These days it seems everything is about marketing. Most important is perhaps our ability to market ourselves. Purple Cow is a best-seller about standing out, being original and setting yourself apart - a vital skill for anyone looking to find a successful and satisfying career.

Seth Godin, a highly successful marketing expert, best-selling author, lecturer, and entrepreneur essentially shares his secret to success. That is, how to be remarkable. He shares the "magic formulas" behind successful companies such as Starbucks and Apple and shows us how we can do the same.

Setting high standards, being passionate and having guts are amongst the messages in this book. Godin wraps up his concepts within a ten point checklist that teaches us how to create a Purple Cow, in other words a product that will stand out. Whether that product be yourself or your idea.

Purple Cow sheds some much needed light on just how difficult it is to been seen and heard in an incredibly saturated marketplace. If you have an passion project but don't know quite where to start, this is the place.

Danny Iny
Author of the free eBook "Forget Everything You Know About Looking For a Job... And Actually Find One!"
HuntingToHired, www.HuntingToHired.com

This book is great. Very up to date and useful information in a book that's fun and fast to read!

A munchie-size book saying: try to make your product stick out, so people notice it and start talking about it. If that was already obvious to you, then you don't need to read it.

Purple cow is the right message told in a very authentic and genuine way about creating remarkable efforts, products and work of any kind. Take the old saying "if it worth doing, it's worth doing well" to a whole new level. This book will change your outlook on creating "just good enough".

A must read if you are in marketing or business of any kind!

An easy, entertaining read, this book is full of valuable tips for anybody ready to make changes and truly impact your business by getting your brand noticed. Seth tells you you're either a Purple Cow or you're not. You're either remarkable or invisible. Pick one! Definitely one of my all time favorites!

I read the PURPLE COW in one sitting and it changed my entire philosophy on how to build out SUCCESSFUL marketing for my new theater company. I have always held several of the book's concepts as core business values but it gave me complete perspective to know I am on the right path to becoming REMARKABLE! This is one book you simply can not pass up if you intend to survive TODAY in any market. Confused or discouraged about how to reach people with YOUR business? Then you need PURPLE COW!

I apologize for my english because I'm a french reader(Paris).
"The purple cow" is a marketing easy reading book with lots of cases and success stories. I always wonder reading this kind of book if it was so easy to make a successful brand like to make a good cake. I'm sure it's not. The author seems to know all the keys of marketing and resume them in one idea : be remarkable. Isn't it too simplistic ? And what about be unremarkable by being always remarkable,think of United Colors of Benetton. The question is not approached. But the book is a good distraction for thoses who are interesting in funny and rationnal marketing short cuts. Anyway, remain to think in a singular way is always a good work to do in any job. Then, The Purple Cow is a useful training in this way. Enjoy your reading.

This is an excellent book that should be read by leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs in every industry. Even if you are just sitting at home on your couch, feeling sluggish, and completely uncreative, pick up this book. It will not only spire you, but also give you the tools you need to be remarkable.

"Purple Cow" is definitely one of the greatest Marketing and strategy books I've ever read.
It doesn't take long to read it all, it's fast, objective and it certainly makes you stand up and start making difference in any kind of business you're dealing with.

I love Godin's creative approach to marketing, but does anyone else feel that he's milking us? "The Purple Cow" is a perfect example. It's a great idea that would have made a great article in FastCompany, but when stretched into a book, it becomes tiresome and loses its original magic.

This book has been recommended to me by several others and I finally had time to pick it up and read it cover to cover. Seth Godin is the guru on marketing and how to set yourself apart from the competition. I was impressed at how quickly I finished this book, both his style of writing is easy to follow and is direct and to the point. His lessons are very simple but often overlooked and under considered. You just have to be remarkable in what you do.

I plan to read additional books from Seth and apply the lessons that I learned from his book to my business.

Purple Cow is a great book by a great writer. This book has made me rethink the way I look at my business

I just finished reading two books by the prolific marketeer Seth Godin: Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside. I had heard a number of people discussing Godin's latest book and thought I would see what I was missing.

Purple Cow is a battle cry to make remarkable products. It is a passionate plea that a product that tries to be all things to all people will be nothing to everyone. Godin makes a case that a product should leave the happy middle ground. Make the cheapest product, or the most expensive, the most elegant or the simplest. The early adopters are the people that you need to win first and they are not drawn to the average product. A remarkable product, literally one that would make someone remark and take notice, will produce "sneezers" who will distribute your "idea virus".

