This was originally posted 5 years ago. Opinions, facts and reality may have changed.
Thinking “outside the box” – to think unconventionally or from a new perspective – is an oft-used marketing cliche. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s inaccurate.
If anything, maybe it doesn’t go far enough.
The metaphor was first coined by academic John Adair in 1969 as an explanation for the method of completing the “connect nine dots with four straight lines” puzzle to ascertain how people think around a problem. Until the participants realise there is no actual box – so their lines can go outside the pattern of nine dots – they can’t successfully complete it.
But how about if there are no dots? No box. And no lines.
A blank sheet of paper. Just an idea. Without limitations.
Often product design involves a solution to a perceived customer problem. But what if customers don’t even realise they have a need to be fulfilled? The new product creates the market.
That takes bravery. And insight. And it’s happened time and again successfully.
For example, the original Walkman wasn’t created to meet a pent-up demand, it was just because a guy at Sony wanted to listen to music on the move. The compact cassette existed, handheld recording machines existed but – until then – nobody had thought to combine the two to create a consumer music device.
Sony thought they’d sell maybe 5,000 a month in 1979 when it was launched. Within 10 years they sold 100m (and estimates are for in excess of 400m overall).
Yes the Walkman changed, iterated and added new features – FM radios, toughened sporty varieties and professional versions with recording facilities – but, fundamentally the product that was discontinued in 2010 was the same one launched 30 years earlier.
And sometimes that’s what’s needed for successful products – and effective marketing. Don’t just think “outside the box”. Create something new and original. Take a risk. Go with your gut. Create a market niche that is yours to exploit.