To capture that unique blend of fear and excitement, of bewilderment and complexity, of opportunity and threat, of intensity and unpredictability, only The Crazy Age will do. Welcome, then, to The Crazy Age – where the only thing we can be certain of is uncertainty and the only thing we can be sure of is that everything is about to change.

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How best to describe the times we’re living through?
As always, the answer depends and their effects will definitely
on your perspective. There is be unpredictable and possibly
more than enough happening unimaginably far-reaching. The
in the world to fuel a fearful and Chinese used to curse people
pessimistic outlook, whilst those of by saying they hoped they would
a more optimistic bent will need live through interesting times.
little encouragement to wax lyrical Well, our times are certainly that.
about the unprecedented new When it comes to capturing the
Taking
unCerTainTy for
granTed
opportunities opening up before
us. What you will struggle to find,
sheer intensity of the changes we
are living through, however, The
however, are those who continue Interesting Age lacks a certain
to insist that it’s business as usual. oomph. To capture that unique
blend of fear and excitement,
This is probably the most telling
of bewilderment and complexity,
characteristic of our times; whether
of opportunity and threat, of
we identify with the gloomiest
intensity and unpredictability, only
doomsayers or the most starry-eyed
The Crazy age will do.
visionaries, we agree unanimously
on one central idea – everything Welcome, then, to The Crazy age
is changing. We are also in – where the only thing we can be
agreement about the nature of certain of is uncertainty and the
these changes – that they are only thing we can be sure of is that
happening, that they are irreversible everything is about to change.

3. Ch-Ch-Ch-
Changes
Change in The Crazy age is utterly
pervasive and astonishingly varied.
Those with an eye for politics might
mention the rise of China or the
Raise the subject with people and coalition of our new government;
the sheer diversity of responses music fans will talk about the
you will hear is astounding. They collapse of the record industry,
will range over topics as diverse the ascendance of iTunes and
as the credit crunch and melting the ethics of illegal downloading;
polar ice caps, the rise of Google social media evangelists will insist
and the demise of General the old world of fixed, top-down
Motors, The X-Factor and TED, communication is being rendered
religious fundamentalism and irrelevant in the face of relentless
genetic engineering, iPhones and communication between global
Barack Obama. communities of customers; the
environmentalist brigade will
keep you up all night worrying;
technology buffs and the twittering
classes will just keep you up all night.
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This last group will have a lot to tell us,
because technology is the driving force
behind a lot of these changes. In fact,
it is in the technological arena that we
Some of these may strike
experience the effects of change most
you as more significant than
immediately and powerfully. Technology
others. No matter. What is
embodies all the main characteristics of
truly striking about this list is
change in The Crazy age – its radical
the incredible shrinking of
unpredictability, its paradigm-shifting
time between genuinely
effects and its ever-accelerating intensity.
significant events – from
Consider the following events – the thousands of years to a few
evolution of language, the invention thousand days. Far from
honey,
of writing, the invention of the printing reaching some kind of peak
i shrunk
Time
press, the development of the personal
computer, the emergence of the
internet, the arrival of the worldwide
web, the rise of Google, the launch
of Facebook, the moment when or “End Of History” as was
Facebook overtook Google as the most being prophesied so glibly
popular destination for US web traffic. only twenty years ago, the
pace of change is actually
accelerating. Change has
gone beyond being an
inevitability – change has
become the norm.

5. In particular, it creates opportunities
for those who would previously
have been hopelessly outgunned
Where does this maelstrom of by much larger and more powerful
change leave those operating in the rivals. New markets can be
worlds of business, marketing and created much more quickly and
communications? Again, it depends new communities of customers
on how you choose to navigate can be energised by new ideas
the storm. For those who have almost overnight. Whilst it’s true
enjoyed previously unassailable that fresh ideas and great word of
positions of dominance, the winds mouth have always characterised
of change can be chilling – with successful new businesses, what’s
those who resist or ignore them unique now is the extent to which
in grave danger of being swept technological advances make it
away. But – in yet another paradox not only possible to quantify these
of The Crazy age – this relentless assets, it can enable them to be
process of change creates as amplified to the point where they
oneThreaT is
much opportunity as it does threat. can overturn entire categories.
person’s
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6. gorillas vs.
guerillas
This unprecedented state of affairs A relatively stable and predictable
creates a new paradigm for world where market leaders enjoyed
business communications, where e c o n o m i e s - o f- s c a l e - d e r i v e d
constant innovation and customer dominance over smaller, copycat
engagement has become more rivals is giving way to a more
than a canny strategy for ambitious, unpredictable environment where
upwardly mobile companies - it has dominant market “gorillas” are
become an absolute necessity increasingly vulnerable to the
for survival. guerrilla strategies of nimbler,
more creative opponents.

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As they have sought to exploit the
vulnerabilities of market leaders,
these maverick competitors have
evolved a series of distinctive That the gorillas themselves are
styles, methods and approaches. adopting the same approaches
Recognisable techniques include to either defend their territory or
trailblazing product redefinitions enter new markets themselves
or innovations (e.g. Apple) radical (Project Natal, Bing) might be
improvements in customer service ironic, but it is also testament to
(First Direct); creating radically new their efficacy.
spoTTing The
maveriCks
levels of audience participation And whilst some of these strategies
and community empowerment are hardly new, what is new is the
(reality TV, Barack Obama’s extent to which their effects can
election campaign) all-out assaults be amplified via word-of-mouth
on the credibility and integrity of on the internet and within social
the market leader (Virgin vs. BA, networks into forces which can
Ryanair) influencing or trading overturn market conventions and
on customers’ social, ethical and reconfigure customers’ ideas
political attitudes (The Body Shop, and expectations, in the process
Fairtrade, Innocent, The Co-op) putting much larger and better-
or opening up entirely new resourced opponents on the
markets for products (Nintendo Wii, back foot – and sometimes even
Apple iPad). flat on their backs.

8. leT’s go
Hunter S. Thompson wrote “When the
going gets weird, the weird turn pro”
All of these approaches fly in the
face of conventional marketing
– a prophetic line that rings truer thinking, yet their success reveals
than ever in The Crazy age. Crazy that this unconventionality is in fact
is the new black; success in this world their greatest strength. By taking a
is no longer about shying away crazier route than their rivals, they
from the bizarre, the unpredictable have succeeded in outwitting
and the wildly unconventional, them and carving out unique and
but about embracing it and distinctive territories for themselves.
actively seeking it out. Everywhere
In The Crazy age, this may ultimately
we look, we see crazy thinking re-
be the only sane thing to do - to buck
energising previously mainstream,
convention, to defy expectation,
conventional brands. Guinness
to be predictably unpredictable.
make a virtue out of the fact
To stop asking ourselves if we’re
their pints take an age to settle,
being crazy and ask ourselves if
Marmite celebrates the fact that
we’re being crazy enough.
many people hate it and Yorkie
Are you?
thrive in the chocolate market by
Crazy
telling us their product is not for girls.
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