Purple Cow Marketing:
Creating a unique, memorable, and daring product (or brand) that stands out in a crowded marketplace — ensuring it captures attention and drives organic word-of-mouth promotion.
In today’s noisy marketplace, the worst thing you can be is ordinary.
We see hundreds (maybe even thousands) of ads per day — each one vying for our attention. But how many of these are memorable? Better yet, how many would you actively want to share with a friend? I suspect the answer is ‘very few’.
Imagine you’re driving down an old country road. You look out the window.
Brown cow.
Black cow.
White cow.
Purple cow?!?!
You slam the brakes. You grab your phone. You snap a picture. You share it online.
Why? Because it’s a f*cking purple cow, that’s why!
This concept is the cornerstone of Seth Godin’s marketing philosophy, coined in his book of the same name.
Purple Cow marketing means creating products, services, or campaigns that are so unique they demand attention.
Consumers are inundated with options — and they all look the same. Only remarkable ideas have a chance to cut through the noise.
A purple cow makes people pause, take notice, and, most importantly, share.
A classic example of purple cow marketing is Oatly, the Swedish oat milk brand.
Rather than blending into the health-conscious drink market, Oatly disrupted it with bold, quirky packaging and uniquely shareable slogans.
“It’s like milk but made for humans”
The result? Oatly became a category leader and continues to dominate the market.
So how can you apply this yourself?
If your offer isn’t inherently ‘purple’, your marketing still can be:
Spark curiosity
Create emotion.
Break convention.
People don’t just buy products — they buy the story behind them.
In the end, purple cow marketing is a dare. A dare to be different, to be bold, and to risk standing out.
Sure, not everyone will ‘get’ your purple cow, but those who do will become your biggest advocates.
Because in a world full of ordinary, only the remarkable survives.
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Standing out in the sea of sameness!
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