8/9/2017-29/9/2017
Week 1 - Week 5
Beatrix Leong Yi Wen, (0331043)
Advertising Principles & Practices
Lectures
No Lecture || Week 1, 08/09/2017
No class.
Lecture 1 || Week 2, 08/09/2017
During our first week back to university, we began this course with a brief introduction to the concept of advertising. We learnt that the word "advertise" comes from the Latin word "advertere" which has two meanings combined into one. "Ad" mean "to" and "verte" means "turn to". This phrase originated from ancient markets in the Latin world where traders would call out "advertere!" to encourage passerby's to "turn to" them and purchase their goods- this is the very birth of advertising.
We were also introduced to the concept advertising is a tool of marketing, whereas marketing is a tool of business where advertising seeks to make aware, persuade, communicate or create an image/brand for product or service.
A brand creates a perception of what the company stands for- its what you can see, what is tangible. Image refers to the perception you have in your head.
We also learnt about William Bembach's 10 principles of advertising which are:
1) Essence of product
2) Make product an actor, not prop
3) Art and copy = intergrate (visuals and graphics should support and enhance each other)
4) Advertising must have personality
5) No gimmicks
6) Tell the truth
7) Relevance
8) Simplicity
9) Stand out
Forum Questions:
Q: In your view- based on what you have heard and discussed – is advertising relevant today?
A: Yes, advertising is definitely still relevant today. The face of advertising, though, has definitely changed drastically from previous times to modern days. Previously, advertising was mainly in print ads, posters and TV. Currently, although those mediums are less popular they are still used, and there are new forms of advertising that are mainly digital in nature such as via YouTube, social media, and online.
Q: In your own words and in your opinion, what is the single most important difference between advertising and marketing.
A: Advertising is only a subset of marketing. Marketing consists of many different sectors such as customer service, sales strategy, market research, and others. Marketing is the ways you interact with consumers through sales representatives, how people feel about your product, etc, and obviously advertising itself. Advertising on its own is a message conveyed to consumers. about the goods and services offered.
Q: From the 10 principles mentioned, list 3 principles that you felt strongly about? Explain why you felt strongly about these 3 principles?
A: -Advertising must have personality (4)
I felt strongly about this principle because there are too many advertisements that are all very generic and not memorable, plus it makes their brand and product unattractive. For me, the brands that I like and remember are those that stand out and are different from the rest of the brands selling the same type of product.
-Tell the truth (6)
Personally, I detest false advertising where what is implied or promised in the advertisment is a far cry from the truth. It reflects badly on the brand as once consumers are disappointed they are unlikely to return, recommend the brand to their friends and family, or even trust the brand.
-No gimmicks (5)
I find gimmicks such as unnecessarily sexualising models to sell products that are completely unrelated to be distasteful and rather than promoting their product, it merely serves to highlight the low moral values of the company (for example, using girls to sell cars).
Lecture 2|| Week 3, 15/09/2017
In this lecture we focused a lot on the concept of creativity and its importance in the design world and advertising industry. We discussed the various definitions of creativity, some of which are:
Creativity is madness.
The use of imagination or original ideas to create something.
A great artist is but a conduit for an expression that resonates with something that is greater than him/her.
We discussed how this relates to our current assignment of creating 20 idea sketches for an advertising campaign for The Design School every week. We need to be creative and do things in a different way from others. Getting an extreme reaction is a goal we should work towards. We also need to consider what we or others would want from joining an institution.
We also learnt about how to advertise effectively we should segment the consumer market into four categories: Behaviouristic, geographic, demographic and psychographic.
In class, we studied these topics in groups and found out more about them:
Psycho-graphic segmentation
Involves dividing your market into segments based on different personality traits, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles of consumers. This segmentation is advantageous because it allows you to engage in product design and marketing in a focused manner.
Eg: research by asking consumers to agree / disagree with activities, interest, and opinions statements.Chan Chia Ying, Chan, Shu Hui, Chong Yau Yi
Demographic segmentation
Demographics is the collection of data regarding a specific population. It is frequently used as a business marketing tool to determine the best way to reach customers and assess their behavior. Types of demographic information includes age, sex, income level, race, employment, location, home ownership and level of education.Leanne Faye Tan, Vicky Teo Shi Yun, Lee Gahyeong‣
Behavioral Segmentation
Behavioral segmentation is a way of classifying the behavior of a population, based on the way they respond to a product or they way they use it.
