Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Last week a dress took center stage online. For those who managed to remain oblivious, here’s the scoop. BuzzFeed showed a photo of a dress that, to some, was blue and black but that others decidedly saw as white and gold. The debate went viral, using the hashtag #thedress. You can read more about it here.
I find watching individuals and companies responding to “news” items instructive. Here are a few ways in which various entities jumped on The Dress bandwagon.
1. The designers of the dress took good advantage of the astounding–and free–publicity. First, they geared up for the increase of sales of The Dress, which saw sales soar 347% in the matter of a few days.
2. The designers hadn’t created a white and gold version of the dress, but they immediately set into motion the manufacture of that dress.
3. They pointed out in media that the dress, which many commenters stated they loved regardless what color it was, was available in other colors.
4. They took their message to the media and gave a number of interviews.
5. Others, as is prone to happen, with alacrity created their own media opportunity out of interest in TheDress. Here’s an ad that The Salvation Army created. 
Here’s the story about how the ad was created.
And my point? As we’ve often been told, when something breaks on the news connected to a topic you write about, drop everything and add your voice to the conversation. As the ad people who created the photo about domestic abuse found, even a silly but viral discussion about the color of a dress can lead creative minds to convey a serious message from the meme.
6. The future belongs not to the best or the most talented but to the swiftest.
What ways did you see people and companies take advantage of TheDress going viral?
What lesson(s) do you take away from events like these? Are you prepared today to take advantage if something happened you could link to in a way that isn’t cheesy? Okay, that is cheesy?
TWEETABLES
What #TheDress teaches about being savvy online. Click to tweet.
How even silly viral postings can start a serious conversation. #TheDress Click to tweet.
Janet, when this dress first appeared on social media I didn’t give it more than a few seconds thought. Then, incredibly, it began appearing over and over and I couldn’t imagine why. But when BuzzFeed, celebrities, and other news sources started their conversations it was definitely a lesson in how powerful social media has become. Even when it’s about something as silly as this.
As one who’s an active user, I often wonder what makes certain things go viral on the net. Obviously, the secret is getting people with big platforms and large voices to take notice and pass the word. And an outlet like BuzFeed is a huge blowhorn for that purpose. But why “the dress” and not something else? That’s what always puzzles me.
The company that used this best was The Salvation Army. I think bringing attention to domestic violence was brilliant. Just imagine if this piece of clothing was included in a novel how well that would help its sales.
Thanks for sharing this article. Anyone who’s engaged on social media and looking for ways to build a larger platform should always link to what’s trending and catch that surging wave!
Randy, I think what often makes an item trend online is if it touches our emotions–makes us laugh or makes us cry. The Dress confounded us. How could one friend see the dress one way while we’re SURE the dress is something entirely different. We wanted to talk about our responses and share the photos with others.
Janet, you’re so right that trends are all about emotions. I’m sure there were many humorous and heated debates this dress created. Something so simple, yet worthy of people taking notice and engaging. Definitely a lesson in social media knowledge.
What I am SO impressed with is that the agency went to the Salvation Army, not vice versa.
This advertising agency knew the importance of social media and how to harness it. Who wins? The women, and please let us not forget that there are male victims of spousal/partner abuse, and the Salvation Army.
No doubt more than one person seeing that viral debate wondered how to harness it, but the manner in which it was made to work for those who need it most is rather impressive.
I have managed, on occasion, to make use of the double entendre that is the phrase “nice buns”.
When I was actively engaged in doing missoin work in Bolivia, I had to raise a CHUNK of change. So, I pooled my talents and baked. I am sort of well known for my cinnamon buns and my triple chocolate cheesecakes, oh, and my New York cheesecakes, but the triple chocolate is a bit if a crowd pleaser.
But, oy, the cinnamon buns can make people do all kinds of things, like write cheques.
So, someone may or may not actually say to people “Well, I do have the best buns in town” with a completely straight face.
From the pulpit.
Into a microphone.
That does two things, shocks Broca, and makes people order more calories than they know what to do with.
The thing is, people have suggested I open my own bakery, but that ain’t gonna EVER happen. Why? Because I need to be able to harness the power of my buns when I need to, and not saturate the market so that my product becomes ho-hum and no one wants them.
Always leave them wanting more.
Great thoughts, Jennifer. And yes, I can totally picture you saying . . . that . . . in front of a mic. For a good cause. 🙂
And, what you said is important. The thought of what we have to offer becoming ho-hum? Not good for marketing, sales, or egos. 🙂
Jennifer, no one can deny that YOU are a crowd pleaser. 🙂
Jennifer, your story reminded me: we used to live in a little town with three churches that cooperated for Vacation Bible School. It was funded via a dessert auction. Desserts were auctioned to the highest bidder, with the notion that half went home and half was available for the dessert fest following the auction. Bidding was always rabid and rowdy for one dear lady’s sticky buns–her pan brought in more money than all other desserts combined–good buns indeed!
