The Tipping Point in action

One of the most fascinating videos I have ever seen has hideous camera work and a God-awful soundtrack.

You’ll be tempted to turn if off after 2 or 3 seconds, but this one rewards you for sticking with it for the full 3 minutes and 6 seconds, because it shows something we mostly only ever read about.

A tipping point.

For those who haven’t read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, the tipping point is the moment where a product, service or an idea suddenly becomes  popular. It’s described as ‘the level where the momentum for change becomes unstoppable’. It’s the brand that was unknown yesterday and is now on everyone’s lips.

Like Twitter.

It tipped after being featured at the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive Conference. Before the conference, the number of tweets a day was 20,000. During the conference, it jumped to 60,000, and now it’s up around 3 million tweets a day.

Or the ‘Twilight’ series, which was first published in 2005 to the delight of teenage girls, but now seems to be on everyone’s bookshelf and, with the movie release, has entered popular culture and spawned terms such as ‘Twilight Moms‘.

But back to the video (below), taken at the Sasquatch Music Festival in 2009.

While everyone sits and chats on picnic blankets, a lone man (very possibly under the influence of something illegal) starts a crazy little dance and is quickly joined by his mate. At that point their idea – ‘let’s dance’ – is not something anyone else wants buy into. Most ignore them, some look a little embarrassed for them. But these two are having a grand old time while the crowd just sits and stares.

Now it’s gotta take guts – or hard drugs – to swim against the current like these guys are.

In front of hundreds of people they’re flying in the face of the status quo. They’ve just launched a new idea and nobody is quite sure what to make of it. And we humans tend to prefer the safety of numbers. Socially, it’s much safer to do what the majority of the crowd is doing.

But look at what happens at the 1:20 mark.

Another 8 people join the group.

This idea just tipped.

Now in that group of 8, there was very likely one brave (and popular) soul who not only decided to get up and dance, but convinced 7 of his closest friends to do so too. No longer are we watching a couple of weirdos dancing in a field, we’re at a small dance party. And that clearly makes all the difference.

At 1:30,  people are running – literally running – to join in.

At 1:50, the dancers have taken over from the picnic blanketers. Get up and dance, little fellas, or you’re gonna get trod on.

At the end of the video, at least 100 people are on their feet, waving their arms in the air. We’ve gone from a few picnickers on blankets to a swarming, dancing crowd.

New ideas work this way too. They don’t necessarily take off immediately.

We have a quote on the wall here, readying: “Don’t worry about people stealing your idea. If it’s truly original you’ll have to ram it down their throats”.

But if you get the right few people behind it, it’ll take off faster than you can believe.

xk

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Recently we welcomed Nik Shetty to the CUBED fold.

Nik joins us as Account Manager after a 5-year stint at Samuelson Talbot where he worked on The Age, Brown Brothers and Swinburne University. But he’s not just an account manager. Oh no, he’s a man of many talents.

He studied IT, majoring in eCommerce and Management Information Systems, so he’s got plenty of digital smarts.

And he’s also an accomplished cook. In fact, last Friday he brought in several bunches of home-grown sage and tempted us all with some droolworthy menu suggestions.

Nik says that it was CUBED’s ethos of giving something back that attracted him here, as he shares the same philosophy.

Just quietly, we’re hoping that means we’ll be seeing more sage in the kitchen – or maybe some of his white wine duck breast risotto.

How ’bout it, Nik?

Client: V/Line

Product: Valentine’s Day

Medium: eDM

This tactical eDM was sent just before Valentine’s Day (which conveniently fell on a Sunday this year) to encourage people to skip the flowers and chocolate and take their Valentine on a romantic country adventure.

Dear Romantics,

Flowers wilt. Chocolates melt. Teddy bears are, well, just plain naff.

So booking a V/Line trip to the country – particularly if the weather is half-decent and you’ve brought a fully-loaded picnic basket – is a perfectly romantic way to spend Valentine’s Day.

