Marketing is a very interesting, vivid, fast-moving, promising, and ever-changing industry, which means that each specialist needs to be constantly at the forefront of research and discovery. A great way to learn new things is to listen to TED talks. There are plenty of them on the Internet, and they are short, so you can be sure to finish your breakfast before work while learning something new. TED Talks are non-profit conferences where leading thinkers discuss big ideas, their experiences, and innovations in their fields. It’s extremely inspiring and educational.
Originally conceived as a technology, entertainment, and design forum, the project has since expanded to include topics related to the human experience. It encourages discussion, dialogue, and thoughtful reflection on almost any topic. The lectures are praised for their ability to convey complex concepts in a way that is easily understood by everyday audiences. TED talks are great examples of how engaging narratives can be incorporated into abstract concepts.
1. Malcolm Gladwell: Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce
Malcolm Gladwell is a very relevant and exceptional speaker. His works are inspiring and thought-provoking pieces that are just a must-watch. Malcolm Gladwell’s 2006 talk was a turning point for TED talks and national marketing discourse. Although Gladwell is an outsider in the marketing world, he can combine his otherworldly ability to translate technical strategies into compelling stories. And that’s a huge advantage for each marketing specialist.
Here, he tells the story of a man named Howard Moskovitz, who literally changed the marketing game in the food industry forever. He was a revolutionary who just thought outside the box and changed everything in the process. Gladwell encourages you to focus your marketing on the movement from finding universals to understanding variability. This means that we not only want to know how cancer works, but we also want to know how each cancer is unique. Howard suggested that the same revolution must happen in marketing.
And during the TED talk, Malcolm used lively words and symbols and remembered marvelous stories that helped to imagine every little bit of the main topic. So, basically, this talk teaches us all to think out of the box more and don’t be scared of it. That’s the main rule of successful marketing. This is the way to be interesting to your customers and get to new heights.
2. Seth Godin: The Tribes We Lead
Seth Godin is another great speaker on marketing strategy and its impact. He argues that as human beings, we aspire to make big, lasting, important changes. We strive to be different from others in our field, to stand out and make a difference. Godin focuses on human accounts of how ideas are generated and spread. Tribes have existed since the beginning of the world, and Godin uses this as an example to illustrate how tribes, as a social and cultural grouping mechanism, have become the representatives of ideological groups in the 21st century.
Godin believes that the best way to change everything is to get involved. Create a movement, something important, and do it. Godin focuses on the fun and engaging ways people can challenge the status quo, build brands, and tell great stories in the process. This is a very inspiring talk about taking action and running with your ideas. Many people think about ideas and create them but never fulfill them.
3. Rachel David: How Influencers Have Transformed Modern Marketing
When we talk about marketing today, we cannot avoid mentioning influencers! One of the best TED talks on this topic is from Rachel David, entrepreneur, and CEO of Hashtag Communications.
In her talk, she explained how influencers are changing the industry by being the reference data for thousands of consumers who want to buy products recommended by influencers. The game changed as they moved into marketing.
Working with influencers has been on the marketing plans for a long time, but for now, as many digital platforms appear, each of them seems to have its own influencer.
4. Derek Thompson: The Four-Letter Code To Selling Just About Anything
Why do we like what we like? In his TED talk, Derek Thompson talks about Raymond Lowey, the father of MAYA: a State-of-the-art yet acceptable theory of industrial design. Man moves between two opposing forces: the desire for the new and the fear of the unknown. Find the middle ground between novelty and familiarity, which is the key to a successful product or service.
5. Franz Schrepf: There is No Luck. Only Good Marketing
We can apply marketing to our daily lives, and its many principles can help us find the path that works for us. In his TED talk, University of Amsterdam student Franz Schrepf moderated an interesting discussion, explaining that to be successful, it is necessary to forget about happiness and start changing the way we present ourselves and use ourselves to achieve our goals. And stay happy and positive.
6. Josh Luber: Why Sneakers Are A Great Investment
Well, you might be thinking: what does investing in sneakers have to do with marketing? But as you’ll see in this 12-minute TED talk by Josh Luber, you can learn a lot about marketing from Nike, one of the most successful brands of all time.
The main message from marketers is that exclusivity creates demand for your product and brand. When Nike partnered with Air Jordans, it created an organic affiliate marketing network and changed consumer culture.
7. Amy Lockwood: Selling Condoms In The Congo
In 4 minutes, revolutionary marketer Amy Lockwood shows us how misinformation can ruin your campaigns. What’s the take-home message in this short but powerful TED talk?
Learn what drives your customers to buy your product. If you don’t understand who your target audience is and what their mindset is, your marketing efforts will fail. Lockwood uses her experience in Congo to subtly underscore these points.
8. Ethan Decker: We’re All in Marketing: What Evolution Tells Us About Advertising
Ethan Decker calls marketing advertising. He started by saying that he initially saw advertising as a “dirty profession” known for selling snake oil and a consumer culture full of lies. However, he then landed a job in advertising and embarked on a journey of his own, starting with human evolution and ecology to marketing. Decker shares how this journey taught him we all advertise in a certain way, which is a good thing.
Everyone spends plenty of time thinking about how to market the words we pull out, ignoring a more important question in the process: How do people work? Decker compared our human ads to organic ads. If it sounds interesting — go and listen to the talk as it provides a plausible connection.
9. Jerry Kane: Social Media…You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet
Jerry Kane presents evidence of how social media is taking over our lives. It’s hard to believe that social media will have a greater impact on society than it already has, but that’s exactly what Kane has in mind. In his talk, Kane examines the evolution and power of social media while giving us a glimpse into the future.
Kane is a social media expert who has studied social media for about eight years, an associate professor of information systems at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, and a visiting editor for social business at MIT’s Sloan Management Review. He explained that there really is no such thing as social media. With so many new social media platforms launching every day, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what social media is. Social media is the Internet, he explained. The Internet has always been about it, it’s just the result of technological development. It was a very interesting talk and certainly helped me to understand the social aspects of marketing.
10. Sarah Willersdorf: What brands can learn from online dating
Sarah Willersdorf’s presentation on online dating apps also touched on the concept of consumer choice. Millennial consumers are overwhelmed by choice because they have more access to information than ever before, she said. It’s good for consumers, but it makes life harder for us marketers.
Just like people on dating apps, brands are constantly competing to create real, meaningful connections with their audiences. You only have a few seconds to convince your audience that you are a great fit for their needs before they swipe left or right. So how do you make those seconds count? If you can’t communicate your ideas clearly, openly, and concisely, no one will swipe right, no matter how great your idea is.
Conclusion
If you like these TED Talks, there are thousands of others that you might like. If you don’t like them… there is plenty of other content that you might find interesting and helpful. These seem the most interesting and inspiring.