One other side comment to this. I happened to catch a newsclip/video of Ellen interviewing the bride and groom, the friend who originally posted the pic on Tumblr (or was it Instagram?), and also the mother-of-the-bride, who wore THE DRESS and showed it’s true colors. She actually flew the couple from their honeymoon to her show. At the end of their segment, she offered them a completely paid for honeymoon, and a lot of money and other great things newlyweds would love. Ellen came out looking like a saint, and she solved the great debate. I thought that was a great way to take advantage of the marketing opportunity.
The Dress lesson has taught me to be more aware of these sort of blitzes that come from time to time on social media. It’s not something I naturally think to look for. I definitely need to study more on this sort of phenomena to figure out how to harness it in the future. 🙂
Great post, Janet.
One of the contestants on American Idol wore THE DRESS, too, this last week.
Clever contestant!
And thanks for mentioning Ellen’s show. That was really smart, too.
I also saw a scientist’s blog in which he explained the phenomenon we were all experiencing. It appeared on the first page of Google when I searched for “what color is this dress.”
Jeane, what impressed me about the ad about abuse was how clever the ad agency was. We don’t naturally think of going from the color of a dress to abuse, but, oh, my the ad is powerful.
We don’t know that we can all think that creatively and act quickly enough to be part of the fast-moving conversation, but if a link DOES occur to us, I think we need to not hesitate to add our voice.
I think you’re right. It seems like there’s a better chance of being able to think creatively on the fly if we’re somewhat attuned and not too busy with other distractions. Or maybe that’s just me. 🙂
The Salvation Army ad is POWERFUL.
Yes. They did an amazing job.
It IS powerful.
I saw this clever tweet from the Ford Motor Company – live video shows the mustang in both blue and black, and gold and white.
@Ford Feb 27
https://twitter.com/Ford/status/571358041825796096/photo/1
I hadn’t seen that, Susan. Very clever–racing stripes and all.
I had a blog post written about it, because it honestly sparked an awesome conversation in our family. But I didn’t post it exactly because I felt I would be jumping on the bandwagon, and I didn’t want to.
I think that if something goes viral, it is almost never expected by the person that posted it, so it’s good to think about these things in advance so you have a bit of a possible game plan if it happens to you. I think we can do that by watching what others do in similar situations. And this case is a really good example! It also just goes to show you never know what will resonate with people! Who’d have thought?
I would think that being available to answer comments and questions and continue the conversation would be the most important thing. Other than that, I have no idea 🙂
Angela, I wrote a post about how to respond if your blog goes viral that provides some tips on what to do. https://booksandsuch.com/blog/what-to-do-if-your-blog-goes-viral/
Great post, Janet. I managed to completely miss this phenomenon. Not sure if that’s a good thing, but the only thing I saw was a friend’s post that said, “I’ve never been so sick of a dress.” I had no idea what she was talking about.
That said, I think I also missed a great opportunity when the time capsule of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere was found. Since I have a few stories about Sam, I might have been able to capitalize on that, but the thought never even crossed my mind. Any ideas on how we as writers can take advantage of such things?
Thanks,
Amber Schamel
Using your social media connections is the best way to respond quickly when news breaks. I’m not sure what you wrote about Samuel Adams, but you could have linked to the news item online and then wrote something on FB such as, “I so came to appreciate Samuel Adams’s contributions to our nation when I wrote ____________” Or, “Want to learn more about Sam Adams, read ___________” Or, Did you know Sam Adams _____________? Read the details in ______________” Or write a blog post about some little known Sam Adams fact and present it as timely because of the time capsule.
Those are the ideas that occur off the top of my head.
Thanks, Janet!
I missed the whole thing, and I don’t care.
If this is the face of the future…in which that future belongs to those who choose to remain on a social media IV so that they may respond instantly to a trend like this…
You can have it.
I have a life. I write stories that real people actually like, and if I never get picked up by an agent, much less a major publisher because I don’t have the hyper-responsive Social Media Twitch…well, their loss.
If i sell two books to people who’ll write back and say that their lives were changed for the better…that makes it worthwhile.
Even ONE person would make it worthwhile.
I like my life, I like what I do, and if The Future demands that I develop antennae sensitive to developing SM trends…
Well, I can beat out metal with a hammer and a shot bag that will rival anything that the Ferrari plant puts out.
Try to get Facebook or Twitter to do THAT.
And I don’t even have to listen to the radio.
