Purple Cow
What is the bond between Burgess's short nonsense poem and Remarkable marketing?
The poem "Purple Cow" was first published in May 1895 and became Burgess's most widely known work. The poem became popular, eventually becoming what one commentator called "the most quoted poem in twentieth-century America, after 'The Night Before Christmas'".
Marketer Seth Godin has used the phrase "Purple Cow" for the concept of marketing a product as "intrinsically different". The phrase has also been used for the marketing concept of choosing a name which "makes your audience stop in their tracks and wonder why the title was chosen."
The book "Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable" presents Godin's personal belief that creative advertising is less effective today because of clutter and advertising avoidance. The book advocates that companies produce remarkable products and target people who are likely to spread word of mouth about the product.
He says, "Cows, after you’ve seen them for a while, are boring. They may be perfect cows, attractive cows, cows with great personalities, cows lit by beautiful light, but they’re still boring. A Purple Cow, though. Now that would be interesting. (For a while.) The essence of the Purple Cow is that it must be remarkable."
Godin gives examples of products and marketing programs that have been remarkable, but indicates that it is no use copying these directly. He says, "Today, the one sure way to fail is to be boring. Your one chance for success is to be remarkable."
"Purple Cow" was itself marketed through some of the techniques that Godin describes in his book. The first, self-published edition came packaged in a milk carton and was sold for just shipping and handling charges. The cover is purple and white, and the words are printed sideways. In the book's first two years of release, it sold more than 150,000 copies over the course of 23 printings.
“REMARKABLE MARKETING IS THE ART OF BUILDING THINGS WORTH NOTICING RIGHT INTO YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE. NOT SLAPPING ON MARKETING AS A LAST-MINUTE ADD-ON, BUT UNDERSTANDING THAT IF YOUR OFFERING ITSELF ISN’T REMARKABLE, IT’S INVISIBLE.”
- SETH GODIN
Запоминаем:
intrinsically - в действительности
clutter - беспорядок, загромождение
to advocate - пропагандировать, отстаивать
word of mouth - из уст в уста
essence - сущность
to market - продавать
shipping and handling charges - расходы на доставку и обработку
sideways - вбок
printings - тиражи
