Seth Godin’s blog is a regular read for me. I don’t always find use for everything he says, but I think he has a lot of great ideas and certainly can stir up some new ways to think. So picking up Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable (Amazon link) wasn’t a stretch. I had heard a lot of good things about it, so I figured it would be a good read while I was up north at the cabin relaxing.
Overall the subject of the book is extremely important to companies that want to continue to compete in the changing marketplace. The first few chapters are great explanations of why being a purple cow is important and how marketing has changed, and Seth offers some good examples of companies which have made a business of being remarkable. There is one very important point Seth makes, that I think is important for all companies: marketing, strategy and design departments can no longer work independently if remarkable products are going to be properly created and launched.
Purple Cow was a quick and easy read. Seth Godin has structured the book like a blog – short text excerpts divided by catching titles. There are some great tidbits of information that are set off with bullets – which can stimulate some great trains of thought. The case studies are short and to the point, many of which are followed up with some points to ponder. However, there are a few where I wanted a bit more information about what the company did to become remarkable. There are also several places where a company or product is mentioned as remarkable, but I had never heard of it, which is fine, but I would have liked a bit of an explanation of what they did. (While I could search for it, I feel like I paid some money for the book, so it would be nice to get the information all in one place). There is a Purple Cow website which includes a few bonus chapters and additional information.
Purple Cow was a good book for up north. It would be a good book for the beach. Most of the information is now widely accepted (the book was originally published in 2002), but still not widely implemented. The current recession would make a good opportunity to transform a business. I don’t think Purple Cow would necessarily be useful to Marketers who are in-the-know with current trends online and in social media, but it could spark some great brainstorming. Purple Cow definitely would be a good book for any higher level management that’s looking for a way to use the recession as an agent of change for their company and for any marketers and product designers just getting into online strategies.
Have you read Purple Cow? What did you think?
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable (Amazon link)
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