The Tipping Point

If you haven't read The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, you should. It is a strikingly observant book with simple concepts that will radically change the way you generate buzz and develop marketing strategies.

The main point Gladwell conveys is that every event has a Tipping Point, "one dramatic moment ... when everything can change all it once." The factors that influence the Tipping Point are often small. The first example he gives is the explosion of popularity in Hush Puppies during the 1990's. A retro shoe that was about to be phased out, the Hush Puppy exploded onto the fashion scene. A shoe that had sold 30,000 pairs a year jumped to 430,000 in 1995, 1.72 million in 1996, and even more the following year. Maxwell attributes the dramatic increase in sales to "at the most" 100 kids who began wearing the shoes in downtown Manhattan.

We can go about reaching our own Tipping Point by following Gladwell's three rules of the Tipping Point: The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. Gladwell explains these in detail in the book but I find that the Power of Context is the most intriguing and most important.

"The key to getting people to change their behavior... sometimes lies with the smallest details of their immediate situation. The Power of Context says that human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem."

As PR practitioners, I believe we sometimes focus to much on the message we are trying to convey. There are many other factors that need to be taken into consideration the least of which is context.

When we are in a large auditorium listening to someone speak, most of us get tired. The sound of their voice gets lost in the large room and we find ourselves straining to hear. We become tired and end up hearing only part of the message.

Think about the famous speech given by Harry Truman after Pearl Harbor was bombed. His demeanor and his slow and emotional delivery trigger a subconscious response in us, to prepare us for grave or important news. The message he gave was indeed important but the context in which it was given elevated its status to one of the greatest and most memorable speeches given by a president.

In The Tipping Point, Gladwell also highlights three types of people that create word of mouth epidemics. They are Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen.

The Connectors are essentially people who know people. While most of us have strong ties with a small group of friends or acquaintances, Connectors have mastered the "soft tie." They are able to maintain friendly but casual relationships with a staggering number of people. Any ideas that are positioned near a Connector can be distributed to a larger number of people than could be reached by an average person.

Mavens are market specialists. They obsess about prices and are always trying to get the best deal. The best thing about Mavens though is they are not self-serving. When they find a deal "they want to tell you about it too." Mavens "want to help, for no other reason that they like to help." This is the type that I have the most affinity with. I love to share new products and services with my friends and instruct them on their uses. I gather information and distribute it willingly and helpfully to anyone who asks.

The third type are Salesmen. The way that Gladwell differentiates a great salesmen from an average one is "the number and quality of answers they have to the objections commonly raised by potential clients." So it is not the volume of sales Gladwell considers important but the ability to contradict common objections.

So, Mavens provide the information, Connectors spread it, and Salesmen convince you its true. This dynamic is essential to the spread of an idea.

In a previous post, I mentioned that my PR class is responsible for the Georgia College & State University Athletic Auction theme. To bring the concepts of The Tipping Point in to the real world I began to think of how I, as a Maven, can help to cause the auction to tip (to increase attendance). I believe that I can generate a large amount of information (emails, websites, mass mailings, etc...) that can get people interested in the theme we have created. The more people hear about our amazing backdrop, lighting scheme, and other artistic elements the more they will want to see it for themselves. I need to consider context though. If people get a lot of mass mailings they will just assume it is false hype and my efforts may have an opposite effect. I need to strategically develop and place information in such a way that people have access to it but don't become overwhelmed by it.

Athletics Auction Theme Decided

Tuesday three professionally dressed and professionally minded PR groups pitched the theme for the 2010 Georgia College & State University Athletics Auction, which takes place this Spring. The groups all had excellent ideas and gave presentations that were well developed and the time they devoted to these themes was clearly noticed.

The theme that finally won out was A Night with the Stars of GCSU Athletics. The glitz and glam of Old Hollywood along with the suggested dim lighting gave an elegance to the theme not seen in years past. Also, the message that the Athletes are the stars of the athletic program seemed to resonant with the judges.

My favorite idea from this theme is that of a large 14 ft. backdrop that will include 3-D elements. With the participation of the Art Department at GCSU, the backdrop promises to look incredible and be a point of interest and conversation among the guests.