Choice is good right? Malcom Gladwell does a great talk on how Howard Moskowitz revolutionized marketing by understanding the dynamics of choice. His example here is spaghetti sauce. Traditional marketing strategy had been to get together focus groups and ask them what they liked in a good sauce. Then groups were asked what characteristics they liked in a sauce – should it be chunky? Zesty? Authentic Italian? The results would be tallied and a sauce that matched the most popular characteristics would be produced.<\/p>\n
But this is wrong. The mushy middle is nobody’s favorite, it’s merely the version that the most people will tolerate. Furthermore, the characteristics don’t really match consumers’ true preferences. You’re asking for opinions which are not based on individual research. People often don’t know what they want until you tell them and they’re happier when you do. We know this in the arts. Inspire with something great and unexpected and people will cheer. Arts organizations that follow the crowd rather than lead are not only less interesting, but they get hooked into a feedback loop that leads to artistic rot. <\/p>\n
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