THE TIPPING POINT How little things can make a big difference Malcolm Gladwell 2000, The Tipping Point, Abacus, Aust.
Laws of the Tipping Point • The Law of the Few • The Law of Stickiness • The Law of Context
The Law of the Few • Only a few people with special talents shape a Tipping Point • Connectors • Mavens • Salespeople
CONNECTORS • Connectors are people who know (and relate naturally to) lots of other people beyond their family & friends • Connectors are responsible for the “six degrees of separation” that each person has with everyone else on Earth
MAVENS • From the Jewish word for “knowledgeable”, a Maven is a person who not only knows about everything (and what the prices are) but also loves to inform everyone around them • Mavens have the knowledge and social skills to start word-of-mouth “epidemics”
SALESPEOPLE • Salespeople are persuaders • Salespeople transmit emotions both verbally and non-verbally expertly • Salespeople induce us to buy because they build trust and rapport
The STICKINESS Factor • Stickiness gets people to remember the message • There is a simple way to package information, that under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible
Stickiness by SUCCES • • • • • •
S IMPLE U NEXPECTED C ONCRETE C REDIBLE E MOTIONAL S TORY
Stickiness by SUCCES • S is for SIMPLE • THE CORE + COMPACTNESS • Discuss “The LOW COST Airline”
• WAN SWSA NTQ LDT ASVI C • WA NSW SA NT QLD TAS VIC
Stickiness by SUCCES • U is for UNEXPECTED
• Surprise gets our attention • Interest keeps our attention
• In an award-winning Ad 2006, a burglar is breaking into the home of a little old lady. How is he chased away? • she suddenly barks like a BIG DOG!
Stickiness by SUCCES • C is for CONCRETE
• a V8 motor is concrete • high performance is not
• We easily remember things but find it hard to remember concepts
• for 15 seconds, write a list of things that are white in colour • for 15 seconds, write a list of white things in your refrigerator
Stickiness by SUCCES • C is for CREDIBLE
• Marshall & Warren from Perth WA discovered that stomach ulcers were caused by bacteria. 10% of the world’s population could be cured simply with antibiotics. • BUT NOBODY BELIEVED THEM! • So in 1984, Marshall poisoned himself with a glass of bacteria; developed ulcers; then healed himself with antibiotics. • In 2005, they received The Nobel Prize.
Stickiness by SUCCES • E is for EMOTIONAL
• for people to take action, they have to feel
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When nutritionists in USA studied the FAT intake of young people, they discovered that movie popcorn was the fattiest food. And kids were eating buckets of it.
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What does it mean: 80 grams of fat per bucket?
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the audience were disgusted to see laid out as a buffet: plates of bacon & eggs, Big Macs & chips as well as a steak dinners with all the trimmings; and a sign saying that all this food contains 80 grams of fat.
Stickiness by SUCCES • S is for STORIES
• the Challenge plot • the Connection plot • the Creativity plot
• A good story is like a flight simulator ~ it shows people how to act • Consider the story of Jared who was 153 cm (waist) and 193 kg (weight) when he started eating at Subway
Stickiness by SUCCES • All you need to find is a: • • • • • •
SIMPLE UNEXPECTED CONCRETE CREDIBLE EMOTIONAL STORY
The Power of CONTEXT • We are shaped powerfully by the external environment and the immediate features of our social world • Changing the context in which a message is delivered can lead to great success • Groups (under 150) often bond together effectively and magnify the potential of a message or idea
In Summary • The Tipping Point requires us to reframe the way we think about the world eg. a piece of paper folded over 50 times would reach the Sun! • Communication has its own set of counterintuitive rules that should be tested • Change is possible using only the slightest touch in just the right place
Conclusion
• Finding those few special people who hold so much social power can shape the course of your Tipping Point • Tinkering with presentation can dramatically improve stickiness • Manipulating group size alters the receptivity of an idea; just as changing the context does
In Addition Six Winning Templates for Advertisments
I. The Pictorial Analogy • Pictorial analogy portrays situations in which a symbol is introduced into the product space; such as a croissant (symbol of France) being introduced into the space of a tennis ball.
II. The Extreme Situation • The extreme situation represents situations that are unrealistic in order to enhance the prominence of key attributes of a product or service. This category includes three versions: • absurd alternative version • extreme attribute version • extreme worth version The extreme attribute and extreme worth versions portray situations such as a jeep driving underneath the snow to demonstrate its allweather driving capacity.
III. The Consequences • Consequences indicates the implications of either executing or failing to execute the recommendation advocated in the Ad. This guy playing loud music in his car shakes a bridge apart.
IV. The Competition •
The Competition subjects a product to a competition with another product from a different class. The other product is clearly superior (or so we think) over the advertised product, for example: a race between an advertised car and a bullet
The diagram pictures the uncommon use version.
V. The Interactive Experiment The interactive experiment requires the viewer to engage in an interactive experience with the Ad in the hope they will realise the benefits of the product.
VI. The Dimensionality Alteration • This approach manipulates the dimension of the product in relation to its environment. It has four versions: • • • •
new parameter connection multiplication division time leap
The life insurance ads is an example of the time leap version.
In Summary