Free Prize Inside! argues that a series of small incremental changes to your product to add value is better than either a huge marketing or a huge research budget. When Amazon took their large marketing budget and instead spent it on free shipping they created value, a "free prize", for their customers. Give your customers a free prize, give them value, and they will talk about it.

I enjoyed both books even if I did not always relate to the world he was writing about. Having worked in Silicon Valley startup companies for so long I did not relate to some of the information in Free Prize Inside! about how to sell your ideas to a management chain that would clearly be resistant. I did not disagree that this happens, I just did not relate on a personal level. Also I find Godin's terminology like "sneezers" to be something that I am likely to remember but embarrassed to repeat.

My favorite part of both books are the concrete examples that I look for in a book in this genre. I am left with questions like "how would I do something similar for my company, my blog or my podcast?" "What free prize could I provide my customers, my readers or my listeners?" So I am left with questions, but those are exactly the kind of questions I am looking for.

At the heart of this book is the notion of "Moore's idea diffusion curve". It's just a bell-curve that shows innovators (sneezers), early adopters, early/late majority, and laggards. The central theme of the book is that you need to target the front of that curve by appealing your "remarkable" product to them as a niche, and treat them very specially.

Contrary to the most popular review here (quite negative) calling this book an unnecessarily expanded essay, I would argue that Godin covers a lot of ground in a concise 137 pages. And you don't need an MBA to understand the principles. This book is required reading for anyone looking to start a business.

The most resonating take-away is that marketing has worked its way to the front phases of product development. If the product can't *be* the marketing, then it will fail. This means that developers/engineers need to understand a bit about marketing, and need to be able to include and work with marketers from conception.

In the few hours it took to read through "Purple Cow", I've been able to take away quite a few valuable insights:

- The days of the "Hurricane Effect" (traditional massive blitz marketing, e.g., TV commercials, banner ads) are over

- Understand the importance of the idea curve (a simple concept) and its ripple effect.

- Employ market-centric design (marketers need to be a part of early design phase).

- At the front of the curve are sneezers -- a very loud group of users who will do your marketing for you.

- Treat the sneezers individually and personally, as your most valuable asset. Overwhelm that small target, and please them in every way possible.

- You can only attract sneezers by being remarkable (a purple cow, stand out, break the rules, do the unsafe thing, etc).

- The marketing *is* the product (the Leaning Tower of Pisa markets itself just in its name), and a good slogan is essential.

- If your product is not innovative, start over.

- Find an edge of the market, go to it and beyond.

- Resist the temptation to "milk the cow" (be ever seeking the next purple cow).

If you must pay $[...] for this book, it is well worth it. But given its popularity, you'll likely find many copies at your local library. In reading this you'll probably become a Godin fan. His blog ([...]/) continues to discuss material similar to that found in this book.

Criticizing Seth's work on this one is just silly. Silly because I don't believe that the authors intention was deliver reams of quantitative analysis. It is a terribly simple concept that has expontential marketing value if your company can consistently replicate its core concept. There in lies the dichotomy. If you are a PC, can you stay the same and expect PC results? No. Your company must reinvent itself time and time again to remain a PC. Its hard. Its worth it. Your customers will keep coming back. Seth is an entertaining and powerful author. He has cool ideas and makes contemplating and reading about business fun. It should be. If you aren't in the mood to learn and have fun, pick another title. That should be obvious from the slip cover. I have been a Godin sneezer for years. It is practically impossible for me not to be. Seth is a master story teller and his insights have significant value. Have some fun with your life, read Purple Cow. Any comments are always welcome.

Seth Godin is brilliant at seeing the core of a problem and giving a one-liner to sum it up.

The concept of working out how to be a purple cow is one of the most brilliant flashes for remarkable advertising.

Thank you Seth - You really clarify marketing

This compact, but powerful book showed the way for other authors to explore non-traditional, non-MBA marketing approaches. You can't put lipstick on a pig and hope no one notices it's a pig. You've got to stand out like a purple cow, hence the book title. The only way: Make products and services that matters, that people talk about, and that they ultimately want.

Very good read for why a business or service should develop new ideas to promote your product or service.

Easy to read, no nonsense. I love this book and it makes so much sense. I would recommend it to anyone in business... not just the marketers or the executives... everyone. We can all find the Purple Cow in our business or create one!

Although books like The Tipping Point, Blink, and Freakonomics are a bit more entertaining, Purple Cow does change the way you look at marketing. My only real issue is its repetitive nature and the relentless critique of current advertising. Perhaps Godin could spend more time inspiring and less time bashing big corporation's TV spots.

