Masterminding a craze

Despite “conventional wisdom,” crazes generally don't unfold spontaneously.

Typically, very clever individuals blend together a lot of crucial elements. And even when a full-fledged craze doesn't materialize, these same elements can multiply sales, and still yield a hit product with impressive revenues.

Superficially, each craze seems entirely unique. But like much in this world, common patterns become apparent only after careful observation. For instance, crazes can be grouped into these general types:

• Collectibles, like Beanie Babies, Pokémon, Furby, Yu-Gi-Oh, Tamagotchi, and Digimon
• Personalities, like Barbie, Miss Piggy, and Tickle Me Elmo
• Motor Skills, like Hula Hoop, Yo-Yo, Frisbee, and snowboards
• Puzzles, like Rubik's Cube, crosswords and Sudoku
• Crafts, like tie-dye, and beading

Each craze also depends on key players who serve vital roles in creating, building and sustaining momentum. Players include inventors, designers, gurus, communities, storytellers and marketers.

Inventors typically think way “outside the box” and produce ideas that would never occur to most of us. Some modern inventors have gained fame, such as Hungarian sculptor and professor Erno Rubik, creator of the renowned cube, while others remain anonymous, even as their innovations continue thriving: the yo-yo, the frisbee and the hula hoop all had ancient origins.

An invention must be workable and affordable to attain viability in the real world. This requires thinking right inside the box to maximize the invention's intrinsic appeal and actually captivate consumers—challenges that designers eagerly tackle. By thinking analytically and refreshing their lines periodically, designers can sometimes keep a successful craze alive for what seems like an indefinite period.

Forbes magazine recently cited a former Mattel insider who estimated the Barbie franchise shrunk by 27 percent between 2001 and 2004. This year Mattel designers revitalized Barbie by leveraging endorsements from two youthful idols. Girls can now purchase Lindsay Lohan Barbies, and a new accessory line, Fashion Fever, promoted by Hilary Duff.

When inventors and designers succeed, a product attains some degree of visibility, yet a bona fide craze emerges as “gurus” gain increasing recognition. In May 1980, Ideal Toys started marketing Rubik's Cube. Within months, Patrick Bossert, a 12-year-old boy from Britain, published a solution book that sold more than 1.5 million copies, becoming a number-one bestseller during 1981 on both The Times of London and The New York Times lists. By 1982 Ideal had sold more than 100 million cubes. Gurus definitely energize crazes!

In most cases, though, gurus don't gain fame on their own, as in the Bossert case. Instead, they more commonly emerge within a community of dedicated participants who organize themselves in various ways.

Enthusiasts, for instance, created a variety of games based on the Frisbee and similar flying disc products. Distinct communities emerged from these games, and each has formed its own professional organization that sets rules and sponsors training programs, tournaments, and social gatherings.

These flying disc communities produce legendary gurus like world record holder Christian Sandstrom who throws a disc nearly three football fields. Such performances exceed the capabilities of mere mortals, yet this fuels enthusiasm for the craze.

Gurus and communities can attract “storytellers,” such as professional journalists and amateur bloggers who post news and comments on personalized Web sites. By documenting the craze, storytellers further motivate existing enthusiasts and inevitably attract and intrigue new participants. Pet Rocks and Tickle Me Elmo wouldn't have amounted to much of anything without all the media coverage.

Inventors, designers, gurus, communities and storytellers all enable crazes. However, if these key contributors merely appeared through happenstance, most budding crazes wouldn't gain much momentum. Typically, behind nearly every successful craze, some exceptionally talented marketers mastermind the strategic game plan and orchestrate the participation of key contributors.

In January 1957 Wham-O, Emeryville, Calif., began production of an innovation that didn't fly all that well commercially. A marketer, Rich Knerr, believed a “catchier name” and new product positioning could dramatically boost sales. Soon enough, the company re-launched the Pluto Platter as the Frisbee, a whole new athletic sport. To find initial gurus the company sponsored local events, like the 1958 Invitational Frisbee Tournament in Escanaba, Mich.

Then, to build a community, the company introduced the professional Frisbee, and supported a new organization, the International Frisbee Association. And, naturally, the ensuing popularity of the growing community helped Wham-O attract storytellers from across the nation and beyond. In short, the Frisbee was a smashing craze entirely orchestrated by talented marketers who fully leveraged the contributions of inventors, designers, gurus, communities and storytellers. Perhaps nobody can predict the next craze with complete confidence, yet the masterminds behind it will undoubtedly know before anyone else.