Creative disruption (disruption concept in a creative context) was introduced in 1992 by TBWA's chairman Jean-Marie Dru. It refers to a radical change in a marketplace brought about by the overturning of existing conventions.
Origins
The word "disruption" was originally employed in the English language to describe dramatic events such as earthquakes or highly disturbing news.Le concept de "Disruption" expliqué par son créateur, l'Obs, January 24, 2016 It was originally used exclusively in a negative sense.
On 1 May 1992 Jean-Marie Dru launched the Disruption concept as a marketing tool by simultaneously publishing a full-page ad headlined "Disruption" in The Wall Street Journal,["Disruption"], The Wall Street Journal, 1/5/92 the Frankfurter Allgemeine["Disruption"], Frankfurter Allgemeine, 1/5/92 and Le Figaro.['Disruption"], Le Figaro, 1/5/92 It explained BDDP's (now TBWA) disruptive methodology.A Counterargument To Clayton Christensen's Definition Of True Disruption, Forbes, December 17, 2015 Jean-Marie Dru was the first to employ the word in the business world. As importantly, it was also the first time that the word was given a positive meaning.
Since then, the word was progressively adopted by the business community and has featured in countless press articles in publications such as Forbes,Spenner, Forbes, "Why You Should Create Disruption for Your Customer," September 12, 2012 Fast Company,Baylis, Fast Company – Create, "What's Your 4G Marketing Plan – Interruption or Disruption?" and AdAge.McDermott, AdAge, "Mobile Ads More Disruptive Than TV Spots," December 12, 2012
In 1996, Jean-Marie Dru published a book entitled Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace in which he explained the Disruption methodology.
In 1997, Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen co-authored with Joseph Bower, The Innovator's dilemma, a book about disruptive technologies and disruptive innovations.
Theory
The Disruption concept refers to the process of breaking conventions to accelerate movement to the future, without cutting off from the past. It applies to both business and marketing. As a methodology, it goes one step further than the concept of creative destruction.JEAN-MARIE DRU ON WHY DISRUPTION ISN'T DESTRUCTION, AdAge, September 12, 2016
Professor Clayton Christensen has defined "disruptive innovation", and by extension disruption, in a different way. For him, disruption is the process of newcomers penetrating at the low end of a market and then moving up the value chain. Jean-Marie Dru has always promoted a broader definition and practical business applications. For him, Disruption, as a practical concept, is about bringing radical change, as opposed to incremental, linear change.
In marketing
Creative disruption is a phrase that has been used in the marketing world for more than a decade to describe the desired break in existing patterns of behavior of the target audience in response to a highly creative message (advertising). "Disruption" signals a departure from the norm. Disruptive messaging disrupts the mediocrity in the deluge of advertising the consumer encounters. Creative disruption helps disrupt the normal flow in the way a target processes a massive volume of marketing messaging, so they pause to consider the message they have received.Kresse, Stirology, May 2013
Techniques employed in creative disruption are as boundless as creativity, but may include: Contrasting messaging Unusual or out of place presentation or placement Exaggerated presentation Intensely targeted messaging
Jean-Marie Dru chairman of TBWA Worldwide gives his own definition of creative disruption in his book entitled Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace published in 1996 and translated in twelve languages: "Disruption is a way of thinking defying conventions and creating new visions capable of making our clients' brands grow faster."[Dru, Jean-Marie, Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking up the Marketplace], Wiley & Sons, 1997, p. 62
The aims of creative disruption include: Developing marketing messages which will be remembered and acted upon (which will improve performance/ROI of marketing expenditures).Lasker, Adweek, "Redefining 'Disruptive'", April 26, 2010 Improving brand perceptions and other market indicators (e.g., awareness, understanding, interest, engagement, etc.). Disrupting the flow of traditional marketing strategies to make existing business and marketing techniques obsolete. Creating new business innovations that lead to new markets and new marketing techniques.
