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Purple Cow Theory: what it is (and why you should be one)

15.11.2021

Sara Alves Chief of Content & Copy Officer

Be a nice, sturdy purple cow!…


The Purple Cow Theory is no longer new, but it becomes more and more current.

Seth Godin tells us in Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, the book that later became the name of the theory, that on a trip to France with his family, he was enchanted by the huge green pastures full of cows by the side of the road. They were miles of fascination with what they saw.

Until the fascination made way to boredom. The landscape was indeed enchanting, but it stopped being when the novelty ended. It only took a few kilometers for the fascination to be replaced by monotony.

What if there was a purple cow in the middle of the pasture? Then the attention would be immediate and lasting.

With this, and formulating the Theory of the Purple Cow, Godin shows us how important it is that a product needs to be unique and remarkable so that it can stand out in an increasingly saturated market. To stand out to survive, in a maximum differentiation strategy.

Often, it is fear that is the biggest enemy of purple cow breeding, especially when there is no guarantee that the attempt will culminate in a notorious success. Let’s not lie, many attempts end in huge – but beautiful – failures.

The formula is more than known: try until the result is really differentiating. Being good is no longer enough. And being very good is already the Olympic minimum. So, in a world full of spotted cows, be a purple cow!

Seth Godin, the author of the Purple Cow Theory

If you’ve taken a few steps into the world of Digital Marketing, Seth Godin should not be a strange name to you. If you’ve ever searched for inspirational quotes on Pinterest, you may have also stumbled upon the work of this American author.

Seth Godin founded and served as CEO of one of the first digital marketing companies, Yoyodyne, which was later sold to Yahoo (1998).

Later, Godin would eventually establish himself as an author and speaker, becoming one of the most recognized professionals in the field.

In addition to Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Godin has published several other books related to Marketing: