I have invited people that I admire and feel inspired by. I have asked them describe how they have challenged the market they are in, as well what makes them tick.
Scott Goodson
Who are you and what do you do?
Best selling author of Uprising: How to Build a Brand–and Change the World–By Sparking Cultural Movements (McGraw-Hill 2012) and Founder of StrawberryFrog, the world’s first cultural movement agency.
How does that challenge the current market?
The book is about the new age we live in and potential to spark a movement that now lies within each of us.
Yet to me the bigger controversy is the thought that companies, and marketers in particular, can spark cultural movements. Aren’t movements supposed to be about noble causes and higher purposes – as opposed to selling stuff?
But I think movements, at least the kind that gather around positive, creative, dynamic ideas, can help build a better, fairer, more sustainable and interesting world. A movement can enable a company to form a stronger connection to the public. And yes, that certainly can translate into profit, though I think it can also have other effects that are less mercenary but no less important.
What is your best tip for thinking outside of the box?
In these volatile times, brands need to develop movement strategies like we do at StrawberryFrog. This means thinking first about culture then the product vs the old way of starting with the product. Once you have a movement and its expressed with famous creativity then you can do anything in a fragmenting media environment.
It starts with figuring out what your brand’s core values are. What are you for? What are you against? Traditionally, marketers have been reluctant to take a stand against anything because it can feel controversial or divisive. But the truth is, some of the boldest marketers have been doing this kind of thing successfully for quite a while (think of Apple, which in its early days came out strongly against conformity and the “Big Brother” world of computing). And today, more than ever, consumers are looking for brands that share their values and outlook.