The purple cow

Learn how to create products and services worth marketing in the first place.

In The Purple Cow , Seth Godin, the world's most influential business blogger and pioneer of discussions about ethics in online direct marketing, urges you to put a purple cow in everything you build, and in everything you do, to create something truly remarkable.

Imagine this: one sunny morning, you're in your car on a trip to a place you've always wanted to visit. At one point, you look out at the landscape, with its vast green pastures, and spot a herd of cows. You might be amazed and find it enjoyable to see all those animals together; but at some point, you'll surely tire of the same old thing and no longer be interested in watching those dull, ordinary cows doing what they're supposed to do.

But what if there was something different in this monotony? Something that stood out? A cow of a different color—purple, for example? It's with this analogy that entrepreneur and change agent Seth Godin offers a fresh perspective on what marketing teams need to do to make products and brands more successful in their sales.

The author demonstrates that old marketing methods—the traditional Ps , such as price, promotion, position, advertising, bundling, propagation, and permission—are doomed to failure because they are predictable. The rule, which used to be to create common, safe products and associate them with a great marketing plan, has become to create remarkable products that the right people are looking for.

The purple cow , therefore, proposes a new way to impact the market, demonstrating that today, brands are either extraordinary or invisible. Whether in a professional career or in the sale and consolidation of a brand or product, security is a risky proposition. The path to success is to become remarkable.