When a brilliant and beautifully executed idea doesn’t fly, perhaps you just failed to explain it simply enough?

When a brilliant and beautifully executed idea doesn’t fly, perhaps you just failed to explain it simply enough?

6 years ago

This is the premier lounge of the Côte des Flandres cross-channel ferry that takes travellers from the UK to and from France. The lounge is a haven of quiet relaxation and good seating in what is often a very crowded and noisy ship.

At the end of the room is a bar with as much free fruit, biscuits, coffee, cold drinks and sparkling wine as you want. Entry to this oasis costs the price of about three cups of coffee and mid-crossing, there’s no more comfortable place to be within a 13 mile radius.

But at the time of writing this, I’m one of only four people in here. And that includes the attentive steward. The lounge is a great idea. It’s perfectly realised, keenly priced, and for 90 minutes, has a total geographical monopoly. So why isn’t it packed?

All over the world, organisations and non-profit campaigns ask themselves similar questions everyday. And if they’ve done everything right implementing the idea, then by a process of elimination, they probably need to correct one or both of the following issues:

1. They haven’t made enough of the right customers aware of the idea
2. They’ve failed to properly convey the value that the idea brings

On the booking page for this lounge, the option shares screen space with travel insurance; something that perhaps many people might intuitively skip. There are no photographs and so the only way for customers to understand what it looks like is to visualise this 18 word description: