The Ways to New

Chapter 16Insight-Driven Disruption

Bill Bernbach was the most famous adman in the last century. He always said, “Nothing is more powerful than an insight to build on.”

Insights are tiny details stolen from people's lives, little intrusions into their ways of thinking and behavior; little remarks that may betray commonly held feelings. Such as this ad headline in the form of a question, “Have you reached that age when your boss is younger than you are?” If you have reached that age, this ad will draw your attention. You will stop and read it. Insights reinforce impact.

Insight is so fertile and so inspiring a concept that many definitions exist. James Hurman, a great planner from New Zealand, gives a few of his colleagues'.¹ To some, insight is a new point of view immediately recognizable. Many young athletes have been led to believe that what they wear—their jerseys, their caps, their sneakers—will make all the difference. As if that was all it took to make them win. Gatorade believes the opposite, that athletic performance is driven from the inside, hence the advertising claim: “Gatorade, Win from Within.” “In” counts for more than “on,” such is the insight.

Others regard insight as the underlying reason behind whatever is happening. Knowing that it costs infinitely more to win over new customers than to retain existing ones, Sainsbury's has spent years trying to get customers to spend more when they go shopping. Hence their famous and highly effective slogan: “Try Something ...