Seth Godin of Ted Talks has an interesting take on how ideas spread. Normally, businesses spread their ideas through the mass market. The internet, radio, and television have all been used vastly in this repetitive fashion – Buy Ads -> More Awareness – > Generate Sales -> Make a Profit -> Buy More ads. Also known as the TV Industrial Complex, the cycle is growing less and less effective as consumers are changing.

Consumers are bombarded with increasingly more information while they have less and less time. This leads to consumers ignoring most ads they see. Normally, marketers aim for the largest group of people, the early and late majority. These people have been so accustomed to advertisements and do not have a direct interest in advertised products; It is no longer effective to bombard them with media.

Companies need to be remarkable – worth spreading remarks about. The innovators and early adopters are who we should be targeting. They actively seek ideas they love. These  people will help spread your ideas and eventually capture more and more people.

Being safe is risky, you need to set yourself apart and target your fanatical audience by having a unique product.