Designing Products People Can’t Ignore
Case Studies in Product Hits and Flops
In this video lesson, Derek Thompson explores the concept of MAYA (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable), illustrating how successful products balance familiarity and surprise, using examples like Star Wars and the iPhone, while highlighting the pitfalls of innovations like Google Glass that failed to resonate with consumers.
Online Marketing Essentials (Coolness, Cultishness, and Popularity)
Achieving coolness involves a nuanced rebellion against the mainstream, where success lies not in broad appeal but in resonating with a small, dedicated niche that feels misunderstood by the majority, as explained by Derek Thompson.
Find the Right Audience at the Right Time
Success is not solely determined by quality; rather, it hinges on the right person discovering the right idea at the right time, emphasizing the importance of effective distribution and consumer understanding to transform failures into successes.
Invigorate Your Audience with “Aha” Moments
Derek Thompson's concept of "aha" moments, where disfluency transitions to fluency, is key to engaging audiences and enhancing their experience with our offerings, prompting us to explore how to integrate these moments into our storytelling, product education, and marketing.
Give Creative Talent a Long Runway
In a world overwhelmed by information and rapid judgments, writer Derek Thompson emphasizes the importance of patience in recognizing potential and allowing creativity to develop, reminding us that some talents take time to flourish.
Products rarely succeed because of quality alone. Consumer perception is huge: Does the product seem so new that it’s strange? Does it seem cool or cultish? And are you even targeting the right consumers? These are the types of questions Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic, thinks we need to answer to give our products and services the best chance at succeeding.
Learning Objectives
- Determine whether your products/services strike the right balance between surprise and familiarity.
- Identify your core audience and how to appeal to them.
- Reposition an underperforming product/service.
- Build “aha” moments into your design and marketing.
- Give new people and ideas the time and space they need to succeed.