Diffusion of Innovative Technologies

Diffusion of Innovative Technologies: Lessons for Marketers

There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things… whenever his enemies have the ability to attack the innovator, they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend his sluggishly, so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable. - Niccolo Machiaveli, The Prince (1513)

The somewhat dubious and highly successful reign of QWERTY Technological innovations are not always diffused and adopted rapidly, even when the innovation has obvious advantages

Where we started •  Fully recognizing the difficulties inherent in driving adoption of new technologies… •  We set out to distill lessons from marketing innovation case studies, •  With a goal to establish the underlying framework to ensure the most efficient diffusion* of new technology * Efficient diffusion being defined as the best and quickest way to communicate the innovation among members of a social system. Note that this is activity a kind of social change, as this is a process by which alteration occurs in the structure and function of a social system occurs.

How we didn’t approach it •  One dimensionally: = Interesting lesson •  While helpful, we felt this could potentially lead to misleading or incomplete conclusions for your purposes

Multi-dimensional analysis Reverse engineered recurrent themes across categories to identify common lessons THEORY | “GEEK” | AUTO | SOCIAL | NON-TRADITIONAL 3 1 2 4 COMMON LESSON

Focus on accelerating (modern) trends RATE OF DIFFUSION OF CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY Decreasing Technology e Penetration MODERN Diffusion TRENDS Acceleration A linear progression of diffusion acceleration trends would suggest a near instantaneous adoption of future technologies by the year 2100. However, the more specialized technology becomes, the lower technology penetration becomes overall. Thus we can expect to see an increasingly rapid adoption among a smaller subset of the overall population, which is why we have skewed towards analysis of more modern diffusion trends. Kelley, The Technium, NY Times

The common, modern marketing lessons of rapid technology diffusion Modern technology diffusion is inherently a social process* TARGET YOU 1.  Technology should not be about technology 2.  Lay traps to bait your tribal leaders 3.  Social-ize private paradigms EXPERIENCE 4.  Orchestrate transformative inflection points 5.  Be “simplactive” with marketing tools * That is not to say there is no role for mass advertising. On the contrary there are plenty of examples in theory and practice that show that mass powerfully drives awareness of new technologies. For instance, Apple’s brilliant new product marketing strategy uses mass advertising to supplement social activity when social activity is low. Social, however, is the primary mechanism by which consumers can be persuaded and to also drive preference for new technologies, most rapidly spreading adoption. Diffusion of Innovation, Rogers, 2001

1. TECHNOLOGY SHOULD NOT BE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY

Boil your water…

Making it technical leads to failure CHANGE AGENT •  Talked about boiling water “to not get sick” •  Failed in attempts to get villagers to boil water •  No interpersonal relationships with village •  No awareness of beliefs PERSUADED ADOPTER TECHNOLOGY REJECTOR •  Outsider with •  Representative of most villagers few connections •  No real understanding of germs •  Nothing to lose socially •  Thinks change agent is a “snoop” •  Wants to please agent •  Thinks hot water is for sick people 5% Adoption LESSONS FOR SUCCESS •  Brand management: How adopters view a change agent affects willingness to adopt •  Find the right audience: Need to identify the opinion leaders in the village •  Understand target beliefs about water: “Innovation” rather than “client” orientation

Buy a clean diesel… Despite the power, fuel economy, and emission advantages, diesel only holds a 2.6% market penetration in US, forecasted to grow to 8%, by 2015, but still a sliver of the market compared to Europe “I do worry if we go to diesels that our air quality will degrade. Maybe the new ones run clean, but how clean will they run when they get old?” “John” WSJ Message Board │ January, 2009 The Economist │ December, 2007 JDPA data via Business Insider, 10/09

VW marries technology and need Cash for Clunkers Family downsizing Frugality as badge (and other incentives) FRUGAL FAMILIES

First identify the “tribe” Tribe. n. A trendy marketing buzzword referring to a group of customers who share a common belief around a brand or a concept HOG community

Understand their beliefs & values What would drive your most passionate and earliest adopters? Graphic designers want to be …Adobe created an idea recognized for innovative competition with winning thinking and design skill design to be displayed on a among their peers… Times Square billboard

2. LAY TRAPS TO BAIT YOUR TRIBAL LEADERS

Using tribal leader as catch-all term Tribe = influencer = Innovators, mavens, connectors, early adopters, But how to “catch” them? Providing exclusivity is a common thread.

