Discovering Atkisson's Amoeba metaphor while taking a
course on Sustainable Implementation, I realized that product innovation is a
giant social experiment won out by the amoeba “arm” that is most relentless and
convincing. It is most interesting for me to analyze why the new innovation
ought to be (the intention behind it is important too, especially as a
sustainability advocate: "is the innovation environmentally or socially
innovative?") and then I ask myself, "What is the strategy for social
acceptance of this innovation? In order for a new innovative product or service
to be adopted one must understand the organizational structure and various
motives behind the conflicting desirous "arms" involved. If the
innovative concept is viable, it seems that whomever has the most effective “pull”
whether it be persuasion skills, money, political power, or ability to organize
and achieve strength in numbers wins out.
An example that immediately
leapt to my mind was when in 2011 a few partners and I started an early
ecigarette company to help spread the idea of harm reduction related to tobacco
use. Vaping i s way cleaner because it eliminates tar and the thousands of
carcinogens that a cigarette contains when burned, and that gunk is what causes
cancer. Contrary to popular belief, inhaling nicotine, water, vegetable
glycerine and natural flavoring is pretty benign compared to smoking. At the
time, vaping and ecigarettes were virtually unheard of in the US and it became
our mission to develop and market vaping devices and “nicotine e-liquid.”
As part of the company mission
at Henley Premium Vapor we advocated for the public's transition from smoking
to vaping. Many sides of societies amoeba/organizational structure spoke up and
didn’t want this product to exist. To facilitate acceptance, we attempted
to change mental models by using research on nicotine and harm reduction
discussions to convince the public that this was a way cleaner method
of nicotine delivery. As we began to mobilize "change agents" to
spread the idea (athletes, celebs, bloggers etc) we also needed to get
"transformers" (cultural gate keepers) on board (large media
publications - Fast Co, Ny Times, Cool Hunting, Vice, NY Mag etc). We met with
dozens and dozens of reporters who became believers and wrote stories. We did
this by creating a culture of vaping at a public “lab” space we opened in SoHo
with hundreds of different flavors and nicotine strengths, showing reporters
studies, demo’ing the product with reporters and bringing them examples of
success – a 30 year smoker who had finally successfully quit by switching to
ecigarettes etc. These reporters published these real life stories humanizing
ecigarettes as a harm reduction tool. Working with "transformers"
helped us reach American "mainstreamers" who aid in the tipping
point. Once they are familiar with an idea enough, it is normalized and they
take part. There were mainstream “laggards” who liked the old way of smoking
even though it would eventually kill them, and they resisted change. There are
always laggards.
Harm reduction activists like
the DPA (Drug Policy Alliance) and others helped us by advocating to change
public policy and help rally scientists/universities/expert
The
tobacco industry was trying to protect their own self interest because
they feared the surge in consumer usage of “vaping” would impact their
cigarette sales revenue. Many "mainstreamers," unwilling to do
more research and scratch beneath the surface, believed what they read and
stayed away from vaping as a result. This was very disappointing. Especially
because, corporations from Big Tobacco were secretly courting us. Their
executives would show up at our NY flagship store, watch what we were selling and
engage the staff and myself in conversation. They wanted consumer data and
information to build an effective product and brand in the space. Eventually, a
few small ecigarette companies sold out to them and the cigarette industry
later reversed its general opinion on ecigarettes by forming their own
ecigarette divisions. Their strategy all along was to discredit the
"innovators" and then swoop in with their own products marketed as
higher quality than ours (their products are made in China, our eliquid was made
in the US in lab with strict quality standards). Their paid for media
scare tactics and acquisitions to enlarge the market share had destroyed sales
and future innovation of new products by the original innovators/entrepreneurs.
We couldn’t compete with Big Tobacco’s marketing dollars and stories. Today
they own the ecigarette industry and you can find their ecigarette products at
every major convenience store chain across America.
