Virgil Abloh's 3% Rule: The Secret to Creating Something New

The late fashion designer Virgil Abloh had a simple yet powerful rule: change something by just 3%, and you’ve created something new.

This “3% rule” was a cornerstone of his design philosophy, first shared during his 2013 presentation at Harvard.

Virgil Abloh believed that to make something familiar appealing, it needed a surprising twist. But for that twist to work, it had to retain a sense of familiarity.

This delicate balance is the essence of the 3% rule—a small change that introduces novelty without losing recognition. It’s about innovation through subtle alteration, a concept that has since inspired creators across industries.

Tony Robbins' 6 Human Needs: Balancing Certainty and Uncertainty

Tony Robbins' theory of the 6 human needs offers valuable insight into the effectiveness of the 3% rule.

According to Tony Robbins, humans crave both certainty – the comfort of the familiar – and uncertainty – the excitement of the unexpected.

The 3% rule masterfully satisfies this duality by providing a predictable framework (certainty) while introducing surprising twists (uncertainty). This delicate psychological balance is what makes the 3% rule so compelling.

It's why many successful movies, particularly whodunnits, rely on familiar storylines with subtle variations rather than completely original plots.

Remix Your Best Work

The 3% rule isn’t limited to products—it’s a powerful tool for content creators as well.

Take your top-performing content and tweak it by 3%. Ole Lehmann excels at this approach, and it’s helped him grow to over 100k followers in just months.

This could involve adjusting the delivery, structure, format, or visuals.

For example, content creators often remix a piece of content 3 times before it finally goes viral. The secret lies in iterating without overhauling—preserving what works while injecting fresh elements.

Real-World Examples of the 3% Rule

iPhone vs. Blackberry

Apple took Blackberry’s design and made a 3% change: they removed the physical keyboard and replaced it with a full touchscreen that included a virtual keyboard when needed.

This small tweak revolutionized smartphones, making the iPhone a game-changer in the industry.

TikTok vs. YouTube

TikTok built on YouTube’s model but introduced a 3% change: they shortened videos to 30 seconds.

This minor adjustment created a new platform that dominates the short-form content space, proving that small changes can lead to massive shifts in user behavior.

Newsletters vs. Newspapers

Newsletters took the concept of newspapers and made a 3% change: they shifted delivery from physical to digital via email.

This small shift transformed how people consume news, making it more accessible and immediate.

Case Study #1: Castany Miquel’s Short-Form Video Strategy

Castany Miquel is a master of the 3% rule, as demonstrated in this video, where he breaks down his content repurposing strategy.

The Formula: Hook + Product Demo

Castany’s videos follow a simple yet effective structure: a hook to grab attention, followed by a product demo that delivers value. By perfecting the product demo, he ensures it remains consistent across videos. This allows him to test different hooks—whether faceless, AI-generated, or UGC content—without starting from scratch.

Using this approach, Castany created videos with 22,000, 120,000, and 10 million views—all featuring the same product demo but different hooks.

This proves that small changes in delivery can lead to exponential results. His strategy highlights the importance of iterating on what works rather than constantly reinventing the wheel.

Case Study #2: Edward Sturm’s Repurposing Mastery

Edward Sturm takes repurposing to the next level. He turns one viral piece into multiple successes.

If People Like It Once, They’ll Like It Again

Edward’s viral TikTok video about Google forgetting to renew google.com was repurposed into multiple formats:

• A full podcast episode.

• A less polished, off-the-cuff video that garnered 3.8 million views.

• A vertical video for another platform, which went viral again.

He made one video go viral 10 times.

Edward reposted a 2023 video about Google Search Console multiple times, each time gaining over 1 million views.

Despite the video explicitly mentioning the year, its engaging and informative nature ensured continued success.

This demonstrates that timeless content can be repackaged and reused effectively.

For example, this affiliate video went viral multiple times, and this article details its success.

The repeated virality of the affiliate video made Edward Sturm the biggest affiliate for that company.

Virgil Abloh’s 3% rule is a proven strategy for innovation. Whether you’re designing a product, creating content, or building a brand, small changes can lead to big results. Apply this rule to your work, and watch your impact grow.

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Rabbit Holes

1. Negative hooks on LinkedIn ftw by Edward Sturm

2. Better LLM Prompts Using XML by Steve Campbell

3. Slideshows 101 by Alex

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