I will say that I did see this phenomenon, mostly because it kept popping up in my news feed. The thing I find most surprising is that some of the things that go viral are so trivial in the big scheme of things. It’s interesting to see while something trends, but it’s kind of sad because people get so caught up of the small things of life, that often have nothing to do with them.
That’s absolutely right, Jeanne.
I think the danger, for a writer, is that following “news fads” like this requires the development of a certain mindset.
You can’t follow, be able to respond appropriately (and in a timely manner), and remain disinterested.
One some level, there has to be involvement, and this changes the way one thinks.
Case in point – I drifted from listening to classical music to listening to top 40 and thrash metal when the classical radio station in my town went away.
Later, I found that my response to classical music had changed; I was no longer the same listener.
One might say, well, that’s GROWTH. possibly, but it misses the point; the ‘classical music arc’ is different from the ‘metalhead’ arc, and the difference in outlook was,, as I learned over time, profound. I could not go back, and the future that the classical listener had died.
I’d hate for my writing persona to become wrapped up in triviality. I’d hate the reduction of attention span that’s implicit in following transient social phenomena.
Yes, the blue/black/white/gold thing was initially rather silly. But in my mind, it addressed a few things. One, a person’s visual interpretation. I saw white and gold. Why did I see that? People started posting about the science of it all, which was really quite interesting.
So, somewhere out there, is a person who saw neither colour combination and is now having his or her eyes checked because from this silly viral meme, and a question of visual health is being dealt with. An old friend of ours is an optomitrist. He saw something funny in someone’s eyes, and actually alerted that person to seek out a blood test, and a rare form of cancer was detected.
An ad agency in South Africa used a viral phenomenon and asked a very pointed question.
Somewhere, a woman finally will seek help because someone else noticed the black and blue.
Yes, social media is here, and yes, it will stay, whether or not we like it. Or think it is pointless and stupid. Or care at all.
One need not get swept up in things that seem not to matter, but, it is possible to harness things that appear not to matter, into things that do.
One man’s social media junk is another man’s treasure. Or? It’s what saves his sister.
Andrew, part of the reason I wanted to blog about The Dress is because I was so gratified by the way the ad agency took something that’s just silly and used it to good effect.
Yes, social media can cause us to focus on trivial matters. But sometimes my brain needs a break from the heartbreaking condition of our world. It’s hard not to be fatigued by all the threatening and disillusioning news that streams our way 24/7.
Janet, you’re absolutely right.
My comment was both humourless and arrogant, and I sincerely apologize.
Andrew, there’s no need to apologize. The comments section is an appropriate place for us to express our opinions. At first glance, you saw the fuss over The Dress as just silly. I get that.
Um yeah, I saw it pop up on my news feed a lot and totally ignored it. But if two people in one family saw it as different colors, I could see how that might be interesting.
It caused quite the conversation between Rachel Kent and me since we saw the dress differently. It was fun–and fun to google about the dress and see all the interaction that occurred over it. It truly became a conversation starter for lots of people.
What I appreciated about the whole dress debate was that it crossed generations and social media forums. My 12-year-old daughter (who spends her social media time on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram) and I (Facebook/Twitter) both noted the flurry of activity and had fun comparing what we saw–which of course was different. Then we got a good giggle at how the frivolous topic was sweeping the internet. On Saturday, we went to the mall to pick out a dress for an upcoming function and entertained each other by pointing out every white/gold or blue/black outfit and calling it the opposite. How often do you find a topic that can amuse both a 40-something and a 12-year-old? It might have been trivial fluff, but it allowed us to laugh together. I’m all for that.
Karen, thanks for pointing out how trans-generational and trans-media The Dress was. I hadn’t thought in terms, but that’s a great insight.
There were so many creative responses to this social media hashtag. That’s the great thing about these types of social trends – everyone can be a part of the conversation (especially brands and authors)!
I thought the whole dress thing was crazy at first, then when I saw how viral it was, I sat back in awe.
About the time I became aware of the buzz, an author friend announced she had a free ebook promotion and was trying to pull up it’s sales ranking on Amazon. The book cover happened to feature a pretty purple dress. 🙂
So . . . I created (very cheesy) posts on Twitter and Facebook with hashtags, “I don’t know if “that other dress” is #blackandblue or #whiteandgold, but this one’s purple, and it happens to be on the cover of a great read.”
Capitalizing on that trend was a fun way to reach folks I normally didn’t. I’m not sure, but I’m hoping my friend got a lot of sales from it. 🙂
When I’m published, I’ll definitely be looking for other “the dress” type incidents to ride marketing some on. 🙂
Natalie, that was a great way to take advantage of the interest in The Dress. Bravo!