So that was the message we sent last week with a Valentine-themed eDM and banner ad for V/Line. It was also good timing for a tactical message – with this year being the last time Valentine’s Day will fall on a weekend until 2015.

(And, yes, it was tough to resist the urge to use Ralph Wiggam’s classic ‘I Choo-choo-choose you’ card.)

What the?

Valentine’s Day is this Sunday?

THIS Sunday?

OK, don’t panic. Take a deep breath and check out this Valentine e-kit complete with suggestions, links and tips – created for all those who’ve left their Valentine’s Day preparations until the last minute.

Or forgotten entirely.

Print your own card

If you’re feeling crafty, make one of the cards below. Just click your favourite design, print the pdf, cut along the (very pale) dotted lines and and make your own Valentine’s Day card. Remember, you get bonus points for home-made these days and everyone loves getting something special in the mail. And why not find some nice paper to run through the printer for an extra lush look.

Send a Valentine’s e-card

If you don’t have time to send your Valentine’s Day card, you can send it as an e-card to anyone with an inbox.

	Print out your PDF
	Send it as an e-card

	Print out your PDF
	Send it as an e-card

	Print out your PDF
	Send it as an e-card

5 last-minute gift ideas

If grabbing a bunch of flowers from the local servo isn’t your style, here are a few fun (and fast) ideas for Feb 14.

1. Magazine subscription.
   Nip down to the local newsagent, pick up a magazine and arrange the subscription online.
2. Handpicked flowers.
   They’re more personal than a store-bought bunch. Tie ‘em up with some twine for a home-made look.
3. Heart shaped cookies.
   Spend a couple of hours baking your own and you’ll really get into the good books. Here are some of our favourite recipes.
4. Book of poetry.
   Get to Borders this weekend, or tonight – most are open until 10 or 11pm.
5. Max Brenner Chocolates.
   Sure you can get a box of choccies from any old place. But Max Brenner chocolates are truly lush and come beautifully packaged so you don’t have to wrap them. Win-win.

Hope this helps you enjoy a happy (and relaxing) Valentine’s Day.

Our new favourite CUBISM. Thanks Chants.

In the brave new world of social media where the fan and the brand are now on the same level, but the multinational computer company releases the hounds on the little Aussie supermarket for having a stylised “w” that looks a bit like an apple as part of its corporate identity, the matter of who owns your brand and how you police it becomes a very grey area.

Now, I’m nothing if not unoriginal (I even stole that line), but even I don’t want this to be just another blog about big brands and how they ought to lighten up a bit.

So I’ll keep it small.

Personal even.

Natalie Imbruglia being that person.

In 1998 she had a massive global hit with the song “Torn”. It sold a million copies in the UK alone (that’s copies kids, not downloads), it was in the US Billboard chart for 14 weeks and won both ARIA and MTV music awards.

Even today it’s still the song most readily identified with her. You’d think she wouldn’t want anyone dicking around with that.

Yet in 2005 English comedian David Armand did just that, in character as ‘Johann Lippowitz’ – an Austrian interpretive dance artist – a performance of his mime to ‘Torn’ went viral and was seen around the world. And to be fair it is very funny. But it’s borrowed interest (like all the stuff I get from Wikipedia) and it’s hardly doing anything for Brand Imbruglia is it?

What to do then?

Sue? That’s what Apple would probably do, have the legal department to get medieval on his ass.

Turn a blind eye? Coca Cola did that with the Facebook page that was started without their permission, it now has 4,129,366 fans and they have left control in the hands of the pages’ founders, they even occasionally supply content. True story.

But Imbruglia chose to do neither. She embraced it. In 2006 at the ‘Secret Policeman’s Ball’ the Amnesty international fundraiser, she got up and performed alongside Johann Lippowitz. The audience loved it, how could you not? She had shown in one single act that she was not just a big enough person to be able to roll with the punches, but big enough to take back ownership of the song again.

I think it’s brilliant.

Apple, watch and learn.

d

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