Stories From The Fringe: The People Strategy Forgets: How to illuminate the mainstream by understanding the uncommon

This paper argues that valuable and illuminating insights about the mainstream can be gleaned by examining outliers in society 'people on the fringe), and in turn, those insights can teach brands how to be different.

Stories From The Fringe: The People Strategy Forgets: How to illuminate the mainstream by understanding the uncommon

Ian Pierpoint, Peter Harrison and Vangelis Skouras

Preface

The most engaging stories are usually the ones whose characters disrupt the norm and the expected. By understanding the fringe we can magnify the trends and insights we see in the mainstream and deliver more inspiring stories. Representative samples will always do their job in explaining consumer behaviour, however if we want to deconstruct the value and relevance of cultural movements and societal trends, going to the fringe can be highly illuminating.

Introduction

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