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Sir Isaac Newton makes his second appearance in this series with his Law of
Gravitation. Perhaps one of the most widely known principles of science is
gravity. I say this knowing that while most people could probably not explain
gravity very well, just about everyone understands the idea. This was Newton’s
blockbuster idea. It explained ocean tides, comets, and even led to the
discovery of Neptune.
So what is Newton’s Law of Gravitation about? Well,
here goes…
Newton basically asserted that “every object in the universe
attracts every other object along a line of the centres of the objects,
proportional to each object’s mass and inversely proportional to the square of
the distances between the objects.” This theory served to explain much of the
earlier work of Kepler in one concise theory. While Newton’s Law of Gravitation
was later proven not to apply to all objects (black holes and situations with
extremely high gravity) by Einstein, his work is a foundational part of modern
scientific thought.
So in my feeble mind it seems that Mass and Distance are the keys here. Now
how to take these ideas and put them in the context of Marketing?
Because people are not always rational, I am not sure you can apply an
equation to human behavior with much precision, but I definitely think that
there are parallels to be drawn. Here is my first take. Think about customers.
Big brands get big attention. People know Coke. People buy Coke. Coke is
massive. Coke has pull.
So how do little brands stand a chance of getting some “pull” with customers.
The answer lies in proximity - the other part of Newton’s Theory. Small
companies must get close to the customer in order to stand any chance of
survival. They can actually use this to thrive and exert considerable influence
if properly executed. Would a proper analogy be the impact of the relatively
tiny moon on the Earth’s tides as opposed to the sun’s impact on them? (I ask
because I am not a scientist) The moon has huge pull on the Earth’s oceans, and
impacts the tides because of proximity. Certainly it has far less Mass than the
giant sun. Still it is close. So, continuing my example in the world of soda
pop, (using both terms to be user friendly) Jones Soda has done a great job of
being “the moon.” They decided to get close to consumers - actually putting
photographs of them on their packaging. This has allowed them to build a loyal
following of consumers who are engaged with their products. They conduct events
that are designed to be built around the consumer as well. They have done a
masterful job of utilizing this principle to create growth.
Here is the rub for most companies. How to maintain that proximity. Starbucks
is feeling this pain, Jones is probably going through it as well. As you gain
more mass, it is actually more difficult to remain close to the consumer. The
proximity or closeness to individual consumers tends to suffer as companies
experience growth. The distance increases, and they exert less pull. In summary
the moon becomes more like the sun, just not nearly as big. Thus the advantage
it enjoyed thanks to proximity is destroyed. Jones becomes more like Coke, but
without the Mass to sustain the gravity.
Wonder why your favorite brand “sold out?” Well because they were faced with
this dilemma. How to stay close and simultaneously get big. How to maintain or
increase pull? “Selling out” is just a natural part of that. People inevitable
pick Coke, because it carries a lot of weight. It has mass - and thus gravity.
It pulls people back. To sustain that mass Coke invests in Mass media, mass
distribution, mass exposure. It must sell a lot of soda pop to sustain that mass
and gravity. This is why small companies don’t need superbowl ads to thrive.
They need super customer service.
Marketing in my mind is all about the customer. You can have gravity through
mass or proximity. You might be able to get both, but often you have to choose.
There is no “right choice” but recognize that with that choice comes the
implications of gravity. Growth for growth sake - more mass - might not always
be the answer.
Alright, so that is my take on Marketing and Newton’s Law of Gravitation.
What do you think? How does Newton apply to the modern world of Marketing?
Please enlighten the world with your thoughts.
In a 
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