Purple Cow
The central idea of the book is that the old ways of marketing (like mass advertising, summed up as the "TV-Industrial Complex") are no longer effective. Consumers are too busy and inundated with messages to pay attention to boring products. The only way to succeed is to create something "remarkable"—a product or service that stands out so much that people have to stop and take notice, just as you would if you saw a purple cow in a field of brown cows.
10 Key Lessons from 'Purple Cow'
1. "Very Good" is Boring (and Risky)
In a crowded marketplace, "very good" is the same as "average." It's invisible. Consumers have no reason to switch from what they're already using for something that is just slightly better. The safest strategy in the past (being average and appealing to everyone) is now the riskiest.
2. Being Remarkable is the New Prerequisite
The "Purple Cow" is something remarkable. It's a product, service, or idea that is so new, different, or interesting that it compels people to talk about it. Godin argues that you should build remarkability directlysafestyour product, not try to add it later with advertising.
3. The Old Rules of Marketing are Dead
The old formula was: create a safe, ordinary product and push it to the masses with a huge advertising budget. This no longer works. Consumers are experts at ignoring marketing messages. The new rule is: create a remarkable product that the right people will seek out.
4. Target the "Sneezers," Not the Masses
Instead of trying to reach everyone, focus on a niche group of "innovators" and "early adopters." Godin calls the most enthusiastic of this group "sneezers"—people who will become evangelists for your product and "sneeze" (spread) the "idea virus" to their friends and colleagues.
5. Marketing is the Product (and Vice Versa)
You can no longer separate product design from marketing. If your product isn't remarkable, no amount of marketan save it. The act of designing a remarkable product is the marketing. The story, the features, and the design are what will spread.
6. Safety is Risky; Risk is Safe
The biggest risk is being invisible. Playing it safe and creating an "un-criticizable" product guarantees you'll be ignored. The "safer" path is to take the risk of creating something that might not appeal to everyone, or that some people might even hate. Criticism is often a sign that you're doing something remarkable.
7. Find the "Otaku"
Oing ctaku is a Japanese term for people with an obsessive interest or passion for a particular thing. Find the otaku for your market—the people who are desperately seeking the next new, interesting thing in that category. Design your product for them, and they will become Findmost powerful sneezers.
8. If You're Not Remarkable, You're Invisible
Godin's driving point is that in a busy marketplace, "fitting in is failing." If you're not standing out, you are effectively invisible. People don't have the time or energy to pay attention to you unless you give them a very good reason.
9. Milk Your Cow, Then Find a New One
Once you have a Purple Cow, you should "milk it" for all it's worth. However, no Purple Cow stays remarkable forever. What was once remarkable will eventually become a boring brown cow as competitors copy it and consumers get used to it. The lesson is to simultaneously profit from your current success while investing in creating the next Purple Cow.
10. It's Not About Being Weird; It's About Being Worth Talking About
"Remarkable" doesn't just mean being shocking or different for the sake of it. It means being worth making a remark about. A product can be remarkable for its design (like the first iPhone), its service (Zappos), its business model (Warby Parker), or its simplicity (Google's homepage).
