The document discusses understanding how fads are created and spread. It defines fads as short-lived phenomena that gain quick popularity but lack lasting value. Fads spread due to herd behavior and are likened to "mind viruses." Key factors in their creation and proliferation include influencers who connect ideas to many others, individuality within the group, and wide availability without substitutes. The researcher tested these theories by deliberately creating an online fad on Facebook that gained over 7,500 participants, validating their hypothesis.

1. UNDERSTANDING FADS AN EXPLORATION OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHY FADS ARE CREATED.

2. PRESENTATION STRUCTURE Introduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses How Fads Spread Researcher’s Hypothesis How to create a fad How to avoid early death Testing the hypothesis Primary Research Experimental Research Conclusion

3. Crocs, Tazos, Twitter, ZoZos, Facebook memes, Livestrong bands Fads are all around us What is the difference between a trend and a fad? Elvis’s pink Cadillac was touted to be a fad, but eventually turned out to be an iconic symbol Can you deliberately create a fad? Do ZooZoos actually inspire people to buy Vodafone Prepaid cards? Introduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

5. The popularity of the meme has resulted in 60 percent more Facebook profiles being created in the month of January 2009 when the meme hit, than in the previous month of December 2008 (www.complete.com)Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

7. Fads come quickly into public view, are adopted with great zeal, peak early & decline fast

8. Fads depend on promotion by early adopters and purchasers of fads display variety-seeking buying behaviorIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

10. Becomes very popular very fast

11. Provides no actual product/service value to the consumerIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

12. Herd Behavior Introduction Social psychologists advance several underlying reasons for conformity (or “herd behavior”), many of which are applicable to those who partake in fads One such force is normative influence, which is operative when people wish to avoid being “left out” (Abrahamson and Rosenkopf, 1997) Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

13. Herd Behavior Introduction As per the theory, people react to the “bandwagon” effects (Nohria and Berkley, 1994) simply because they desire to avoid being a laggard Another force for conformity, social pressure, differs from normative influence in that the motivation to consider fads is not the desire to be amongst the “in-group” but instead the desire to avoid sanctions associated with deviance. (Abrahamson, 1996) Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

15. “Consumption is affected by the behavior of those around you, and the brain is bombarded by ‘designer mind viruses’ (memes) trying to infect them” MarsdenUnderstanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

17. More likely to occur if there is no “immunity” to the particular meme trying to infect consumers

18. Fads are can be linked to viruses - they spread simply because they are infectious and not because there is any inherent goodness in them

19. The goal of marketing needs to be ‘one of infection not influence’Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

21. ‘The Few’ consists of 3 types of special people-

22. Connectors who know a lot of people

23. Mavens who have a great bank of knowledge

24. Salesman who can persuade any one

25. A brand needs to be able to determine who these three personalities are and how to reach out to themIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

27. You can be part of the herd and yet be individualisticIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

29. Products become fads only if they have a strong distribution channel- in order to flood all stores; and strong PR in order to ensure that people see celebrities or any other appropriate influencers using the productsIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

31. Both Crocs and the Livestrong bands started their demise after cheaper substitutes flooded the marketIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

32. Avoiding Death The life cycle of a fad can have 2 possible conclusions – It becomes popular too fast and fizzles out with equal rapidity. These are classic fads that follow the fad life cycle as already discussed Or a brand becomes wildly popular then continues at a steady pace. Brands like this are known as iconic The use of appropriate strategy can ensure that a fad gets extended into a trend or an icon Introduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

34. The fad will earn some amazing short-term sales, in the long term such market flooding will undermine a brand’s specialness and exclusivenessIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

36. Instead of patiently fanning the flames and reaping the benefits of long term success, these brands added fuel to the fire by trying to become instant hits

37. Overnight everybody was wearing them and then nobody wanted to be wearing themIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

39. Line extension dilutes the uniqueness of the product and destroys fad value

40. Crocs didn’t just flood the market with a variety of its classic Crocs in a rainbow of colors; it added many other styles- Flip-flops, sandals and an assortment of other types of Crocs

41. Livestrong- Bands of different colors for different causes caused the original message of the brand and what it stood for to be lost Introduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

43. That fuelled sales but also hurt the brand’s power with the distribution. Retailers no longer saw it special being able to stock Crocs

44. Livestrong’s ubiquitous availability dampened distributer enthusiasm in the product and the social message was lost in the consumerismIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

46. The brand cannot build a loyal customer phase, and hence boredom or substitutes can easily cause a decline in the product’s market

47. A brand that tries to appeal to everyone ends up appealing to nobody

48. Crocs, Livestrong - Loyalists saw these products on everyone and immediately moved to some other product since these brands didn’t make them stand out and look different anymoreIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

50. The findings from the primary interview corroborate the hypothesis formed by the researcherIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

52. Respondents were successfully able to name key influencers and celebrities who purchased the same products

53. Majority agreed that they would not take part in the fad in any way if too many of their peers were already participating in it

54. Respondents claimed that they would stop participating in the fad if people they considered ‘uncool’ started participating in itIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

56. The hypothesis was to be considered valid if a minimum number of 5000 respondents participated in itIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

57. The Fad A meme like activity was designed on Facebook where participants were supposed to upload silly photographs of themselves while they were sticking their tongue out Introduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

59. It provided no tangible value to the participant

60. It was entertaining

61. Scope for individuality within a heardA facebook group was created for this purpose and 18 photos of friends and family were tagged and uploaded Introduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

63. Post about the group were regularly posted on other popular groups to increase traffic to the siteIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

65. Reports of people uploading photos with their tongues sticking out started appearing more and more frequently in Facebook news streams within 10 hoursIntroduction Understanding a fad Mind Viruses Fads- Birth & infection Testing the hypothesis Conclusion

68. CONCLUSION The research objective was successfully met as the researcher gained a clear understanding of what fads are, how they are differentiated from trends, their creation and how they spread Additionally the researcher formulated a list of mistakes brands should not commit in order to avoid an early death The successful conclusion of the experiment proved that the hypothesis formed was accurate and applicable to the industry

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