When Caitlin McNeill and her friends couldn’t agree upon the color of a dress, she posted the innocuous photo, seeking the opinions of her Tumblr-sphere, but she never imagined what would happen next.
BuzzFeed kindly decided to help out by asking the world to settle the debate, and by Friday morning, it seemed you could mention the dress to any stranger on the street to be instantly met with a firm opinion that the dress is, in fact, white and gold black and blue.
Though this debate has thrusted remarkable truths scientists have known about our brains for decades into the spotlight, it has also shown us how even the most frivolous of topics could captivate billions of Internet users’ attention.
Now that the true color has been confirmed, here are some marketing lessons we can take away from #thedress that melted the Internet.
1. Perception is reality. It’s hard to accept that not everyone sees things the way you do, and this dress became the ambassador of that truth in just a few short days. It’s the same with the audience of any brand -- what each person perceives is their own reality. That decision of what a brand is, much like what color that dress is, is how they are going to choose to see it. It’s going to impact likeability, sales, business growth, and even other people’s opinions.
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2. We like mystery. Everyone likes a little mystery. Give your audience a seemingly simple riddle or puzzle and they will stop at nothing to solve it, if only for bragging rights. We’re curious beings, and the dress proves that curiosity can affect consumer behavior. Just look at the 850% sales increase Roman is experiencing on that particular dress design right now.
3. Competition motivates us to get involved. A study published in September 2014 evaluating runners proved rivalry can increase a runner’s speed by 4.92 seconds per kilometer. The presence of rivalry has a powerful impact on motivation and personal investment. In fact, we see this happen in sports when an audience takes sides and becomes so emotionally invested in their team, it’s all they talk about for days.
When it comes to marketing, you want a motivated audience. Much like fans, that audience will share your message with their own social circles due to sheer passion that comes from the belief that your brand is the right choice, just like the color they see is. And they’ll look for feedback, hoping they can convince friends to be on their side, if they aren’t already.
4. People will create something out of nothing. Let’s be real, it’s just a dress. Though an audience always has the ability to make something more out of the inherent product or service. An audience turned a photo of a $77 dress into a deep topic to be explored by anyone brave enough to question existential reality: “Is what we see what we actually see?” The popularity lies not within the dress itself, but within the deeper question it provokes.
5. You can have fun. Not everything has to be jaw-droppingly earth-shattering to make headlines. Videos of cats and a llama chase acquire more views than some newsworthy topics simply because they’re entertaining. They help break up the monotony of our daily routines and give us something lighthearted to share with one another. For once, we can debate something not so heavy and serious. We need a good laugh every once in a while.
This dress has provoked a new way of looking at why we talk about and share the things we do. Marketers continuously study this, hoping to define the perfect formula to make something go viral. Whether you see the dress as white and gold or black and blue, I think we can all agree the viral value surrounding this controversy lies in the amusement we get from this mind-melting debate.
Why do you think #thedress went viral? Share with us in the comments below!
