As we said in an earlier post, pull beats push every time. A pushed innovation will not last. We want people queuing around the block to get the innovation.
How do people get to know about the innovation, and when they know how do they get a hold of it? In other partnerships, the following formula has worked. It has three elements:
- a box— could there be a ‘box’ with everything needed to set up an SRG? The box is a metaphor. It could be a van, or a website. The point is it contains everything needed to use the innovation without any external help.
- Avon Lady— Another metaphor. The Avon Lady need not be a woman! The idea comes from Avon cosmetics. These came in a box. They could arrive in the post and be applied without any extra help. Or they could be delivered by an ‘Avon Lady.’ She would ring the door bell—‘ding dong’. The emblematic show of the product and the tag line ‘Avon calling.’ The Avon Lady could deliver or she could be invited into the house to give advice on how to make the most of what came in the cosmetics box. Who might call to explain how to use the SRG box?
- stories— about the world as it is not how we would like it or imagine it to be. Stories not to attract funding but to (a) inspire women to form/join and SRG; (b) subliminally explain how to set up an SRG; and (c) help women to understand they will be part of a family that will help them get through the rough times.
We started with a thought experiment— what could go in a SRG box? It was a question answered by the WEvolution staff and by around 200 SRG members from around the UK and the Netherlands at a ‘peer gathering’. The idea took hold and eventually a prototype box was designed and made by a group of women in the movement.