the meeting

The agent was stuck.?

Well, he wasn’t stuck.?

His client was stuck.?

His client got paid to create ideas.?

But his client was out of ideas.

It had been two YEARS since his client had an idea.??

Everyone kept asking about him.?

What is your client working on? Something great??

He lied.?

“Oh he is working on something big! It’s a new project. An original idea. “

More lies.?

Finally, the agent invited his client to lunch.?

The agent asked his client if he had come up with anything.?

He hadn’t.?

The agent pressed him. There had to be something.?

No matter how small.?

Well, the client did have one idea.?

Something they’d been thinking about off and on for years.?

The agent leaned in. What is it??

“A story about a scientist, on a remote island, who bred and released pre-historic animals”?

A story about dinosaurs.

~

The agent was thrilled.?

“I love dinosaurs. My son loves dinosaurs. Everyone loves dinosaurs. Start writing it.”???

Months later, he sent him the first chapter.?

It was unlike anything he had ever read.?

Not long after, the agent called his friend, a famous movie director. He said that his client was working on a story about dinosaurs.

The director was instantly hooked. He wanted to direct the movie.?

The agent called the major movie studios and said he had the next great movie.?

Written by Michael Crichton.

Directed by Steven Spielberg.?

A story about a scientist who bred dinosaurs on a remote island.

The distribution rights were finalized before the book was even finished.?

Because everyone loves dinosaurs.?

~

Jurassic Park became a worldwide phenomenon.?

The book released in 1990 and sold millions.?

The movie released in 1993 and made over 1 billion.?

Because everyone loves dinosaurs.?

~

The agent was Michael Ovitz.?

He understood something so obvious, and so elemental.?

Everyone loves dinosaurs.?

He knew that if he put these two brilliant creators together, they could created magic.?

Show the world dinosaurs in a way they had never seen before.?

He was right.?

~

Now, I don’t have dinosaurs.?

Or an idea anything close.?

You might not have dinosaurs.?

But you do need to make something that people love.?

So you should start with a topic that they already love.?

Sometimes it is that simple.?

We get so preoccupied with attribution. Or metrics. Or trends. Or data.?

But you are making something for your audience… love is all you need.?

Trust your gut.?

If you love it.?

I bet they will too.?

- Ian

p.s. we make cool content for B2B companies (like the Webby-winning Murder in HR). If you want to learn more check out Caspian Studios.??