If you're anything like me, you've probably heard of Seth Godin, maybe picked up some of his big ideas or read some of his writing online. But there's no substitute for reading a book to get into the head of an author, to follow his train of thought, to work though those big ideas and start figuring how they might apply to you and your business.

That's certainly how I felt after reading Purple Cow. It's an enjoyable, easy read but with some big ideas about marketing, innovation and the value of the loyal customer that will challenge the way that you think, and the way you do business.

A book that deserves to be on every business bookshelf.

Twenty years ago, Tom Peters shared the same notion in "The Pursuit of Wow." In "The Purple Cow" Seth Godin explains and expands this "wow factor."

In the new marketing age, consumers are too busy and too flooded with marketing to listen to the typical pitch. So, if your product is not remarkable, if it doesn't stand out by itself (with or without marketing) like a purple cow in a herd of Holsteins, then it will be lost in the proverbial shuffle.

Today's consumer is consumed by attention deficit. So how do you get busy people who have everything they want and who are constantly bombarded with sales pitches to listen to you? The confluence of available choices (high) and available time (low) conspires against today's entrepreneur.

Since consumers today ignore you and insist on permission marketing, the old rule is out: create safe, ordinary products and combine them with great marketing. The new rule is in: create remarkable products that the right people seek out. Be the outlier--the company that's different, that thinks and acts outside the box.

Smashed down and compacted, Godin's whole message is: it's safer to be risky, to pursue the truly remarkable, different product, rather than to try to market a safe, boring product remarkably. Create a fascinating product that stands out from the crowd rather than creating a fascinating ad campaign for your ordinary product.

So what to do? Create idea viruses that spread from the early adopters to the general public. How do you create an idea that spreads? Don't try to make a product for everybody, because that product is for nobody. The everybody products are all taken. The way you break through to the mainstream is to target a niche instead of a huge market. As Godin says in a later book, "small is big."

But here's the key--the product must be built virus ready! The intention of the invention must be niche novelty. You must develop products and services so useful, interesting, outrageous, and noteworthy that your niche market will want to listen to what you have to say.

You can't make people listen. But you can figure out who's likely to be listening when you talk. And when you talk, you're either remarkable or invisible depending on how purple your cow is (not how much purple you use in advertising your cow). So, create a product that dominates a niche. Think small.

But why is the purple cow so rare? Fear. Create something unique and people will criticize it. Criticism comes to those who dare to be different. The timid fit in and go unnoticed--lost in the shuffle of the shuffling herd. Be different. Give the marketing budget to the designer. Innovate a product and introduce it to your sneezers. Launch a new product, not a new slogan. Explore the limit. Ask, "Why not?"

But what if you've already invented? Then redefine what you sell. Go for the edges (niche influencers) and describe in fresh ways what those edges are. Be edgy--the edgier the better, the edgiest the best.

Thus, none of this means that the "slogan" is bad. It just means that the slogan is good for a different reason. It used to be the slogan was good because it fit the 30 second commercial sound bite. Now the slogan is good because the virus can be passed more easily, more succinctly. Your product should shout: "Remarkable boast that's true!" Then it will be worth passing on. The slogan is the story that influencers pass on like a virus.

Where does remarkable originate? From passionate people who make products first for themselves.

But . . . how purple is "The Purple Cow?" True, it's not that novel. But, people bought it. The book itself practiced what it preached. Yes, the savvy entrepreneur already gets this. But Godin's niche is the wanna-be, not-yet-savvy innovator. There are plenty of those out there (to date--250,000 who have bought "The Purple Cow").

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering," "Soul Physicians," and "Spiritual Friends."

I was suggested this book by the Marketing director at the company I am interning with, and it was very helpful, easy to read, detailed, and down to earth with ideas that you can put to use right away instead of vague generalities for the most part.

Purple Cow is a remarkable little book about the current state of marketing. Seth Godin makes the convincing case that selling ordinary products using traditional advertising no longer works.

Ordinary products are easy to make these days, most of us have everything we need, and we're pretty satisfied with it. No amount of money spent on ads is going to make us change our mind. If customers don't have the problem you're trying to solve, they will not even listen. You are invisible.

Instead, Godin argues, smart companies now spend their money in product design, so that they can come up with remarkable products (purple cows) that influential early adopters can then "sell" to other people through word of mouth. In Purple Cow products, the product and the message are one and the same: the product tells a story that people naturally want to share.