For example, during hari raya/eid companies will target those who are returning to their hometowns/kampungs. Thus, they will market things such as gifts or food items to bring back to relatives in their hometown.Kumail Toorabally, Beatrix Leong‣Geographic Segmentation.
Geographic segmentation
When a business its market research based on a specific location. Different location may be different marketing. For example, in Malaysia, we may focus on the public holidays or celebrations to market our business. Public holidays or celebrations are different in every country.Chloe, Cherine, Arif
Forum Questions:
Q: In your own words and in your opinion, what is the single most important difference between advertising and marketing.
Q: Describe creativity in your own words
A: Creativity is the ability to come up with new and original ideas and use innovation to make unexpected creations from a limited use of materials. Creativity is art combined with inspired ideas.
Q: Is Marketing Evil?
A: Marketing can definitely be used as a tool of evil by corporations. Marketing often is used by brands and corporations for their own selfish means; to generate more sales for themselves without thought of the consequences to society. This often has negative impacts on consumers and instills in them unhealthy ideals. For example, brands marketing often convinces people they need to have an excessive amount of branded goods (cars, shoes, clothes, etc) in order to he happy and successful. This can cause people to resort to excessive consumerism for those who can afford it, and low self esteem for those who cannot.
Q: In your own words and in your opinion, what is the single most important difference between advertising and marketing.
A: Advertising is only a subset of marketing. Marketing consists of many different sectors such as customer service, sales strategy, market research, and others. Marketing is the ways you interact with consumers through sales representatives, how people feel about your product, etc, and obviously advertising itself. Advertising on its own is a message conveyed to consumers. about the goods and services offered.
Holiday || Week 4, 15/09/2017
No class.
Forum Questions:
Q: We have come to understand that Advertising is a paid form of communication and persuasion. If Publicity is free form of communication and persuasion, wouldn't it make sense for Marketing to use a free tool like publicity to communicate and persuade rather than Advertising?
A: Advertising is when money has to be used in order to generate awareness about something through means such as video advertisements, posters, brochures, leaflets, etc. Publicity is free- it is when there is much talk and buzz about something. It makes sense to use publicity alongside advertising, but they must go hand in hand. Advertising can generate publicity but it is hard for publicity to generate itself without advertising.
Lecture 3|| Week 5, 22/09/2017
In this lecture, we learnt about art direction. We learnt about the roles of an art director- which mainly is to determine the style, vision and direction of a design project or brief. They determine the tone and direction of a project through the type of text, imagery, illustrations and colours used, and will work closely with designers and illustrators to ensure this process. An art director will ensure the message is clearly conveyed from the client to the audience.
We also went through the various scopes of an art director's job. In the end, we were intoduced to the concept that advertising is not art- it is actually communication, and using art to communicate; because in the end good communication is art.
Forum Questions:
Q: Is there a difference between a creative director and an Art Director? Do both occupations share any similarities?
A: Yes, there is a difference between creative directors and art directors. Creative directors are more senior than art directors. Creative directors have to take on more roles and duties such as working with clients, but art directors have to be more on the side of assisting the design process directly. Creative directors have more say in the big decisions than art directors. However, they both work together on steering the direction of the brand/design.
Instructions:
Duration: 8 Weeks (Briefing on Week 1)
Deadline: Week 9
Description
This exercise spans 8 weeks. The student is given a Brand and a USP/SMP (Unique Selling Point/Single Minded Proposition) is identified. The student is to develop a minimum of 10 idea sketches every week—the more the merrier. The focus of the task is on the development of ideas—the Idea is king! Evaluate your ideas and select only the best. The sketches must be clean, clear and concise. While ideating you are only required to come up with the line and the visual— remember the twisted headline straight visual or vice-versa formula.
Rules for the Ideation process (or brainstorming).
1. Weird, wild, wacky and off the wall ideas are welcome.
2. Negativity is not welcome
3. Build on ideas. Don't shoot them down.
4. All ideas are welcome and respected.
5. Do not censor yourself. Just say it.
6. No interruptions from outside allowed (That includes cell phones).
7. Take a short break every hour.
Requirements
To develop a minimum of 10 idea sketches every week, the student must first state the USP/SMP, develop a Mind-Map and then develop idea sketches. This process is repeated for all 8 weeks. The work is compiled chronologically in an A4 clear sheet folder and documented on the students’ eportfolio (online journal).
