If you were born in the 1980s, how many Jennifers and Jasons did you go to school with? A lot, right? And then gradually, those names fell out of favor and were replaced by Ashley, Aidan, Madison, Ethan. Jennifer and Jason don't even make the top 50 anymore. Other names have been more consistently popular, however. Think Michael, Daniel, Elizabeth.
What's this got to do with marketing? Well, a new study looked at the speed at which baby names rose to popularity and also how quickly they declined. It turns out names that skyrocket to popularity are also fastest to fall into obscurity. The same behavioral drivers surrounding baby naming can translate into product and brand adoption. According to the study's authors:
Fads tend to be viewed negatively, the authors point out. "And if people think that sharply increasing [popularity] will be short lived, they may avoid such items to avoid doing something that may later be seen as a flash in the pan."
The paper points to examples in the music industry of new artists who bolt to the top of sales charts, but realize lower overall sales than those whose popularity grows more slowly. "This seemingly counterintuitive finding has important implications. One is that faster adoption is not only linked to faster abandonment, but may also hurt overall success," the authors write.
Despite the excitement it generates for a few days, the video your brand launched that "went viral" on YouTube may be entirely forgotten in a few months or weeks and ultimately do nothing for long-term growth. But if you take a slower, measured approach to building a strong community of fans, your brand may remain popular for a lot longer. There's no viral marketing campaign around Moleskine notebooks, for example, but the brand has built a dedicated group of fans that it continues to nurture and support.
Don't mistake faddish-popularity as an indicator of long-term brand success. Fads rise to popularity quickly without any real reason - they're not usually fulfilling a customer need (did anyone need snap-bracelets in elementary school in 1990?).
Instead of focusing on how to get as much buzz for your product or organization as fast as possible, think of how to meticulously build a community. It takes longer and can be more work, but the reward is much greater.
No one wants to be a flash in the pan. Not even Jennifer and Jason.
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