Recently, I was sitting next to a friend during lunch and, while we were waiting to be served he pulled out his new iPhone. I couldn't help but to make a remark about how sleek it looked; he then answered by giving me a passionate demonstration of all of the phone's features. If I were more of a gadget-head, I would have left the restaurant and go buy one immediately. This is a perfect example of a Purple Cow at work.

How does one make a Purple Cow? Seth doesn't have the answer, but offers a good suggestion: look for the edges, explore the limits. Find a product that is "too" something for most people, but absolutely irresistible for a small (but big enough to be profitable) group of people, who will in turn evangelize your product to others.

As usual, Seth uses plenty of compelling case studies to make his points, and writes down his takeaways at the end of each chapter, which makes the concepts covered in the book easier to digest. At 160 small-format pages, the book is a quick and entertaining read, ideal for when you have a couple of hours to kill on a plane or airport.

This is a great book because it gets to the heart of the issues holding back 95% of all businesses and marketers. How do we get our products and services to sell themselves? This is not some stale text book either. This is an excellent synopsis on business model innovation!

If you want the stale version of innovation try reading Strategy Maps, the Innovator's Solution and Corporate Creativity. It is a great book as well and far more like a textbook, if you enjoy that kind of thing. There's no fat to trim from the edges of this book you get straight to the meat.

Seth Godin is one of the premier marketers of our time. He builds on the Ideavirus and Permission Marketing very nicely in this book by giving you examples of the KEYS to success for business models like HBO, Starbucks, Jetblue and Krispy Kreme. But there are also accessible business models used of the smaller, mom and pop shop too. The crux of this book isn't the size or age of the business; its the innovations that set them apart and made them successful. In most cases they are very simple differentiations anyone could have done. The example companies did something simple and innovative and became REMARKABLE. The competition (like some negative reviewers of this book) didn't and became average or worse.

For the reader looking to create something remarkable and you don't have a snobbish marketing degree I highly recommend this book. For those of you who may read this, have already spent 4, 5 or more years in marketing (or getting a degree), some of this book is going to be helpful and some oversimplified. I recommend this book to the experienced marketer with 3 to 4 stars. A very worth while book.

I used to be a subscriber to a service that periodically delivered me briefs from books according to user interests.

In Godin's Purple Cow I found a book that could be easily read, full loaded of examples, entertained and -as in previous books from this author- 100% marketing/sales oriented.

Seth's books always contain brief flashes of brilliance and this one is no different. While the concept and packaging of the idea of the "purple cow" is a little stretched at times, there are good points that every successful business (or anyone with a message) should follow.

I have a lot of stuff by Seth Godin and think he is brilliant but this book disappointed me.

After reading Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore which Seth eludes to in a lot of his work I think Purple Cow brings Moores book in to the 21st century and adds different words but the meaning and theory of Crossing the Chasm still remain Moores work.

It is one of Seth Godins early works and having familiarised my self with most of Seth's later stuff I think that's what caused disappointment.

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable is inspirational for those wanting to get some idea of how ideas where virtually created out of nothing and his definition of a Purple Cow is essential if you want to do anything in life worth talking about.

I did read the reviews before I bought and expected a bit more and something new but that never happened.

Mike Whitenburgh
Psychoanalyst.

The ideas in this book is not new. In fact, Godin just rehashed a basic marketing idea into a very pretty book. The contents on its own would be 2 or maybe 3 stars.

But why I gave this book 4 stars is the way he marketed it. He basically made his book a Purple Cow. That is what I got out of this book.

I call that Good Marketing.

The purple cow is a great read. It gets straight to the point and stick with it to the very end. Keeps the reader interested, and I now know what a purple cow is and how to recognize a purple cow. Great job Seth!!

The best way to make customers talk about your company and products is to give them something to talk about. Seems like common sense, right? But according to Seth Godin, few businesses take the simple steps needed to bring their products to the front of the pack.

In this collection of short essays, or "riffs," as he calls them, author Godin tells you how and why to revamp your product development cycle and marketing efforts to highlight your company's "remarkable" aspects. A must-read for any entrepreneur looking to be the next new thing.

