The Purple Cow
In a world of brown cows, only the purple one gets noticed — remarkable is the only marketing that works
The Purple Cow framework argues that traditional advertising is dead and the only marketing that works is building remarkability into the product itself. In a world where consumers are too busy to pay attention, too satisfied to care, and too skeptical to believe ads, the only products that succeed are those worth talking about. Remarkable is the new P of marketing — not an add-on, but the foundation.
- Something remarkable is worth talking about — boring stuff is invisible
- Remarkable marketing is the art of building things worth noticing right into your product or service
- The opposite of remarkable is not bad — it's 'very good'
- In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing — not standing out is the same as being invisible
- You must design a product remarkable enough to attract early adopters but flexible enough that those adopters can easily spread the idea
- Stop advertising and start innovating
- Accept That Safe Is InvisibleRecognize that in today's crowded marketplace, a very good product is invisible. The opposite of remarkable isn't bad — it's 'very good.' If your airline gets people there safely, nobody talks about it. If your product works as expected, nobody notices. Boring always leads to failure.
- Design Remarkability Into the ProductStop treating marketing as something you do after the product is made. Build the Purple Cow into the product itself. The marketing IS the product. Put the marketing budget into the design budget. Ask: what would happen if you gave your next three products' marketing budgets to the designers instead?
- Go for the EdgesRemarkable products are outliers. They're super-fast or super-slow, very exclusive or very cheap, very big or very small. Challenge yourself to describe what the edges look like in your market, then test which edge delivers the best results. Compromise is the enemy — a camel is a horse designed by a committee.
- Target a Niche, Not the MassesDon't try to make a product for everybody — that's a product for nobody. Segment off a small slice of the market that will truly respond to what you sell. The early adopters in a niche are more eager to hear your story, and the market is small enough that a few sneezers can create the critical mass you need.
- Create a Script for SpreadingGive your product a slogan or positioning statement that serves as a script for sneezers. It should remind users why it's worth recommending and guarantee the word of mouth is passed on properly. Think Tiffany's blue box, the Leaning Tower of Pisa — pure, simple, easy to pass on.
- Measure and IterateCreators of the Purple Cow must measure everything. Every product, interaction, and policy is either persuading sneezers and spreading the word, or it's not. Companies that measure will quickly optimize their offerings and make them more virus-worthy. If you measure it, it will improve.
Seth Godin conceived the Purple Cow while driving through France with his family, enchanted by hundreds of storybook cows grazing on picturesque pastures. Within twenty minutes, the cows became boring — they were invisible. He realized a Purple Cow would be the only one worth noticing, and this became his metaphor for marketing in the post-TV-advertising age.