I’ve been in a number of meetings lately where I’ve referred to doubling the size of the market. Real marketer’s ears always perk up when you talk about big rather than incremental growth. Here’s an example of how one might double a market. 

One fine summer day a few years ago, Mike Piazza, the much publicized catcher for the New York Mets, emerged from the dugout and walked into the on-deck circle with blond hair. Theretofore, Mike had been a brown haired man. That one moment in time gave every man in America permission to color his hair. Mike did it, not to cover up gray, but to have some fun. A fun, televised, sunny summer day. It was not planned (that I could tell) yet it was a huge and potentially market-changing moment. 

If Mike Piazza can have fun changing it up, why shouldn’t the rest of us? Had a smart hair color marketer taken this serendipitous moment and run with it, the hair color market might have doubled. Most of the time marketers try to plan change — sometimes they have to sea change…and pounce. Peace!