We love TED Talks for eye-opening inspiration from thought leaders around the world. Here are our 5 favorite TED Talks that inspire us to push our marketing to new heights. We hope you will enjoy them as much as we do!
1. HOW TO GET YOUR IDEAS TO SPREAD
Marketing guru Seth Godin explains in this passionate talk why marketing that works is less about the actual product and more about whether you can get your ideas to spread or not. Using a multitude of brands as examples for how to do it right, he shows us that creating a story that’s remarkable (read: not boring) is the new safest bet for your marketing success:
2. THE GREATEST TED TALK EVER SOLD
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, gives a funny and insightful talk on sponsored content and brand-marketing, as he shares his attempt to make a completely sponsored film … about sponsorship. Morgan shows us how understanding your marketing brand is a universal problem that even multi-million dollar corporations struggle with. This talk will definitely help you start thinking about getting clarity about your own brand. Let’s just say if you don’t have a clear response to the question, “What are the words you use to describe your company?” then you probably need to work on your branding.
3. CHOICE, HAPPINESS AND SPAGHETTI SAUCE
In this fascinating talk, Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and The Tipping Point, uses famous brands like Prego and Ragu to show us the nature of choice and happiness. Bottom line: There is no one way to treat all consumers. You’ll see your marketing, and your spaghetti sauce, with completely new eyes after watching this.
4. HOW TO MAKE A SPLASH WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, shows us how Reddit’s users helped GreenPeace transform Mister Splashy Pants, a humpback whale, into a famous meme. It’s a perfect example of how the best approach for consumer engagement is 1) to be genuine with your marketing campaigns and 2) to let go of control a little and see the power of what happens when you encourage your audience to take some ownership.
5. THE POWER OF VULNERABILITY
Because some of our best marketing ideas come from moments when we aren’t thinking about marketing, we want to include this very inspiring and powerful talk from researcher and author Brené Brown, who discusses the insights from her research on connection. Our favorite quote from the talk: “Maybe stories are just data with a soul.”
What are your favorite TED Talks? Let us know in the comments!