Submission
1. A4 Sketch papers, in an A4 Clear Sheet folder, documented logically and chronologically. The works must be labelled and dated.
2. All gathered information (failures, successes, epiphanies, sketches, visual research, printouts, websites, images, charts, etc.) documented logically and chronologically in the eportfolio for the duration of the project in one post.
Objective: to develop students ability to ideate effectively.
Project 1
The Brief
Insight. (Taylor’s Design School)
Duration of Assignment
4 Weeks (Briefing on Week 2)
DEADLINE
Week 6 (1 May 2017)
Description
The student has the task of researching and analysing the brand/product: The Design School for the purpose of developing “insight” that will eventually be used to develop creative and effective advertising message.
The brand: The Design School @Taylor’s University
The product: The Design School (Figure 1)
SMP/USP: Nurturing The Hybrid Designer Of The Future.
SMP/USP: Nurturing The Hybrid Designer Of The Future.
Target Audience: Gen Y.
Figure 1
Students will need to gain “insight” into; the brand & product using SWOT analysis; the target audience using market segmentation; and the competition by identifying their USP/SMPs and through the analysis of their respective advertising strategeis.
There are two types of research approaches that you will use inadvertently: 1) Primary research and 2) Secondary research. Primary research entails you physically handling/visitng/using the product/brand or talking to a sales person or visiting the retail outlets/company/institution, etc. Secondary research entails data gathering from, websites, magazines, journals, previous advertisements, literature, etc. You will approach this by looking into the 3 areas mentioned below:
1. Brand & Product insight
To do the above you will need view the links below:
- What is SWOT analysis?
- How does the end result of a SWOT analysis look like?
- Visit the institution, Speak to the sales and marketing people, identify key informers and contact them to obtain any key insights.
2. Target Audience insight
- Segmentation for Gen Y: Behaviouristic, Geographic, Demographic & Psychographic
- Who are they? What do they look like? What motivates them? What are their beliefs?
- Empathy: What they say? What they do? What they feel? What they think?
Its good to know what people always do (Behaviour), that’s knowledge. But its even more important to know why they do the things they do (Motivation), that’s insight. If you know their motivation you can predict their actions, that’s foresight. If you can predict their actions you can take advantage of the outcome, that’s power.
Always try to seek and understand the, bigger picture and the deeper motives.
3. Competitors (Malaysia Only)
- Who are the competitors? (SWOT analysis)
- How and where do they advertise?
- What is their advertising strategy? (USP/SMP)
- What do their Ads look like?
- What is the difference in the product?
- How is it sold?
Requirements
The student must document the above research and analysis in their eportfolio and A4 hardcopy portfolio. The results of the research must be collated, analysed and presented in a PowerPoint presentation. This will be uploaded to your eportfolio and printed as thumbnail slides 4 per-page for your A3 clear sheet hardcopy portfolio.
Submission
- All gathered information (failures, printouts, websites, images, charts, etc.) documented logically and chronologically in the A4 Clear Sheet folder. The works must be labelled and dated.
- All gathered information (screen grabs, websites, images, charts, etc.) documented logically and chronologically in the eportfolio for the duration of the project in one post.
- Powerpoint presentation of final analysis: Brand/Product, Target Audience and Competitor. Printed as a handout, 4 slides per page.
Objectives
To develop students ability to gain and utilize insight for effective advertising
Brand and Product Insight:
For four weeks, we researched and studied the aspects of Taylor's Design School and its competitors to gather enough data to complete Project 1. We used a combination of primary data (interviewing people and visiting the institutions) and secondary data (brochures, websites).
Primary data:
We interviewed Ms Melody from the Taylor's Design School marketing team to glean some insight and primary data. She kindly provided with a variety of data and information, for example these slides on SWOT for TDS. (Strength, Weaknesses, Oppurtunity, Threats)
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| SWOT Analysis |
Strength:
- Reputable” Design School
- Develop thinking skills
- Innovative design solutions
- Multidisciplinary
- International influences
- Industry exposure
- Wide range of facilities
- #1 Private university for Art & Design
Weakness:
- Weak brand awareness
- The One Academy (TOA) has more design related programmes
Opportunity:
- Not the highest fees (TOA is highest)
- Different approach to learning
- High university ranking within Malaysia can be a selling point
- Demand for design courses but not many design degrees in Malaysia
Threats:
- •Limkokwing and TOA better known for design
- Lack of industry partnerships
- Lack of university partnerships
- TOA stromger industry partners
- TOA dual award (Hetfordshire)
- Limkokwing more recognised
- High fees
Secondary Research:
For our secondary research, we visted TDS website and other competitors websites to gather data and screenshots. We also collected brochures.
