if it is unconventional-different from what has been accepted by the cul- ture to that point. It is difficult to get the attention of would-be buy- ers anytime, but getting them to try something new usually leaves the best marketers perplexed. The failure to understand the rate of adop- tion for new technology is one reason many telecom companies are bankrupt, leaving more unused fiber networks than abandoned gold mines. Its the reason people scratch their heads trying to calculate how fast customers will adopt wireless communications, personal video recorders (PVRs, such as TiVo), XML (protocol for exchanging data), Olestra (for reducing fat intake in foods), high definition tele- vision, and other innovations. The examples from first mover fail- ures previously described are enough to make anyone pessimistic about how to get a culture to adopt innovative new products. Now imagine you are a brand-new band, writing and playing a genre of music that is not only obscure but virtually undefined among most audiences. Branding and marketing problems exist not just for the bands brand but for the entire product category. Wel- come to the world of new-wave punk music circa 1976.     Ho w the Talking Heads Got Fans to Listen   The Talking Heads not only created a number-one hit with their record "Burnin Down the House," they ignited the market for a new wave of rock and roll in the 1980s. Their story reveals how to get cus- tomers to listen when they dont even know they want the product. Three young musicians-Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, and David Byrne-bound together by the desire to write and play a unique form of music, moved to New York City to follow their dream. Armed with a five-year plan, they spent the first six months watching other bands perform at CBGB (a local, progressive club), writing material, learning how to play together, and developing their talents. Once they devel- oped enough songs for a show, Hilly Kristal, owner of CBGB, put them on stage opposite the Ramones, a band to which they have been linked     ever since. "Kristal provided the incubator for bands much like Silicon Valley did for the technology boom a few decades later," says Frantz. The Talking Heads music was different-it appealed to a specific type of audience that at the time was at the fringe of society rather than in the middle of it. Seen as smarties who had been to college, they were oddballs in the world of rock and roll, and knew they could attract a niche of cerebral, intellectual fans. Frantz explains, "We were always pretty good about target marketing. We looked for places that at- tracted people like us and played anyplace we thought would-be fans would be, anyplace we could find a connection with who we thought our audience would be." Their select venues included art galleries and

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