The Physics of Marketing - Snell’s Law

Willebrord Snellius saw the light.  Well actually he saw the light do funny things, and then went on to describe why it was so.  The output was Snell’s Law, which describes how light travels at different speeds through different substances.  Ever wonder why that drinking straw looks different in the glass of water than it does above the glass -   Snell’s Law.  How about why on hot summer day there appear to be puddles of water on the road off in the distance, yet when you get to where they seemingly were you find nothing but blazing hot asphalt - again Snell.  It is all about refraction, or how light bends.

Different materials have different refractive indices, meaning that light travels at different speeds through everything.  A high refractive index indicates that light bends a lot as it passes through.  Conversely a low index means that light moves more quickly.

So how does this idea apply to Marketing?  Well there are about 50 ways to go with this one.  I am choosing to go with the following, but encourage you to choose one of the others and leave a comment.  So here goes my take.

In marketing, there is often the concept of the great idea.  You know what I mean… “How about we try __”  or “What if we make ____”  Internally a few people discuss the idea, and quickly it turns into a product.  Note that for this example we are going to assume that this idea makes its way through the process of becoming an actual product or service - most never get that far.

Okay, so the idea hits the market in the form of a product and it is a huge disaster.  What happened?  We thought it would be great.  It did everything we wanted.  Everyone will love it.  We knew it would work. One problem.  The consumer, or at least the one’s whom you approached, did not want it.  Things are received differently by different people just as light moves differently through different substances.  So making the right thing for the right people matters.

Successful marketers realize this principal and attempt to use this to their advantage.  For a product to become successful, marketers must find the innovators and early adopters for their idea.  Target them.  Talk to them.  Find out if they are influential with others.  Satisfy their needs.  Dazzle them.

Again, these ideas spread at different speeds.  Successfully getting through the innovators and early adopters moves you into the early majority of people.  This group is slower to respond, but just might come around with some coaxing from the other two groups.  This process might then continue onward through the late majority of buyers and into the laggards before your idea is replaced by another.  As the pool of people spreads, your idea becomes more commonplace, and the impression it makes distorts from the original image.

Again, the key is to realize who you are trying to target, how their response may be different from others in the market, and what the implications of those differences might be.  Making something for everyone from the start is a surefire way to fail.  Making something remarkable for a few people, who might decide to share their passion for your idea with the world is a much better choice.

How would you use Snell’s Law in the context of Marketing?  There is certainly something out there along the “Things are not always what they seem / All Marketers Are Liars” angle.  (Seth Godin, if you read this, please share a thought with us.)  There could be something along the lines of the Pete Blackshaw “An Angry Customer Tells 3,000 People” angle of what happens when you buy that water puddle and actually get hot air. (Pete, if you read this,  please share a thought with us.)   Or maybe you have a completely fresh take to add.  Give it a shot and leave a comment. (Please share a thought with us.)

If I Was In Charge of… City Life Sculptures in Dayton

For the second year in a row the City of Dayton, along with the Downtown Dayton Partnership, has brought in 20 of the magnificent bronze sculptures sculptures of J. Seward Johnson.  The sculptures are extremely lifelike.  They depict people, sometimes accompanied by animals and props, going about daily life in the city.  The detail is amazing - causing people to double take as they pass just to make sure that it really is a statue.  They have been widely successful in attracting attention and drawing people to visit downtown Dayton to check them out.  The city started a photo contest around the sculptures, which I think is brilliant.

Still, if I was in charge of the City Life Sculptures the first thing I would do would be to create a blog for each of them.  On each blog, the story of the person depicted in the statue would be told day by day.  This could be done as a creative writing project, where students from Dayton Public Schools could compete to earn the right to tell the fictional story of one statue.   The writings could focus on a different area of life each week, creating a framework for the project.  This could start with biographical information about where they grew up, where they live and work, what they see everyday, how they interpret it based on who they are, and what they hope to see in the future.  This would be a wonderful exercise in characterization and imagination.  By placing it in the context of a blog, readers could engage with the statues in conversation - truly bringing them to life.   This would be sort of a Canterbury Tales meets the Internet.  Each statue has a story, and each winner gets to tell it.   I think this would be an amazing opportunity to showcase young, creative talent, while simultaneously attracting additional attention to this amazing exhibit.

What would you do first if you were in charge of the City Life Sculptures in Dayton?

Downtown Dayton Partnership

Bring Ideas to Life

Looking for that breakthrough idea? Trying to flush out the creative gems located deep within the recesses of your brain? Trying to invent the greatest thing since the greatest thing since sliced bread? Try using bubbl.us. This free, online mind-mapping tool is a great way to bring your ideas closer to life. The tool allows you to create a graphical depiction of your ideas, share and collaborate with others who have great ideas, and publish your creation to the web. There is nothing to download, as the program is web based, and best of all it is free.

http://www.bubbl.us/