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| Website header |
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| Website header |
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| Website header |
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| Information on facilities |
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| Showcase on awards won by students |
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| Why design at TDS |
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| Emphasis on #1 Private university in Malaysia for Art & Design |
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| Emphasis on awards won |
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| List of programs available |
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| Call to action: Sign up to receive more details |
The choice of font is unappealing and ametuer looking while the layout is predictable and uninteresting.
Overall, the website reflects poorly on a supposed “design school”.
We also researched the advertisements as well:
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| TDS advertisements |
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| TDS advertisements |
We collected leaflets from TDS:
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| TDS Leaflet: front page |
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| TDS leaflet: why design at taylor's? |
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| TDS leaflet: Industry exposure |
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| TDS Leaflet: Internationalization |
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| TDS leaflet: wide artistic influence |
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| TDS leaflet: additional information |
The advertisements, while mildly pleasing aesthetically, do not stand out and are not attention grabbing.
The visuals and taglines used are generic and uncreative. Advertisements for design schools should be more interesting, shocking, and provocative in nature to reflect the identity of design. The way the additional information is presented (last picture) is messy as they are all on separate pieces of paper which is disorganised and easy to lose.
Conclusion:
Taylor’s University has managed to achieve a decent reputation for a Malaysian university, however The Design School needs to strive towards better brand awareness and reputability in order to keep up with other design schools in Malaysia.
TDS needs to focus on their branding and marketing strategies to achieve a higher reputation.
A change and improvement in advertising could help TDS greatly.
Target audience insight:
As our target audience is Gen Y, the Millennials, we were required to do research to get to know out target audience so we can sculpt our advertisements better. From my research, I gathered:
Gen Y is
- Aged 18-34
- 44% of the population in Malaysia
- The millennials
- 40-50% of workforce
We were given this data on Gen Y by Ms Melody:
Demographic:
Source: http://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/age_structure.html
The population pyramid on the left shows the range of ages that fall under Gen Y, which is the majority of the pyramid (population).
Geographics:
Source: http://pqi.stats.gov.my/result.php?token=38385121da4f93ee4d27f6b546a132c8
This chart shows the population of Malaysians across different states split into age. As the data shows, the most Gen Y in Malaysia can be found in Selangor.
Behaviouristics:
The behaviour of Gen Y can be simplified and generalized as the following. Gen Y's are normally driven, have a drive to be empowered and engaged. They like to be part of a community and feel a need to be connected. At the same time, they also place importance on individuality. Of course, Gen Y is technologically dependent and digitally savvy.
Psychographics:
According to my research, these are the main psychographics of Gen Y:
- High diversity
- Optimistic
- Confident
- Socially aware
- Values individuality
- Cautious over personal safety
- Distrustful over mainstream media
To interest Gen Y consumers, we have to give them an experience they will want to share. By including a sense of social responsibility and an incentive to share their content with their peers, we will be able to connect with Gen Y more deeply and help win their trust.
Conclusion:
A new approach is needed to capture the attention of Gen Y. Traditional approaches will not be well received.
It is necessary to alter advertising strategies to appeal to Gen Y by appealing to their individuality and creativity.
As Gen Y is the most technologically familiar age group, it is also necessary to appeal to this aspect of them as well.
Competitors:
The main competitors for TDS are The One Academy and Limkokwing. We did research on the websites, leaflets and advertisements for these institutions as well. These are my findings and analysis:
The One Academy:
The One Academy is a design academy located in Subang Jaya. It also has a branch in Penang. It is very established for the field of design but does not hold a university status and has a small campus. Focuses only on design courses.
The main competitors for TDS are The One Academy and Limkokwing. We did research on the websites, leaflets and advertisements for these institutions as well. These are my findings and analysis:
The One Academy:
The One Academy is a design academy located in Subang Jaya. It also has a branch in Penang. It is very established for the field of design but does not hold a university status and has a small campus. Focuses only on design courses.
