Friday Forward - Bottled Lightning (#470)
It’s important to recognize that some achievements are extraordinary, or extraordinarily lucky, and cannot be replicated
A few weeks ago, I was talking to someone who had experienced a past success where everything aligned perfectly, and they achieved a great outcome. The person was openly questioning whether they could replicate that accomplishment today, and if their same tactics would still apply.
Every so often in our lives, things just fall perfectly into place. We try the right thing, at the exact right time—a business launch that perfectly catches the moment, or a book that hits the marketplace just as an audience is primed to receive it. These moments are like catching lightning in a bottle, especially if their success is due to a healthy dose of luck or timing, which cannot be counted on in subsequent efforts.
One of the best examples of this lightning-in-a-bottle concept was the launch of Dollar Shave Club, an ecommerce razor company that helped ignite the direct-to-consumer explosion of the 2010s. In 2012, the company announced itself with a now-legendary viral video written by and starring one of its founders, Michael Dubin. The ad was funny, irreverent, and perfectly timed for an audience that was experienced at online shopping and ready to embrace direct-to-consumer brands, which were still novel at the time. Notably, it also cost almost nothing to produce.
The ad generated over 25 million views, shattering records in the moment and helping Dollar Shave Club gain over 12,000 subscribers in just 48 hours. Dollar Shave Club subsequently grew into a major player in the razor market, ultimately being acquired by Unilever at a $1 billion valuation.
The ad’s success sparked an industry-wide scramble to replicate its formula. Countless other consumer startups tried to manufacture their own version of a “viral launch.” Most notably, even Dollar Shave Club attempted multiple sequel ads using similar humor, production techniques, and messaging—but none of them took off in the same way.
Perhaps one issue is that marketers may have learned the wrong lessons from the ad’s success. The many companies that tried to emulate Dollar Shave Club’s viral video launch tried to duplicate the ad to a granular degree, using the same tactics. In doing so, they likely missed that the company’s success may have stemmed from the fact that they were addressing a customer pain: having to go to the store to buy overpriced blades. The ad grabbed people’s attention, but its success would not have led to so many conversions if Dollar Shave Club wasn’t meeting a strong consumer need.
The original Dollar Shave Club ad, it appeared, was a perfect storm of creativity, cultural resonance, and, crucially, hitting a clear market need with a convenient, low-priced solution. The ad couldn’t be bottled and reused, no matter how many marketing leaders tried, in part because marketers couldn’t simply recreate the market conditions that contributed to the ad’s success.
This phenomenon can be found across industries and throughout history. A musician releases a breakout hit that takes on a life of its own, but none of their follow-up songs ever reach the same heights. A startup stumbles into a trend at exactly the right moment, capturing attention and momentum in a way no future product or campaign can match. A book or a movie becomes a runaway success, yet sequels rarely replicate the magic of the originals. Top Gun Maverick may have actually improved upon its runaway hit predecessor, but they had over 20 years to get it right—and to build nostalgic desire for a sequel.
This is not to say that people should never attempt to replicate a highly successful event. But it’s important to recognize that some achievements are extraordinary, or extraordinarily lucky, and they are unlikely to be repeated for a variety of reasons. Instead of trying to bottle lightning a second time, the better strategy is often to understand the story behind the success, build on it in new ways, and try to assess what underlying variables require a change in strategy or tactics due to a changing environment.
Some leaders try to completely copy things that have worked for other leaders in the past; others simply rerun their successful playbooks and hope for identical results. But the real magic lies in understanding when we’ve captured something rare at a moment in time—and simply appreciating that lightning-in-a-bottle moment for what it is.
What past success might you being trying to replicate with the same playbook that aren’t likely to be duplicated?
Quote of The Week
"You never know what will happen. You might catch lightning in a bottle.” - Mark Twain
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Yes, one of the most common mistakes I see people make, especially new entrepreneurs or small business owners is to think they can duplicate what someone has gotten lucky with by having those perfect storms with timing lined up with everything else they created.
It is smarter to learn who you are and what your strengths are, so you know what you can and cannot develop successfully for your business.