I am now getting into the meaty part of my New Power book. The chapter 'From Sound Bites to Meme Drops: How Ideas Spread' is about how to make your idea spread, giving practical tips and examples.
Sound bites and slogans are described as the Old Power method of spreading an idea or message. There is even an acronym:
Simple - simplicity is the key
Unexpected - surprises you and makes you want to know more
Concrete - creates a clear mental picture for people
Credible - uses statistics, expert endorsements, etc.
Emotional - appeals to deep human instincts
Stories - takes you on a journey that helps you see how an existing problem might change
The New Power equivalent is the 'meme drop'. It adds ACE:
Actionable - The idea is designed to make you do something
Connected - The idea promotes a peer connection with people you care about or share values with
Extensible - The idea can be easily customised, remixed and reshaped by the participant.
One such example was the Ice Bucket Challenge, where you were encouraged to take up a challenge whereby you film yourself tipping a bucket of ice water over your head or donate to a charity as a forfeit. Then you forward to three of your friends. The action was videoing yourself tipping a bucket of water over your head, the connection was forwarding to three of your friends and and the idea was easily extensible. It in fact originated as the 'cold water challenge' and later iterations involved playing music and celebrities. The Ice Bucket Challenge was wildly popular, with over 17 million videos posted on Facebook alone and viewed more than 10 billion times by 440 million users. And one of the main charities involved, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association, raised $115 million over the summer of 2014, over four times its annual budget.
The meme drop therefore is an approach that cannot be overlooked when it comes to spreading an idea. Good luck with inventing yours!