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| TOA Subang Jaya campus |
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| TOA front page- focus on internationalisation |
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| TOA website- focus on programs available |
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| TOA brochure: front page |
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| TOA brochure: introduction |
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| TOA brochure: digital animation |
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| TOA brochure: student's work |
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| TOA brochure: interior design |
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| TOA brochure: Advertising & Graphic design |
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| TOA brochure: student's work |
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| TOA brochure: Multimedia |
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| TOA brochure: Illustration |
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| TOA brochure: focus on UK degree |
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| TOA Swot Analysis |
Limkokwing University:
Limkokwing University is located in Cyberjaya. They have campuses internationally as well, from the United Kingdom to in Africa. They have a university status however their reputation is no longer as good as it once was.
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| Limkokwing Cyberjaya campus |
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| Limkokwing advertisment: Focus on entrepreneurship |
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| Limkokwing advertisment: events |
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| Limkokwing website: focus on events |
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| Limkokwing website: call to action to sign up for more details and view video |
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| Limkokwing: SWOT |
Conclusion:
Design courses in Malaysian universities, especially at degree level, are still somewhat limited so there is much competition between the main universities and academies.It is important for universities to focus on emphasizing the success and quality of students work rather than trying to sell their university rankings or solely depending on affiliations or partnerships with overseas universities.
Gen Y wishes to maintain their individuality while still feeling like they belong to a shared community. Thus, a successful advertising campaign would cater to this sort of concept/idea.
The strategy proposed is to have an advertising campaign revolved around the idea of “hybrid” designers– combining together two elements to create something new.
This is to portray and promote the idea of designers that are multitalented and multidisciplinary.
It is hoped that combining a unique visual with a strong idea will attract the eyes of Gen Y and leave a long lasting impact on them.
First attempt:
Final slides:
Feedback:
Week 1: Holiday
Week 2:
General feedback: The market doesnt know out thoughts and ideas. No lightbulbs as they are overused. Hybrid is the main idea we need to focus on. I need to have the border and come up with my own taglines rather than only using the given hybrid tagline.Personal feedback: It's a good idea to put together things that actually work together such as the left and right side of the brain. The Venn diagram idea is interesting in concept but on the surface visually it could look boring and geeky. The mind + world idea is only hybrid to some extent.
Week 3:
General feedback: our ideas are still not connected to the concept of hybrid. Our ideas need to be able to have "legs" ie be able to be expanded into a series of campaign posters. Personal feedback: my ideas need to be more mature and I need to come up with better captions for some of my designs. In addition, I need to have 10 sketches every week instead of eight.
Week 4: Holiday
Week 5:
I focused too much on my one concept of "hybrid words"-- I should not do this because this is only what we should do once we have finalised a concept and we are exploring for "legs" . My sketches still lack the "hybrid" element slightly and should focus more on showing the concept of hybrid. Some of my sketches are interesting and have potential but I need to work on making it make more sense.
Reflection:
Experience:
The six hour long class is extremely taxing and exhausting. In addition, it's an 8am class and I find it extremely challenging to focus after 12pm especially if I'm hungry and if we didn't have any breaks. This impacts my understanding and work negatively. Coming up with ten new sketches every week is very challenging.
The six hour long class is extremely taxing and exhausting. In addition, it's an 8am class and I find it extremely challenging to focus after 12pm especially if I'm hungry and if we didn't have any breaks. This impacts my understanding and work negatively. Coming up with ten new sketches every week is very challenging.
Observation:
I noticed that it is absolutely necessary for me to write down what we learn or discuss in the lectures or else I will forget it almost instantly. I noticed my productivity plummets quite drastically once we get to noon, probably because I'm tired and hungry already and can't work and think as effectively. However as the semester goes on it seems easier to come up with new ideas for the sketches,
I noticed that it is absolutely necessary for me to write down what we learn or discuss in the lectures or else I will forget it almost instantly. I noticed my productivity plummets quite drastically once we get to noon, probably because I'm tired and hungry already and can't work and think as effectively. However as the semester goes on it seems easier to come up with new ideas for the sketches,
Findings:
I find that I need to be better with time management so I won't have to stress out doing last minute work, which affects the quality of the work I produce. I also need to label and record my work consistently. I find coming up with ten sketches on the same topic every week slightly monotonous.
References:
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| Purple Cow |
I read this book Purple Cow by Seth Godin. I found it a fascinated read. It talked about the importance of being able to stand out from the crowd in order to advertise efficiently. The concept of the book is based on how a purple and white cow would be able to stand out from a herd of black and white cows. The author's principle is "stand out, be amazing, or blend in and go unnoticed." I fullheartedly agree with this concept as I believe it is important to be able to be differentiated from a huge crowd of competition.