Going along doing the same thing as everyone else? You want to know how to stand out and be distinctive? Seth Godin's book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable is your guide. At the mention of this book's title, you're thinking about what a purple cow would look like, aren't you? Briefly, the explanation of the title is that Seth and his family were on vacation, driving through miles and miles of French pastures, seeing cows, cows and more cows. At first, the cows were interesting and beautiful. After a while though, the next cow looked just the same as the cow before it and it was all pretty boring. But then they thought, a PURPLE cow, now THAT would be something remarkable.
It's the same with businesses and marketing. In order to truly stand out from the rest of the herd, you have to be truly remarkable. And remarkable businesses do not follow or copy someone else's idea of marketing. They are the leaders. He sites examples of businesses such as diverse as Schindler Elevator Corporation, Tombstone Pizza, Sam Adams beer, Yamaha piano and Vanguard mutual funds and how they took existing industries and made radical transformations to them through innovative marketing.
Here's what I think is the biggest take away. Seth says that the opposite of remarkable is "very good." Very good is an everyday occurrence, hardly worth mentioning -- certainly not the basis of breakthrough success. He asks, "are you making very good stuff? How fast can you stop?"
Purple cows are risk takers. There are so few purple cows because people are afraid to have others not like them (there will always be some detractors when you're remarkable), afraid to break the rules, afraid to occasionally be wrong. The more close-minded your market, the more crowded the marketplace and the busier your customers, the more you need a Purple Cow. He urges that dipping a toe in the waters is setting yourself up for failure. You have to go all the way with dramatic improvements to see giant payoffs.
Stop your mooing and read this book!

You can't help but love Seth Godin's style, especially for a business book. He writes in a way that keeps your attention and provides several helpful insights. If you're looking for a book with a lot of meat, you might try some of his other books. If you want a gratifying quick read, look no further.

Traditional marketing doesn't work anymore. People have everything that they need. TV and regular print advertising don't work. There's too much noise. Old school marketers chose their target market, now people do the choosing. The new way, and the only effective way according to Seth Godin, is to create a remarkable product (a purple cow) and target the early adopters that are willing to chirp about it (i.e. sneezers) spreading the "ideavirus" to the masses.

Seth makes it very clear that the purple cow is not a short cut. In fact, if anything, this new way of marketing is more time consuming and expensive than it used to be. Only now the work and time previously used on print and TV ads after the product has been produced needs to be spent earlier in the product life cycle. Marketing is now the "act of inventing a product, the effort of designing it, and the craft of producing it."

There is quite a bit of valuable information packed into this compact read to include a process for finding a purple cow, Seth's slogan's which include, "Don't be boring, and Safe is Risky," and even some career tips. The organization could be a little better. It was created from a list of blog entries which offers some explanation for that. This, however, does not detract from the abundance of useful information contained in its pages. It can certainly benefit marketers, but it is also an important read for anyone involved in the production of a product or the delivery of a service, from the CEO to the front-line employee.

Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager

I've read many books that refer to Seth Godin. Seemed logical to go to the source... Needless to say, this is my first experience reading his work. He's truly 'remarkable' in his approach. I felt compelled to do things I hadn't previously considered - I'll keep that to myself for now:). I almost found myself shadowboxing, like a boxer before a prize fight... I was pumped, to say the least.

Godin discusses the concept that the TV Industrial Complex is old and gone. Rather than wasting tons of money on Traditional TV advertising, he insists that we should focus to create a product/service that early adopters of a niche group will embrace and sell for us. Products that are "remarkable" and solve needs and/or cater to the whims or clearly defined groups need to be placed in the laps of those who have the influence (and desire) to educate members of their respective groups.

I thought his idea behind tag-lines/slogans was very interesting. In my mind, tag-lines were merely memory hooks. Organizations such as Business Network Internation (BNI) influence the use of tag-lines or slogans as memory hooks, and as nothing else. As a result, many companies come up with slogans that don't effectively sell their product. Godin suggests that these little phrases should be thought of as scripts... scripts that our early adopters can use to effectively market our products/services for us. This made perfect sense.

One of the more recent Purple Cows, the iPhone seems to have followed, if not redefined, some of Godin's concepts. Distribute to the Sneezers (Wall Street Journal, for instance) and let them create the buzz. It seems however, they are still taking advantage of the TV Industrial Complex. The iPhone is not relying on TV advertising to compensate for the fact that won't stand up in the marketplace. The difference between this product and others, is that this is a great product in the minds of many. The entire commercial demonstrates how it is used... the phone and a finger. Brilliant. Ironically it goes against Godin's proclamation that the cell phone couldn't go any further. I think we all know better.

Or something like that. TV Ads to build and grow your business doesn't work anymore. Superbowl Ads are not what they used to be either.

Who is watching TV anyway? I have not watched more than 1 hour TV in the last months, why should I, I get what I want, when I want it online on the Internet. I might not be the typical consumer, but it is a trend that is not to be ignored. Seth points out with brutal honesty that what worked for over 50 years is not or only little working anymore.

