Friday, March 27, 2009
Demetri: On Staying Relevant
New York based comedian Demetri Martin has a new show called “Important Things With Demetri Martin.” It airs on Comedy Central at 10:30 pm. (I’ve included Demetri’s flyer here to the right.)
In each half-hour episode, Demetri explores a single topic… Brains, Power, Timing, Coolness. He fills the time with clever stand up bits, sketch comedy, and word play.
In his recent “Timing” episode about… well… timing… one of the visual bits featured the series of images below.
While these images are very clever, they also speak the truth.
How do you avoid this situation?
You need to Reinvent to Stay Relevant. The secret is to be ahead of the curve. You need to be one step ahead of what 59-Minute Photo is thinking.
I don’t mean open a 58-Minute Photo, either.
Go Higher-Tech – If you were in the photo developing business, and you know things have all gone digital, perhaps you should consider the Print-From-Digital-Card business? Customers could come in and – using ANY format digital photo card – have any sized prints output.
Sell The End Product – Perhaps you sell the frames and picture arrangement service and the customer gets their photo output for free? I know I could use some help getting photos off of my hard drive and onto the walls above my sofa. On the wall is where the images can be appreciated.
Go “Old School” – Perhaps provide dark room services for those who prefer the quality of film. There is a shortage of traditional chemical film developing locations.
Long story short you have to think a few steps ahead.
Images © Demetri Martin
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One reaction so far
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(1)karin koonings @ The Essential Orange • Saturday, March 28 2009 at 9:13 pm
Hey Paul – I’m a big believer in reinvent to stay relevant. Strong brands understand all facets of the role they play in consumers’ lives and constantly innovate in those areas. Starbucks, for example, is arguably in the “human connection business”. In this definition, innovation isn’t about introducing a new Frappuccino but about figuring out better ways to becoming a conduit to facilitating conversations and connections. Today’s “Third Place” is as much a digital space as it is a physical one. (Did Starbucks, therefore, miss an opportunity to stay relevant by becoming a multi-dimensional community gathering place?)
The photo-lab example plays close to home because my Dad had a commercial custom photo lab business. Both he and my brother saw the total game changing impact that digital would have on their world, but decided not to play. The investment in equipment required for a company to go digital in those early days was staggering.
It takes incredible vision and courage to declare your business on a track heading for obsolescence. I personally believe that companies stay relevant by understanding the intrinsic role their brands play in helping people realize deeply held values (help me share memories with those I care about, help me nurture my family, help me realize my best athletic self, help me keep my family safe, help me be a better global citizen, etc) will be the ones to survive this century.
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