Unleashing the Ideavirus

Unleashing the Ideavirus
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 www.ideavirus.com
If You’re A Member Of The Academy, You Go To Movies For Free
If there’s an association of powerful sneezers, it’s the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences. This association of actors, screenwriters and directors has celebrated movies every
year for nearly a century, and every year it seems to get more popular and more influential.
If your movie wins an Oscar, you can count on a blip at the box office, and even better, a
long, profitable life on video. And of course, any actor who wins one has a label that will
enhance his career forever.
So, how much do the studios charge Academy members to go to a movie? That’s right,
nothing. Not only that, but the studios are delighted to deliver the latest movies to an
Academy member’s home, on her choice of VHS or DVD.
Why? Why give the movie away? Well, here it should be pretty obvious. The leverage that
comes from building buzz among Academy members more than pays for the cost of sharing
the movie with them. In fact, the benefits are so obvious that studios like Miramax have been
accused of trying to buy the Oscars by throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars of trade
advertising at Academy members.
Well, if this is so obvious, why bring it up? Because your idea, regardless of marketplace, has
a similar group. Maybe it’s not as easy to find or as easy to reach, but there are powerful
sneezers in the audience for almost every idea. It’s the money paradox, but on a much smaller
scale. Finding these sneezers and giving them a sample of your idea for free is a no-brainer.
Even better, figure out what it costs to deliver it with impact.
I met with a marketing executive from Hong Kong last week. He’s building a company that
is targeting the health care and financial services industries. He’s got a big idea, and if he can
persuade some of the key sneezers in the industry, then most of the other companies are sure
to follow.

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