The Eiffel Tower Effect

When the Eiffel Tower was first built, it was much criticised by the public, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris. One letter said, "And during twenty years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates." Signers of this letter included Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Charles Gounod, Charles Garnier, Jean-Léon Gérôme, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Alexandre Dumas.

Novelist Guy de Maupassant—who claimed to hate the tower supposedly ate lunch in the Tower's restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where one could not see the structure.

Yet, twenty years later, when it was supposed to be torn down as per the original plan, the French people decided to retain it.

Today, the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited, paid monument in the world.

What changed? How can a monument that was initially hated become an enduring icon?

In their insightful book, 'Switch', Chip and Dan Heath, refer to this as the "mere exposure effect." In other words, simply by becoming accustomed to something new, people begin to accept it and even like it.


So how does this apply to entrepreneurs?

There are two key insights:

1. Build something unique. Radically different even.
2. Persist with it long enough. Exposure creates acceptance and eventually admiration.