku

Otaku is a Japanese term used in the script to describe people who are obsessively passionate about something. These are the early adopters or niche audiences who care deeply about a product or idea and help spread it. The script uses the example of a niche hot sauce community to illustrate that businesses should target these dedicated fans instead of trying to appeal to the average consumer.

💡Purple Cow

The 'Purple Cow' is a metaphor for something extraordinary and attention-grabbing that stands out from the ordinary. The script uses this concept to argue that in a world of sameness, only truly remarkable ideas get noticed. For example, a giant 40-foot dog made out of bushes or a 55-foot tall lava lamp are 'purple cows' that stand out and attract attention.

💡Mass Marketing

Mass marketing involves targeting the broadest possible audience with average products, aiming for the largest market share. The script criticizes this approach, stating it is outdated because the modern consumer ignores most mass-market appeals. The focus should shift to niche marketing, targeting those who care and can become advocates for the product.

💡Niche Market

A niche market is a smaller, specific segment of the broader market that has particular needs or preferences. The script encourages targeting niche markets with passionate customers who will promote the product, like the specialized car stereo enthusiasts or fans of Pearl Jam’s limited-edition albums. These niches can create powerful word-of-mouth marketing.

💡Failure of Average

The 'failure of average' refers to the concept that being very good or average is no longer enough to capture attention. The script stresses that average products for average people are ignored in today’s saturated market. Instead, the focus should be on creating something exceptional that stands out, as illustrated by the failure of traditional advertising to compel consumers.

💡Design

In the context of the script, design is portrayed as a critical element of making a product remarkable and noteworthy. Good design helps a product stand out and communicate its uniqueness. Examples include Dutch Boy’s innovative paint can design, which redefined how paint is marketed, making it an essential aspect of the product’s appeal rather than just functional.

💡Consumer Attention

Consumer attention is a central theme in the script, highlighting the difficulty of capturing it in an era of overwhelming choices and distractions. The script emphasizes that traditional methods of grabbing attention, like TV ads, are becoming less effective, and marketers must find new, more engaging ways to reach audiences, such as through remarkable, word-of-mouth-worthy products.

Highlights

The success of sliced bread only came after Wonder figured out how to spread the idea, highlighting the importance of idea diffusion over just the invention.

We live in a century of idea diffusion, where those who can effectively spread their ideas, regardless of the field, are the ones who succeed.

The TV-industrial complex, which once dominated marketing by interrupting people through ads, is no longer effective in today's world.

Consumers today have too many choices and too little time, leading them to ignore average products, making it crucial for businesses to stand out.

The key to success in modern marketing is creating something remarkable, which means it is worth making a remark about.

Products like the Hummer and the Mini have succeeded because they don't follow the norms; they stand out and are different.

Marketing is now about appealing to a niche group with otaku—people who are obsessed and care deeply about what you're offering.

Otaku-driven marketing helps spread ideas as those passionate individuals share them with others, creating broader appeal.

Krispy Kreme uses the otaku strategy by focusing on a passionate group, and from there, their popularity spreads throughout a city.

Aeron chairs sold a billion dollars by transforming chairs from a standard office item into a status symbol, redefining its meaning in the workplace.

The riskiest thing businesses can do today is play it safe; in a world of too many choices, remarkable and fringe products win attention.

Silk tripled its sales by placing its non-refrigerated product in the refrigerated section next to milk, making it stand out as 'not milk'—a remarkable strategy.

Jeff Koons' giant 40-foot tall dog made of bushes in New York City became successful not because it was traditional, but because it was remarkable.

Frank Gehry transformed an entire city’s economy with one remarkable museum building, showing how architecture can have massive cultural impact.

Instead of selling an innovative music format to the wrong audience (wealthy audiophiles who disliked new music), the key lesson is to find the right group that cares.