150 people froze in place all at the same time. The same people moved all at the same time moved to the sides of the hallway and cheered for the random people coming through on their way to class. The event was called a Flashmob. Something got 150 people to come to the same place at the same time to participate in a random event. What got them there was infectious marketing.
There’s a lot of talk about networked marketing-the spread of ideas and products through networks. However, not every networked marketing approach works. The main difference between those that do and those that don’t are 1) Infectious Energy and 2) Simplicity. The infectious energy means that it connects exactly to what people want. Most marketing starts off by saying, “Here’s a really great product…”. Infectious marketing is starting from “What do you want?” or “If you’re XX type of person, you might find this interesting.” I talked about this with a friend last week who wants to start a chocolate business. It’s about finding the group that will respond to your offer with, “That’s the coolest thing ever!” If you get that response, you’ll have infectious energy. The second key piece is simplicity. Multiple instructions don’t work for people. I’ve seen Flashmobs fail before because they said meet at XX, freeze at 1:30, and unfreeze at 1:32. For this event, all people had to do was show up at a particular place, then I would tell them the next step. Buyers need to be guided to the sale of an idea or product one step at a time, otherwise they won’t even bother.
It’s rare that I see events or products spread like wildfire. What I witnessed today and have witnessed several times in the past is that it’s possible to create things that grow beyond your control; it’s all about how you do it.
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