Lay some nerd-bait NERD-BAIT ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION The reverse of this package “Questions? Comments? Call 1-800-395-9660” Only a soap nerd would take Ivory up on this. A challenge seemingly right out of Good Will Hunting: “First 10 digit prime found in consecutive digits of e.com ”Google cleverly found a way to reach the <1% who they wanted to attract. Build collaboration innovation networks. Examples include MyStarbucksIdea, and Generation Benz, where enthusiasts interested in a B2C and C2C dialogue can collaborate on marketing and technology development.

Push them away (a bit) Perceived exclusivity seems to skew our internal gauge of actual value STUFF WRAPPED IN PLASTIC GOOGLE WAVE DROID Electronics manufacturers are either $5,100? Clearly, Google has Droid event at union just mean, or know something about proven how limited pre-release square is somewhat human nature. I (as well as Larry and testing creates added unabashed in its David) personally think it’s a little perceived value among cries of exclusivity of both… early adopters

Stage exclusive experiences FORD BLOGGER OUTREACH Ford Fusion 41 relay building off of Fiesta Movement blogger outreach which generated 50,000 handraisers. WINDOWS 7 PARTIES Nearly universally panned, they teach us of the importance of audience understanding and solid execution. Still, over 5,000 copies were shipped to numerous parties across the globe. VIRGIN WIFI PARTIES Oprah Skype broadcast and party flight to promote launch of wi-fi services generated strong blogger attendance and response. MediaPost “Ford puts metal to drive buzz for fusion” 10/09, Mashable “Can social media sell cars?” 10/09

LESSON 3 3.  SOCIAL-IZE PRIVATE PARADIGMS

Transformative platforms NIKE+ WARCRAFT ARMORY SUPPORTING PLATFORMS

Let community reflect its collective voice Windows 7 social media data visualization lets community see as they “tell their own stories” Brad Brooks, Corporate Vice President, Windows Consumer Product Marketing, Microsoft

Crowdsource ongoing innovation Private to public development evolving from computer technologies like Linux & Wikipedia into more traditional categories… such as automotive Local Motors promotes & builds community designs

4. ORCHESTRATE TRANSFORMATIONAL INFLECTION POINTS

On inflection points •  A superset of tipping points – singular moments at which mass adoption becomes unstoppable •  Inflection points any similar points along the way that cause steep upward interest or adoption •  We saw a few common ways that brands successfully architect inflection points 1.  Creation of brand halos and value product pricing 2.  Cultural memes 3.  Unique events

Apple established halo first, and then drove mass adoption via price Nixon, 12/05

Creating or mashing cultural memes CULTURAL MEME REPOSITORY Meme Meme mashup creation “Snakes on a plane” Google Insights for Search

Social events can tip technologies Twitter tipped by funneling the conversation during the event… 2007 South by Southwest Festival Streaming Twitter Plasma Screens VW inflected by funneling the conversation outside the event...

5. BE “SIMPLACTIVE” WITH MARKETING PROGRAMS

Simplicity via thoughtful reduction (design) “I shall be so brief that I shall already have finished.” (Dali) Design simplicity across interactive experiences

Simplactive customizability Applied in a tribe relevant manner, customizability has been shown to be a powerful tool to drive engagement SCION NIKE ID

Simplactive trialability The triability of an innovation, as perceived by the social system, is positively related to its rate of adoption YARIS VIRTUAL TEST DRIVE FREE SAMPLES

Simplactive observability The observability of an innovation, how its benefits are seen, as perceived by the social system, is positively related to its rate of adoption COLLECTIVE SYMBOLIC Benefits for us What it says about me and members of my tribe INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENTIAL Benefits for me How benefits fit into context IntoMobile “Palm going viral with Palm Pre marketing?” 4/09, Sprint Now Network, Gardasil, France’s Velib bike sharing, The TerraPass Footprint “France to launch innovative new car sharing program” 9/09

Summary Lessons 1.  Technology should not be about technology 2.  Lay traps to bait your tribal leaders 3.  Social-ize private paradigms 4.  Orchestrate transformative inflection points 5.  Be “simplactive” with marketing tools .

http://greggetner.blogspot.com	11
http://greggetner.com	9
http://www.slideshare.net	8
http://getnerous.posterous.com	4
http://greggetner.tumblr.com	3
file://	2
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	1

Diffusion of Innovative Technologies

by Greg Getner on Jan 07, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

7 Embeds 38

Statistics

Diffusion of Innovative Technologies — Presentation Transcript