(I just don’t buy some of Seth’s marketing punditry. It’s way too cute, and just because he’s bald it doesn’t make him adorable or someone I want on the cover of my night stand reading. )

But I sort of buy the beacon thing – but my take on it is that in addition to trying to create something remarkable, like an event, meme, piece of media, or experience, (even, say, around some iPhone imitator that’s less cool, less functional, but maybe cheaper) brand managers are still faced with the sad frustration that they can’t always deliver on the promise.

OR, they don’t have the budget.

In Seth’s world, there are no crap plastic products from Korea that were the dream of some VP of product development who absolutely needed to fill a hole in their product portfolio because the competition beat them to it.

What’s even harder, are products that are incremental improvements only.

It’s hard to argue that if you create great stuff, even great experiences AROUND a brand that it’s a better way of thinking about and getting out your brand message. But it’s also hard to argue that we still need something pragmatic and serviceable for all the mediocre companies that are the actual drivers of the economy.

Sure, I have 4-5 products in my life that I lusted after. But I also have 100 products that I barely remember I own. And THOSE brands, in the long run, are the fuel of the metaverse and otherwise…and they’re also the products that have advertising agencies sweating bullets. Because even a mediocre product can spend a little more on Google Adwords and suddenly have sales. And even a niche product can find its home in the Long Tail.

With all the focus on “best platforms” (Web-based, 2D, 3D, immersion) to help drive brand growth, we can’t forget that our marketing models shouldn’t just be built for BMW or Apple. Our solutions need to bridge to the poor product manager whose selling some new bar of soap whose main feature maybe is that it’s orange and 10 cents cheaper.

Purple Cows are great, but maybe the orange soap belongs out there in the Long Tail somewhere? Are they the same thing? Different?

Gosh.

I think I’ve just managed to confuse myself even more than usual. Better think about this some more and get back to ya!

Haha.

If you haven’t read ‘Purple Cow’ (all though I suspect you have) I really really suggest you go out and buy this book.

Social Networks just map demand and demographics to effectively launch your beacons, and engage in the conversation with ‘sneezers’ – People who will tell people about your brand.

The bottom line is create good, remarkable products that don’t need advertising, but can withstand the test of conversation, and are actually worth talking about. How many Google or Apple ads did you see or hear?