So we all bought Gladwell hook line and sinker. But there's a hint of an evolution in this thinking. According to a YPulse post, "most recently, Duncan Watts of Columbia University is getting attention with a new, more nuanced theory. His work highlights the intricacies involved in the spreading of ideas, and leads to a conclusion more based on a large network effect of easily influenced people, rather than a small group of influential people. To me it’s a theory more applicable to youth, since it is something that very much agrees with the effects of social networks and digital media. It appeared as #1 in Harvard Business Review's list of breakthrough ideas for 2007 (a killer read in its entirety, btw)."
A comment to the YPulse post pretty much sums it up: "The reason that trends spread so quickly was because of the suggestible masses not the mavens."
Stay tuned for additional developments on this front....
In the meantime, let's examine a current case of one particular group of suggestible masses - the Millennials. 
This NYTimes article is about the launch of Calvin Klein's new fragrance for Millennials called CK in2u (it's apparently AKA son of CK One).
CK marketers say of their target audience: “We have envisioned this as the first fragrance for the technosexual generation...using a term the company made up to describe its intended audience of thumb-texting young people whose romantic lives are defined in part by the casual hookup."
According to the NYT article: "A typical line from the press materials for CK in2u goes like this: “She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now.” As well, "to seem more authentic, Calvin Klein is trying to reach consumers on their own turf by creating an online community, whatareyouin2.com, patterned after sites like MySpace and Facebook. The company has invited students at film schools around the country to submit shorts addressing the theme of “what are you into?” and their clips can be found on the site."
So tapping into Millennials' mania for texting and web communication is thought to make a successful launch. Sounds like textbook consumer generated marketing. Heck, we did the film submission thing with Tribeca Film Festival 15 second film contest.
But, do Millennials want something marketed at them so obviously? It seems incredibly uncool, frankly. CK claims retail demand for the product has been strong, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Keep your eyes open for YouTube parodies of their ads.
Check out the ideas ofRoboYouth's Chet Gulland, who is also the author of the YPulse post he makes a number of interesting points about the Calvin Klein product/ campaign and Gladwell.
Loved the NYT article on Calvin Klein company marketing to the Millennial Generation! Very interesting! We have an even more in-depth article on how to market to this $150 billion/year market where I work (Deliver Magazine). Who knew that a generation such as this one would actually mirror that of the WWII GI generation, sharply contrasting with Gen X? You can learn more about their values, spending habits and behavior patterns at this link:
http://delivermagazine.com/the-magazine/2006/03/01/generation-rising/1/
Enjoy...
Posted by: Suzette | March 22, 2007 at 02:32 PM