The power of the small idea.

If you haven’t heard, Betty White will be hosting Saturday Night Live in the near future. If it seems a bit odd to you that an 80-year-old comedic actress will be hosting a show targeting a much younger crowd, join the club. It’s an amazing ending to a pretty cool story. After a Snickers ad featuring Betty White appeared during the Super Bowl, a random internet patron named David Matthews decided that it was time for Betty to get her due. He started a fan page on Facebook demanding the actress host SNL and the Betty White fans began flocking. Was he really a Betty White fan? Did he really care if she got to host or not? Did he start this page as a joke? It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that hundreds of thousands of fans liked the idea and, in the end, so did Lorne Michaels.

This story is a great reminder that we should have a healthy respect for the power of the individual user in today’s wild world of open communication. But, it’s also a great reminder of the power of the simple, small idea.

In the world of sustainable marketing, small ideas (like starting a Betty White fan page) can turn an ordinary ad campaign into an attention-grabbing beast. Ideas like this, in support of a bigger campaign idea, can help bring people together who may not be like-minded about everything “green.” These small ideas might not have real meaty content, but they can have a huge impact by carrying people to a bigger message in a universally palatable way.

Unfortunately, these smaller ideas are often the ones that get passed over, forgotten or outright killed every day in the ad world. It’s a mistake to ignore them, though. They can be a powerful gateway to the mainstream consumer if used properly within a campaign.

If you want your green product or service to sell at a mainstream level, you need to connect with the mainstream consumer. So, once you’ve got that killer, big idea in place don’t be afraid to think small.