We as consumers do a lot of things just because the people around us are doing them. For proof, look no further than some historical examples—from the 17th-century tulip bulb craze in Holland to doomsday cults and prepper movements in the lead-up to Y2K. Buying fads such as pet rocks, fidget spinners, Beanie Babies, and NFTs all show how easily prevailing thoughts influence individual behavior.
The science behind this is well understood. The evolutionary drive to fit in with our peers is very strong. When a group of people’s purchases are plotted as a histogram, we always see the majority of them clumped near the centre – we see it so often we came up with a term for it – the Bell curve.
So even when people think they are expressing themselves, showing individuality by their brand choices, they are only veering slightly away from the norm.
Hey, Glenn here—welcome to Funnel Reboot. Our guest today—who I really do think has positively impacted marketers’ careers—argues that marketers are just as susceptible to conformity as consumers are. We get caught up in prevailing marketing practices when doing our job, while ignoring better marketing options. That’s a recipe for mediocre results.
Our guest is the author of three marketing books and the co-founder of an eight year old digital agency that has attracted clients whose annual spend ranges from thousands to millions of dollars. What does he credit for this marketing success? The time he’s spent on the edges of the Bell curve – doing things that most of us view as too far outside of our comfort zone. And he says to be a better marketer, you too should reject the orthodoxy of conventional marketing.
Unorthodox is the name of his latest book, and I’m glad to welcome back for a second time, Gil Gildner.
People, products and concepts mentioned in the episode:
Gil’s Agency Discosloth
The book Unorthodoxy
LSAs (Local Services Ads)
Performance Max (Google Ads campaign using artificial intelligence)
Chris Anderson book “The Long Tail”