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Preferences for Pepsi and Spaghetti Sauce

By way of Sam Ruby’s Intertwingly blog through Joe Gregorio’s Bitworking, I ran across this talk given at TED2004 by Malcom Gladwell.

There is no perfect Pepsi, there are only perfect Pepsis.

The talk is an interesting historic look at preferences of populations and, perhaps more importantly, how the thinking about preferences has changed over time. The basic ideas seem to be applicable to most industries. Preferences are slippery concepts, however, getting it right for Prego was a $600 million dollar windfall. It seems that getting it right is important also.

{ 3 } Comments

  1. Eclectchick | November 29, 2006 at 3:41 pm | Permalink

    Unbelieveable. I read this post, and found myself immediately thinking about Malcolm Gladwell. I loved his “Blink,” and am now reading “The Tipping Point.”

    So, I follow your link and who is this an interview with . . . none other than Malcolm Gladwell.

    Sweet. Thank you.

  2. Eclectchick | November 29, 2006 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    Ha - I went back and reread your post more slowly this time and see Malcolm Gladwell’s name in it. I’m a total dork, but I swear I didn’t see it the first time. Maybe subconsciously I did, but . . .

  3. scott.sutherland | November 29, 2006 at 4:19 pm | Permalink

    I’m glad that you enjoyed it, EC. Gladwell’s presentation and style were very enjoyable, and the topic seems to be relevant to my industry. I haven’t read any of his books, but I may have to get my hands on one to see how I like his writing.

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