FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
August 12, 2004
Free ____ Inside
I have been intrigued about Free Gift Inside since Rich wrote his review last month. Obviously there is the similarity in title to Seth Godin's Free Prize Inside and they both make references to cereal.
I decided to a more detailed comparsion of these two titles.
| Cover |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Brown | Seth Godin |
| Publisher | Capstone/Wiley | Portfolio |
| Publication Date | October 2003 | May 2004 |
| Packaging | Paperback | Hardcover |
| Cereal Box | No | Yes |
| Book Size (HxW Inches) | 9.12 x 6.34 | 7.38 x 5.31 |
| Amazon US Sales Rank | 541,889 | 710 |
| Amazon UK Sales Rank | 78,865 | 9,549 |
| Allconsuming.net Weblog Links | 4 | 83 |
| What is a Free Gift/Prize? | There are 15 "free gifts" in the book. These are special sections of text that support the points he makes. | The element of a product that makes a product remarkable (what makes it want to be talked about). |
| Examples Used | Elbert Hubbard, Patrick Gilmore, Dean Kamen, and Stalin World | Three Dog Bakery, Jay Gouliard (General Mills), FedEx, and Nathan Michaud (Island Institute) |
| References to one another | "Ampification, by contrast, pertains to the marketing of marketing: The fact, for example, that buzz marketing is being buzz marketed in Business Week and Harvard Business Review or that Seth Godin's best-selling book on viral marketing is itself an exemplar of viral marketing. Nowadays it's not enough to make an excellent product and market it excellently. The excellent marketing must be excellently marketed as well." [pg120-121] | None found |
Now, everyone will want to think there is some controversy here. I honestly don't think there is. Seth wrote a follow-up to Purple Cow with Free Prize Inside and continues to talk about the importance of being remarkable.
Stephen, on the other hand, tells readers early on that they should ignore their customers. He suggests actions to take that will cut through your skeptical customer base. He says tricks, exclusivity, amplification, secrets, entertainment are the ways to get the attention of prospects.
Both are great reads. I recommend both books.
Posted by Todd Sattersten at August 12, 2004 10:57 AM | Category: marketing |
3 Comments
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Huh? Can you expound on this...why is he telling readers to ignore customers?
"Stephen, on the other hand, tells readers early on that they should ignore their customers."
What Stephen suggests is that you don't need to (must not) pander your customers, but rather tease them. The long and short of it (and where the similarities in the two books lie) is that by the time your customer knows what they want, they don't really want it. If they want innovation then you need to create it before they know they need it. But also, it doesn't need to be easy, in fact, if it's difficult to purchase (marketease- see the sales tactics of the first run of purple cow books) it will be more sought after and appreciated (my milk carton remains unopened on a display shelf in my office). Mainstream is boring, safe is risky etc.
Both authors have agreed to a "collaberative" interview over at "hello_world" watch 800CEOREADblog for more info...!
lol, apparently there wasn't actually an error posting my comment *blush*...!