Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Justin Ramedia

The genius of Purple’s marketing strategy

Not long ago, I was trying to watch a video on YouTube. I got the expected “5-second till skipping” countdown and had my mouse hovering over the skip link, but the video was interesting. I laughed, so I figured I’d give it another few seconds to see what the product was all about. I ended up watching the full 4-minute video (and I was entertained). I completely forgot about the video I was hoping to watch because the ad content was so ridiculously engaging. How often has a company nailed it this perfectly? Check out the ad below… I’ll wait.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/152d4cd83d0ce385e8e467524f8181af/href">https://medium.com/media/152d4cd83d0ce385e8e467524f8181af/href</a>

Notice the combination of hard-facts and science peppered in with hilarious analogies? Notice the raw honesty? Purple doesn’t tip-toe around established norms. They tell you within 3 seconds that your bed is “awful.”

To be fair, the “raw-egg test” is probably something that Purple made up, but because it’s presented as “science” I don’t even care. They may be the only company that’s using this test, but it’s such an effective way to communicate the benefits of their mattress that it doesn’t even matter if it means I’ll sleep better because of it. It just hits the right tone of “this sounds accurate enough to be true. I want one.”

I did a bit of research on the Purple bed and read most of their site content before realizing that I had been perfectly, and effectively marketed to. I had been interrupted doing something that I wanted to do with advertising, and because it was so well-done, I actually did what the advertiser wanted me to do. I read their information and I’ll be buying their products (starting with the Purple Pillow).

A seamless marketing experience

Each section of their website follows the same pattern:

1Under the navigation, they introduce a funny video featuring their product. These videos are informative, but so much fun to watch that you literally learn everything you need to know without having to read a bit of content. I could sell these products myself now. Trainers — take note.

2After the video content, they focus on features and facts. They still use interesting or engaging language in their copy, but the focus is the “here’s what you can expect” copy.

3After you’re familiar with the product and it’s benefits, they show you actual reviews of their customers. These are unfiltered and give you every review — even the bad ones.

I don’t know what I had been googling for Purple to target me, but I have been having back and neck pain, so when this ad popped up, I was already primed to pay attention. This is how a seamless experience is created. You start with interested viewers (anyone with back or neck pain or anyone looking for a mattress). You then target them and present your ad. If it’s a good one, users will visit your site where you change from a user to a customer.

Purple did it’s job so well and instilled trust and delight so early, that I was prepped to become a customer the moment I watched their ad. This is how seamless marketing experiences should occur. A thoughtful user journey ending with a real purchase.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/265bfabb7f106f955540e21a0ffee208/href">https://medium.com/media/265bfabb7f106f955540e21a0ffee208/href</a>

Purple didn’t neglect branding either because I already understand the Purple brand from their irreverent videos and use of their brand name’s color in every product.

For those of us that hang on the words of Seth Godin, advertising is something to be earned. When a company understands its users as well as purple does, it feels like they have earned our trust or buy-in already, even though they are doing fairly traditional advertising. They just used a format that has worked for decades — build great products, tell people about why they are great. Simple and effective.

To learn more about marketing strategy and its connection to UX and product design, reach out at hello@justinramedia.com.

When advertising actually works was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When advertising actually works

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