This review was written by Eugene Kernes
“Cows, after you’ve seen them for a while, are boring. They may be perfect cows, attractive cows, cows with great personalities, cows lit by beautiful light, but they’re still boring. | A Purple Cow, though. Now that would be interesting. (For a while.)” – Seth Godin, Page 3
“Most people can’t buy your product. Either they don’t have the money, they don’t have the time, or they don’t want it.” – Seth Godin, Page 13
“The new rule is: Create remarkable products that the right people seek out.” – Seth Godin, Page 21
Overview:
Marketing used to be simple. Produce a mass product, with mass advertising, which leads to mass sales and profits. Those products have become boring. Products now have to become Purple Cows. They have to become remarkable. There might be nothing wrong with regular cows, regular business products, but they have become boring. Purple Cows are interesting, but that interest is temporary. Businesses need to constantly find ways to be and stay remarkable.
Marketing the
advantages of the product no longer works, for most people do not want a
different product for various reasons.
They are already happy with a similar product. They do not have the money for the different
product. They do not have time to
consider the advantages of the different product. Most people will not eagerly familiarize
themselves with a different product.
Marketing now has to be combined with a remarkable product that the
right people will seek out. A product
designed to target influencers, called sneezers. Because they will spread the product or idea
with an ideavirus. Early adopters who do
not spread the product are not sneezers.
Caveats?
The book is comprised of mostly
examples. Not much systematic
explanation of the content. Some advice
seems to be contradictory, such as claiming boring products are not remarkable,
but can be. While disapproving of boring
mass produced products, but claim that they are easier to sell. There is other empirical research indicating
that the traditional advertising works.
Does not work for every product, but does work.
