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Purple Cow
Mass Marketers Hate to Measure
Direct marketers, of course, realize that measurement is
the key to success. Figure out what works, and do it more!
Mass marketers have always resisted this temptation.
When my old company approached the head of one of the
largest magazine publishers in the world and pitched a
technology that would allow advertisers to track who saw
their ads and responded to them, he was aghast. He realized
that this sort of data could kill his business. He knew
that his clients didn’t want the data because then their jobs
would get a lot more complex.
Measurement means admitting what’s broken so you can
fix it. Mass-media advertising, whether it’s on TV or in
print, is all about emotion and craft, not about fixing mistakes.
One reason the Internet ad boomlet faded so fast is
that it forced advertisers to measure – and to admit what
was going wrong.
Well, creators of the Purple Cow must measure as well.
Every product, every interaction, every policy is either
working (persuading sneezers and spreading the word) or
not. Companies that measure will quickly optimize their
offerings and make them more virus-worthy.
As it becomes easier to monitor informal consumer
networks, the winners will be companies that figure out
what’s working fastest– and do it more (and figure out
what’s not working – and kill it).
Zara, a fast-growing retailer in Europe, changes its
clothing line every three or four weeks. By carefully watching
what’s working and what’s not, they can evolve their
lineup far faster than the competition can ever hope to.
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