As I mentioned last week, size is the enemy of cool.
Whenever a product or service crosses the chasm and goes from 1 million to 10 million to 100 million users, it loses its luster and its coolness.
This happened to AOL and to Google. And now say “hello” to managing this issue Facebook!
Size and success allows pundits to become contrarians, hence articles like this one about Facebook.
Now Twitter is the cool kid on the block.
I bet in 12 months people will be making fun of those who “Tweet”.
Coolness lifecycles are getting shorter and shorter these days.
I worry about this as we deal with the recent surge of Capitals’ popularity.
Staying true to a brand’s authenticity and always innovating are key attributes for brand management in this new day and age.
“Size is the enemy of cool” should have been ascribed to Gotcha founder Michael Tomson. To use it without such ascription is called “plagiarism” …
Dear Ted;
Just wanted to send you a hello from Lowell and furans Market! I love this blog.
I have recently read you blog on social websites Facebook and the kool factor, I love what you said!
We are all very proud to have spent time with you in Lowell and continue to wish you well.
There is this little issue about the team up here in Boston, we all watched on Ch 38! As a NE Fan for many years, is there any chance that someday there may be an angel that understands the importance of Boston and NE hockey! help our hockey team out like the Kraft family has done with the Pat’s? I hope this does not cause you any heartache! Best of luck in the playoffs! I hope to see you at the garden end of April/May timeframe!
Regards;
Chris
Ted, interesting topic–but I’m not sure that it is as applicable to sports as it is to other things. When’s the last time you heard someone (in the public arena, i.e. sportscasters, on the news) say anything truly disparaging (meant to dethrone coolness) about, say, Lebron James? How about the New England Patriots? Dallas Cowboys? New York Yankees? All of these teams, these symbols, when they reach that point of unanimous popularity (some perpetually remain there, like the Patriots over the last decade, and the Yankees ever since I’ve been alive) seem to get more attention from sportscasters, about less important things. I admit, I may not have covered all the bases in the sportscasting world, (I pretty much just watch sportscenter daily) so my view might be skewed—but rarely does an episode go by where someone doesn’t grovel to “King James” for an entire highlight. My point is, if you prove your success in the sports world, and establish yourself for a few seasons as a legendary and historical team, if you develop a culture of winning–there won’t be a “too cool for school” kind of backlash that you might get with twitter, or Pokemon cards, or whatever else—and you’ll maybe even get the exact opposite. When Ovie continues to prove, dominantly, definitively, year after year, that he’s the best and hardest player in the NHL, nobody’s going to all of a sudden turn around and say “nope, not cool anymore.” I mean, sure, it will happen, but not as a collective whole. I didn’t mind the Red Sox when they won their first Series, but man oh man did I get sick of them quick after that. Same with the Patriots. Same with the Steelers. But don’t forget, I’m a Washington Sports Fan through and through, and I probably should have hated those teams more in the first place! The way I see it—if the Caps can get and stay good enough that we start getting people to hate us? Well, then that’s a great thing! We’ll still have our fans, the number of which will continue to increase, and it will mean that we are a force to be reckoned with. Nobody’s going to hate a sports team that they’re not at least a little bit scared of. If people get scared of us, and start hating us, then we’re doing something right. The Caps will NEVER be so good or too cool that their own fans start turning on them. If we keep winning, especially! Thanks for the cool article and topic. Let’s Go Caps!
Isn’t this something that has always applied? I often think about the “New Coke” disaster and recovery with Classic Coke when cycles like this occur.
People already make fun of twit-ers.
I agree with you completely that in order to remain successful, you must stay true to your brand and always innovate. The Caps “stayed true” to their brand by not selling off their young talent for a veteran with only a few years left. I really believe if the caps can hang on to their Young Guns (Ovechkin, Semin, Green, Backstrom), this team will be successful for a very long time. These are 4 outstanding hockey players that GMGM can certainly build around.
Speaking of innovation, I couldn’t help but notice how the Caps are being portrayed as rock stars now. I think it’s a great idea and it seemed to have generated a lot of excitement for this up-and-coming team. I understand that the Caps are pushing the “rock the red” them, but any word if the NHL is going back to wearing white jerseys at home?
I think the Caps model should be one of hip and exciting and cool kid on the block for now, and hopefully that doesn’t fizzle out before a Cup is won.
Once that’s achieved, the focus could become maintaining a stable, timeless, tradition of winning, like the Canadiens or Red Wings. Or Yankees or Red Sox in baseball. The “authenticity” you mention. (Bringing back the Caps wordmark and original colors helps that along, I think.) Those teams, of course, have scores of fans and attention and yet remain very relevant to all generations. Shoot for the stars!