tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071188653941075297.post162086137993407148..comments2009-12-01T10:21:35.415-06:00David Murphyhttps://profiles.google.com/103086880443875044607noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071188653941075297.post-46241145270709154712009-11-18T10:20:35.499-06:002009-11-18T10:20:35.499-06:00Very interesting. I will agree with Adam in a way though. Challenging a brand is one thing but changing the behavioral patterns of consumers is another thing. <br /><br />http://www.couchchange.blogspot.com/Adelaidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15359108159145501868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071188653941075297.post-73782078332803219242009-11-06T15:07:15.129-06:002009-11-06T15:07:15.129-06:00Interesting post David. <br /><br />This sort of marketing aikido is something I&#39;ve noticed during research. Marketers always seem to be focused on barriers to purchase. However, barriers to purchase are increasingly less interesting to me; unless you dig deeper to find the human problem. Currently, I&#39;m finding myself finding out why people are in love with the things we have to replace, because ultimately that is what we have to overcome. <br /><br />It&#39;s always fun to be a challenger brand though. But how do you change behavior? <br /><br />Thomas Kuhn writes about paradigm shifts and says, In a nutshell, you keep pointing at the anomalies and failures in the old paradigm, you come yourself, loudly, with assurance, from the new one, you insert people with the new paradigm in places of public visibility and power. You don&#39;t waste time with reactionaries; rather you work with active change agents and with the vast middle ground of people who are open-minded.<br /><br />Apple seems to understand this concept well. <br /><br />Usually the problem with tackling the big guys is the established norms and ingrained behavior. So when taking on the giants it&#39;s fun to bring in new, instead of converting from the giants. People like to support underdogs. Obama understood this concept well. <br /><br />A third interesting thing is how people make decisions. Human beings are very bad at making decisions in a vacuum. We can&#39;t judge things as absolutes and instead we compare things in relation to others. A byproduct of the strategy you suggest is that it leads to meaningful differentiation. <br /><br />Anyway...just adding some thoughts to your idea to keep it alive. Also stuck at a coffee shop. Cheers!Adam Ronichnoreply@blogger.com