Creative considerations in pricing

In addition to considering sliding pricing schemes to reach greater numbers of people with scarce resources, several ideas for integrating real costs into pricing strategies were surfaced at the TED conference last week. Bill Joy suggested integrating the risks of catastrophe (terrorism, hurricanes) into doing business. Should we build a terrorism insurance policy? Gregory Colbert (you should definitely check out his website to see his truly exquisite photographs of the world) argued that corporations using animals in their commercials should “pay the animals” and build a fund for the environment with it. He estimates the world could raise $600 million annually doing this - and save the environmental activists from the “soul-killing work of fundraising.” Both ideas underline the flexibility that is emerging in the marketplace - something to watch, important for considering new approaches to opening markets to the poor.