In business
Creative disruption has also been used as a general business term to denote instituting challenge (disruption) within a business to break old corporate habits; this disruption is instituted by the institution itself (or its management) and requires the business to adapt and improve its business model so that it can better succeed.Waldman, "Creative Disruption," 2010 Every business continues to adjust to disruptions, as competitors respond to a business' unique offering. Creative disruption helps a business gain a competitive advantage by seeking tipping points for improvement before competitors replicate and/or improve upon the business modelRasheed, PhD, Innovation Stratege, 2012, , pg. 49
"Creative disruption" as a term is sometimes confused with two other terms: "creative destruction" and "disruptive innovation", but can be easily differentiated by their goals: In creative destruction, the goal is to tear down/clear away the existing so that a new foundation can be built, and the economy can expand.Cornwall, The Entrepreneurial Mind, May 2013 In creative disruption, the goal is to expose flaws in the current business model, highlight areas where improvement/changes are needed, and to help inspire adaptation of the business model for future growth.Thurber, Ph.D., Do NOT Invent Buggy Whips: Create, Reinvent, Position, Disrupt, 2012, In disruptive innovation, the goal is to bring about a new market entirely, such as the development of the consumer camera in 1888 by Kodak or the use of the internet to conduct online trading for collectibles by eBay in the 1990s.Christensen and Innosight, Forbes.com, "A Decade of Disruption," August 31, 2007 Quartz movements in watches disrupted the watch industry.
Emergence and acceptance
In 1992, Disruption has been registered as a trademark in twelve countries including France, United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux, and Italy. In 2018, TBWA\Group is the owner of the Disruption trademark in 55 countries, including those of the European Union, the United States, Russia, India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Turkey.
The Disruption methodology has three parts: convention, vision, disruption. It consists in identifying the cultural conventions around a brand, then defining a vision for it, and lastly developing a disruptive strategy. The purpose of this is to free the brand from existing conventions on the marketplace and to help it grow by building a new and engaging vision.La disruption, une méthodologie dynamique tournée vers la création , Innovationweek
The Disruption method is about breaking conventions, it is not about destroying a market. As TBWA's chairman Jean-Marie Dru said: "We have to draw a fine line between what should be changed and what should not be changed. And this is what Disruption, as a methodology, is all about."La disruption : une méthode qui fait son chemin, ou comment la rupture peut devenir une stratégie d'innovation ? , les Echos, November 7, 2016
TBWA's Disruption can be used to deal with both "marketing and business issues". The Disruption methodology has been praised by personalities such as Richard Branson, Bill Taylor and Tom Peters.Jean-Marie Dru, [Disruption : Overturing conventions and shaking up the marketplace], John Wiley & Sons, 1996Jean-Marie Dru,[How Disruption brought order], Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
The Disruption concept has progressively served as a key descriptor for business consultancies and analysts, and featured in several magazines including Fortune (who referred to Steve Jobs as the "Master of Disruption"),Mastering the Art of Disruption, Fortune, January 30, 2006 Forbes, Fast Company, AdAge, Campaign, Le Nouvel Economiste, L'Expansion, Personnel, CB News, Harvard Business Review, The Economist and TechCrunch.
See also Blockchain Counter-culture Counter-protest Creative destruction Exposé Fanzine Internet radio Marketing warfare strategies Podcast Politainment Pulp novels Social activism
Notes
References
Spenner, P., Forbes, "Why You Should Create Disruption for Your Customer," September 12, 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickspenner/2012/09/27/why-you-should-create-disruption-for-your-customer/ Baylis, Fast Company Create, "What's Your 4D Marketing Plan – Interruption or Disruption?," http://www.fastcocreate.com/1682362/what-s-your-4g-marketing-plan-interruption-or-disruption McDermott, AdAge, "Mobile Ads More Disruptive Than TV Spots," December 12, 2012, http://adage.com/article/digital/mobile-ads-disruptive-television-spots/238730/ Lasker, Adweek, "Redefining 'Disruptive'," April 26, 2010, http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/redefining-disruptive-102161 Creative Disruption by Simon Waldman, Sep 2010, Paperback, , Financial Times / Prentice Hall School of Entrepreneurship in the Arts & Technology https://web.archive.org/web/20130816104513/http://arts-tech.org/our-programming/creative-disruption Burns, C., Insurance Networking News, "An Introduction to Creative Disruption," January 27, 2012, http://www.insurancenetworking.com/blogs/celent-disruption-innovation-insurance-technology-29807-1.html Rasheed, Ph.D., Innovation Strategy, 2012, , pg. 49 Jean-Marie Dru, Disruption : Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace, John Wiley & Sons, 1996 Joseph L. Bower et Clayton M. Christensen, "Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave", Harvard Business Review, 1997 Clayton M. Christensen, The Innovator's Dilemma : When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, Harvard Business School Press, 1997 Jean-Marie Dru, Beyond Disruption: Changing the Rules in the Marketplace, John Wiley & Sons, 2002 Jean-Marie Dru, The Ways to New: 15 Paths to Disruptive Innovation, John Wiley & Sons, 2017