Parade of the Fads

In harsh economic times, it’s tempting to hop on the bandwagon and try cashing in on the fad of the month. It’s rarely a paying bet. By the time you’re firmly seated, the wagon has gone way past the bank.

Case in point: The regrettable 2005 decision of TV Station KTLA to trade in venerable Rose Parade host Stephanie Edwards for a younger model. That year we Angelinos all watched our beloved Stephanie get soaked in the rain while her less capable replacement bumbled her way through the broadcast in a warm, dry booth.

The gambit: new is better than old.

Taken another way, it’s a marketer’s lack of respect for her/his customers. It’s telling your customers: “you’re not smart enough to know better.”

That’s a strategy that can backfire, and frequently does. Did you know anyone who wasn’t at least a bit tweaked by the Rose Parade fiasco? It made parade fans of all ages mad as hell, myself included.

If there’s a lesson, maybe it’s this: any long-lived business model involves respecting your clients and their ability to decipher your value equation. It’s about appealing to your customers highest values, and steering way clear of the lowest common denominator.

Remember the reign of Krispy Kreme? Is Heidi’s Yogurt still around anywhere? What’s the shelf life of a TV reality show? Fads lack substance; their perceived value is low. They devalue the market.

Innovation sounds new, though the insightful, virtuosic thinking behind innovative ideas has been around for ages. So have truly great journalists, like Stephanie. It’s just that you don’t find them on every corner.