Have you seen the purple cow?

I recently watched a video presentation by Seth Godin about Google and its continued success in marketing. He spoke about how marketers must find a way for their products to tell a story. A product can distinguish itself from the competition if there is a story worth telling about that product.

Seth gave the example of socks. Socks are socks. Not many people are interested in what socks are setting the trends. But, what if the socks could tell a story? He introduced a company that sold socks that didn't match. Two different colors, two different designs, an no matches. These socks, marketed to 11 year old girls, allowed for these girls to go to school and tell their sock story. One girl shows another girl her funky socks and the chain reaction begins. The next thing you know, all the girls are showing off all the different colored socks they have. The story the girls are able to tell causes the strong buzz that marketers are looking for. The girls respond to the fun they can have with something as simple as a pair of socks.

Now you must be wondering, purple cow? Seth told a story about how his kids were rambunctious on a car trip when he noticed that they suddenly became silent. He noticed that they were looking out the window at a cow. But, five seconds later they went back to their obnoxious behavior. He went on to imagine, what if the cow was purple? This would be an amazing sight that would keep their attention. He would have pulled the car over to get a better look. They would go over to the cow to make sure their eyes were not deceiving them and they would touch the cow to be able to say "I've touched a purple cow!" This is what marketers are trying to do: portray their product as something capable of telling a story.

Google has been very successful with buzz marketing. Everyone knows about Google! but why? Google is so user-friendly. It gives you exactly what you want with many options. Everyone can relate to Google because it is personal. What sets Google apart is that people care about Google. People have created their own verb heard in everyday conversation related to the site. If someone wants to know more about something many times I will hear people say I will "Google it." Searching something online has become synonymous with this site and word of mouth has propelled their extraordinary growth over the past few years.