Down is up and up is down.

I was reading one of Seth Godin's recent posts and it got me on a train of thought.  The article itself is about a noticeable shift in the classical marketing bell-curve of early adopters to laggards etc.  Godin argues that as a result of thirty years of marketing, consumers have been turned into geeks; into people eager to engage in ways that were seen as too risky just a generation ago, and this resulting in a skewing of the adoption curve.

The Traditional Marketing Bell-Curve

A Modern Day Shift?

I couldn't help but think of other longstanding classical marketing models that have also been turned upside down in recent years.  We have the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) model which Naked Communications have openly challenged, flipping it on its head and no longer specifically targeting awareness, but starting with action (theorising that the rest will follow suit).

The Original AIDA Model

The Flipped AIDA (or ADIA...) Model

We have the fundamental shift in consumer power from authoritarian brands to brands directed by social media and populous opinion (thanks for that revolution Sam...).  It has even been argued that Maslow's Hierarchy of needs may be more relevant in the modern (Western) world if it too was inverted; similar to Naked Communications targeting action, should we also be spending our time uncovering the complexity of self-actualization and focusing on appealing to this above all else?

Inverted Maslow Hierarchy

This isnt one of those "the only rule is to break the rules" spiels. It is interesting though to note how significantly traditional models can (or must) be altered to be relevant in today's market.  Which model might be next to go?  And, how can we best succeed by overlaying modern trends on the structure of old school models - assessing fit and changing accordingly?