How to survive a game changing application!

There is the old expression, "be careful what you wish for." This is very true. I don't know if it has an ending but if it does the ideal ending in my opinion would be, "be careful what you wish for, it may come true." One thing that every marketing and communications professional wishes for is to be there at the beginning of a potentially market changing application. We would all like to think this is very exciting and filled with moments of breathtaking, heart pounding thrills.

Well one analogy I could draw is what it must be like to be the pitcher of a no-hitter. While everyone remembers the no-hitter and we all see the players dancing around once it is over, imagine the last few minutes before the final out. That is what it is always like being with a company trying to launch a product that can change the marketplace. With one step you could reach immortality and hey, based on what players make, maybe you can make a lot of money off it as well. But there is also the potential for having a miscue mean that you're going to miss out on the opportunity and soon be relegated to the trash heap of soon to be forgotten history.

Marketing and communicating the benefits of a game changing application are simply put, brutal. For one thing, every company thinks they have a game changing application. I remember seeing an electric fly swatter being sold as a "revolutionary pest control device." Let's be honest, restraint is not really a facet one tends to see in most marketing and communications people. Nor is a judicious temperament.

But often when you have a product that is set to radically alter the landscape that is exactly what is needed. For one thing, no brand new, market altering product can be successful without properly educating the media and analysts' who follow the market. Basically, they are both the gatekeepers as well the individuals with the knowledge and insight to see if something really has the potential to change the marketplace or is once again, more hot air.

So the best way to survive a game changing application is by realizing that if you truly have a unique story to tell then you are in the drivers seat and can choose, when, where and how you wish to tell it. But remember that there is truly, very little out there that hasn't already been done or said or told 50 times 50 before. Restraint will help you, but passion will fuel you.