If it’s taboo to talk about death and blood, do it (Liquid Death).
If it’s illegal for women to smoke in public, give them “torches of freedom” to smoke in the national Easter-Day parade (Lucky Strike, 1929).
When the cultural pendulum swings far to one side, you can almost guarantee there’s a business opportunity on the opposite end. People love to rebel; so help them.
Principle: Everyone wants to feel special
Apple says, think different. Patagonia says, don’t buy this jacket. REI: we’re closed on Black Friday. Dollar Shave Club: we don’t know what all that jargon is but our blades are f***ing great. Oatly: it’s like milk, but made for humans. Tough Mudder: our races are hard and slow. Robinhood: you don’t need Wallstreet to make stock money.
When you’ve successfully identified the way most people are leaning, you can facilitate a rebellion in the opposite direction.
You’ll find that, almost by definition, there are people already waiting to be organized there.
Tactics
Here’s how to fuel your rebellion.
Expose the orthodoxy - usually when the best sales pitch in the domain is “even more of x” you’ve got something people are sick of
Identify the values that oppose the orthodoxy - there is good to be found on the opposite side of the pendulum swing. Highlight it in contrast to the norm.
Drum up a visual act of defiance - a policy, PR stunt or new product
Give your new cult a cute phrase - OptOutside, torches of freedom, think different, milk for humans
Embed the rebellion into everything - this can’t just be an ad. It has to show up on packaging, the nature of the product, company policy, pricing, everything.
Habits
Spend 10 minutes on Friday at 12:00 doing the following:
Spot the orthodoxy in your domain
Write 3 things everyone says or does (uses plastic, discounts, digital screens)
Write the opposite (use metal, no sales ever - lifetime repair, analogue buttons)
After spending these 10 minutes, you’ll likely already have ideas about how to change things, and know what to do next.
God speed,
Mike
Today’s inspiration: The 7 Human Hijacks