An iconoclast is a person who challenges conventional wisdom and traditional beliefs, and often shatters the very foundations upon which traditional, institutions rest.

When was the last time you tried a different marketing formula?  Experimentation is vital to sustaining market leadership as a luxury real estate marketing professional. Studying market leaders outside of the realm of marketing luxury real estate can offer excellent clues for success.  It can embolden you try new things that make you stand out from the crowd and think like an iconoclast.

Take Glee, the hit TV show that has “pushed the edge of the envelope” beyond conventional programming.  In this sense Glee is an iconoclast.  The team that works on the arrangements of the musical numbers in the show is constantly challenging the iconic versions of songs that are now deeply rooted in mass consciousness.  At times, they give familiar songs entirely new meaning within the context of the story line.

For example, the first Beatles smash hit in the USA was I Want to Hold Your Hand. It sent tan entire generation of eenage girls and boys into a frenzy of excitement as it ushered in a new era of rock and roll.  On an episode of Glee a boy’s father was in a coma and it was uncertain whether he would live. The boy sang a very slow version of the Beatles’ classic tune as flashback images of this father and son (as a very young boy) held hands at his mother’s funeral.There was more deep emotion in this poignant moment in the show than most fathers and sons ever allow themselves to experience on Father’s Day.

Sometimes the Glee music production team creates numbers that encompass songs which consist entirely of parts of other songs.  A “mashup” as it called, was created by combining the iconic song sung by Gene Kelley in 1952, Singing in the Rain with a 2007 hit by Rihanna, Umbrella.  The guest star on the show was Academy Award winner, Gwyneth Paltrow, who is hardly known for her singing talents.  The result was nothing less than brilliant! 

We applaud Glee for taking the risk of challenging conventional thinking on many levels.  Iconoclastic thinkers are an inspiration for those who seek to unabashedly pursue market leadership in any field.

How can you stand out by out-thinking your competition in your luxury real estate marketplace?