19 important takeaways from this documentary:
People learn by comparison.
They learn by comparing new things to the things they already know. That’s why redefining a category is much easier than creating a new one.
When you position your product in an existing category you’re essentially saying “it’s like something you already know but better”.
When you try to create a new product category you’re essentially saying “it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before”.
That’s a provocative statement, but hard to learn by.
Joshua Porter “How to redefine a product category” (via peterspear)
Having the courage and determination to focus on one subject or area of expertise gives you the solid foundation that is absolutely necessary if you’re to come up with a truly great idea, one that will be key to your future success.
Too many creative people think they don’t need to specialize, that they can have lots of ideas in lots of different subjects all of which are going to be great.
It’s no good having great ideas if you can’t sell them.
Stay open to new ideas, new places, and new people will feed your creative soul.
Lack of inspiration may be just another way of saying lack of experience.
If it’s a race to get into minds and stay there, then it’s the artists who make their points faster, smarter, and more thought-provoking that will be the ones who succeed.
From your smart TV to your iPhone to your iPad, we’re seeing more but reading less.
All courtesy of digital technology.
When you are intent on putting a great wrong right, creativity will often exceed all expectations.
Out of conflict comes purpose.
We’re all creative but only some of us will be lucky enough to earn our living by it.
The research interview process does more than merely ignore critical components of why people behave as they do, it changes how and what they think.
Consumer.ology by Philip Graves
Participation isn’t enough.
Having a more clear-sighted view on people’s real world buying behaviours and thus which consumers actually matter to the generation of revenue and profit begins to gives us a framework for thinking about participation.
The Participation Paradox by Martin Weigel
The expanding reach of intellectual property has introduced more and more possibilities for opportunistic litigation: suing to make a buck.
Sample trolls and patent trolls are business models who have developed as a result of this.
When you’re trying something new, you’re in a very vulnerable place.
You’re not even sure if it’s the right thing to do.
Snap judgments and rapid decisions often lead to poor work.
The ability to stand back from your thinking and give it what we call ‘the overnight test’ is essential.
Unfortunately, we live in a world today that too often doesn’t allow this.
In advertising, the best partnerships are usually those formed between art director and writer. The reason for this is in their job titles:
Art directors think visually.
Writers think in terms of narrative.
There are plenty of people who are not very good web developers and not even necessarily good web designers, but they’re good at using the tools available to them, and if their design and message are good enough their idea or brand gets picked up spread everywhere.
When people buy T-shirts just for the logo on it, it shows how much people care for that brand – and is another source of revenue for the company.
Brand Jam by Marc Gobé
Don’t confuse innovation with novelty.
You may have successfully designed the latest shiny object for people to get excited about…at least until a new shiny object came out.
And that’s the reason product features are more a novelty than an innovation. They are added in an attempt to differentiate, but not reinvent.
It’s not a bad thing, but it can’t be counted on to add any long-term value.
Novelty can drive sales, but the impact does not last.
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
The people LEAST likely to engage deeply are the MOST important for growth.
There is a way out of this paradox. But it requires us to embrace two principles:
1) Battle for interest, not attention
2)Fans are actors, not the audience
The Participation Paradox by Martin Weigel