• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, May 23, 2007

Back in the late '90s, Apple launched an elegant campaign which asked the audience to "Think Different." This omnipresent campaign was beautiful in its simplicity and represents one of my favorite ad campaigns of all time purely for the message that it sent -- that ingenuity and creativity are what is rewarded in life.

Concurrently, in the late '90s we witnessed the rapid expansion of the Internet to become an everyday tool for the average consumer; along with this growth came a requirement for companies and brands to also "Think Different." Brands were tasked to come up with new ways of reaching their audience in this entirely new medium. They tested new strategies and they piled dollars on top of dollars to wield the strength of the banner bandwagon as they developed additional new ways for spreading their brand-messages to the consumer. The bandwagon created a bubble and the bubble eventually burst, but those who were passionate and were personally invested in the medium continued to evolve and develop new strategies for harnessing the power of the digital populace. All the while, these people were, consciously or not, attempting to "Think Different."

To "Think Different," you have to continue to throw away the solutions you've seen before and truly try something innovative.

The most innovative ideas are those that offer a different solution to an existing problem. Google offered a new solution to search. AQuantive offered a new solution to the agency model. DoubleClick offered a new solution to the measurement of advertising. Each of these companies has been rewarded for their efforts, but they have also created an environment of the "me-too" strategy.

For every ad network, like 24/7 Real Media, that is purchased and considered successful, there are five more that are created only because someone recognized that there "was gold in them there hills." I've never been a fan of the "me-too" strategy, but I am a fan of "thinking different." I am a fan of the companies I see rewarded with success for attacking a problem from a different angle.

When I meet with a company to ask them about their business, I like to ask them who they see as their competition. The responses I get can help me understand how they approach the problems they are trying to solve. If they start out by comparing themselves to another existing company, then I can get a feel for what their motivations were. I enjoy meeting with the people whose motivations are not monetary, but are intellectual. I enjoy the folks who tackled a problem because they wanted a solution for themselves. These are the folks I find the most interesting and these are typically the people who will be the most successful, I find. If they truly come at a problem differently, then I value their ideas more so than if they came at it monetarily, only looking for the big payout.

Most of you reading this column this week will ask, "Why is he writing this?" Those of you who know me personally will already know the answer.

In the environment that we've created over the last 13 years, there is always room for a new idea and I want for you, the reader of this column, to understand that tackling a problem from a new perspective means leaving your comfort zone and finding the solutions that other people have not. Success stems from this path and from the chances you take when providing a solution. I've read too many books over the years that profess to tell you how to be successful, but I think being successful cannot come from a book, because if someone else can tell you how to do it, then it's already been done and it's not different.

I admire the people who've taken chances and followed their desires. I pride myself on spending time to help people determine what those paths are and how they can "Think Different" to find solutions to their existing problems. I wish I'd come up with that line, but I have to credit Apple for it, along with their continued interest in practicing what they preach. So while I patiently wait for the Apple iPhone to be released next month, and while I feverishly type away at trying to identify the ways that we will navigate the next iteration of the Web (or Web 3.0 as more and more people are starting to refer to it), I ask you to always keep that simple little line in mind when you attempt to solve a problem or address a challenge facing you in your business.

To "Think Different" is not news. It is canonical. It is the way that great ideas are created, by building on the previous ideas and finding new solutions.

Don't forget that!