Product, Pricing, Promotion, Positioning, Publicity, Packaging, Pass-along and Permission are things from the Past (uh, another "P" word). You need a "P"urple Cow, which you can promote to the early adopters, "sneezers" and Innovators to get your marketing message through to the masses who stopped listen to you and your untargeted and often intrusive Ads.

It sounds harsh, but life isn't fair. The earlier you start adjusting to the changing market, the better it will be for your future, unless you want to be the captain of a ship with a leak that can not be closed and looking forward to its certain end at the bottom of the ocean. The first life boats are already gone.

You better get the next one and start working on your own purple cow. :)

Seth Godin is it!! I was referred to this book by popular talk show host Dave Ramsey. This book gives you the ideas and courage to go out and attack your prey. You can succeed, if you will be risky. Risky is safe!!!
The ideas presented are not just a strategy for success in business, but for life in general. To be a successful person, you have to be original, spunky, take risks, and not be afraid of failure. Look around you, the people who are successful aren't ordinary - they're purple.
See the amazing book Tom Stanley wrote about millionaires - The Millionaire Next Door,they all couldn't care less what you think about them, and they're the ones that are millionaires.

I bought the book because of the remarkabe front!

This is a remarkable marketing book by Seth Godin. It is about the fact that advertising for new products does not work anymore nowadays. Consumers are able to tun advertising almost completely off. And the killer products are remarkable products instead of products heavily advertised. Its shows numerous examples about what existing companies did. But don't be disappointed when you do not find the recipe for your company.

Elementary but encouragingly cheerleading
Frequent business author Seth Godin found himself back on the major bestseller lists with this straightforward marketing manual. His easy-to-grasp premise is that products must be "purple cows" that stand out from the herd. The metaphor comes from an American nursery rhyme that says: "I've never seen a purple cow. / I never hope to see one. / But I can tell you anyhow / I'd rather see than be one." Godin's advice is quite the opposite of his titular ditty. He says you do want to be a purple cow. You want your product to become a conversation-provoking anomaly, as distinctive and different as possible. Imploring companies to manufacture singular, "remarkable" products is like insisting that your local NFL franchise go out and win the Super Bowl - a worthy goal, but not so simple. This is an elementary but encouragingly cheerleading look at advertising, PR and marketing. we recommend its interesting case histories about Starbucks and Krispy Kreme, just right for this breezy coffee-and-a-cream-puff pep talk.

Purple Cow follows Godin's key strength: simplicity. Using very few words, Purple Cow succeeds in transmitting a powerful concept that can be applied in a vast array of areas.Top notch.

Having heard others describe this as a "visionary work" I read Purple Cow with great expectations. The central message of the book is "be different", in other words, don't follow industry norms or you'll never stand out and be noticed. Seth Godin certainly has some interesting ideas, and I have to say I agree with pretty much all of them, it's just that if one reads this book expecting to find deep intellectual stimulation or new marketing ideas one will be disappointed. It is essentially a lightweight thought-bite work, more a mid-afternoon snack than a feast of new ideas. If you read this book before reading Blue Ocean Strategy you'll find it stimulating. If you read Blue Ocean Strategy (W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne) first you'll find Purple Cow has altogether too little weight, research and well presented data to back up the central argument of the book. A good book to read on a short train ride to kill the time.

"Purple Cow" is an amusing quick read by Seth Godin. Although it doesn't contain a lot of practical advice for most people, it does have lots of food for thought. It's short, cheap, and fun and I recommend it. A good airplane book!

Synopsis:

Purple Cow is the act of building things worth noticing into your product or service - i.e. being remarkable. The opposite of remarkable is "very good," and very good is boring. Boring leads to failure because the "very good" slot is almost always already taken.

Everything having to do with a product or service, from the design to support and everything in between, is marketing. The marketing, that is the total of what you have to offer, has to appeal to "sneezers" - the early adopters who like new stuff and who will hopefully tell everyone else. The sneezers need to find your product remarkable.

Being a Purple Cow is easy - because most people are afraid of the Cow. They are afraid to stand out or be different.

Outrageous is not always remarkable and is not required. Just outrageous doesn't usually work. You don't need passion or incredible creativity either - just the realization that only the Cow will work. Being remarkable doesn't always require big changes. Small things can help you be remarkable: how you answer the phone, price updates, handle complaints, etc.

Be a Cow, explore the limits. Be the fastest, slowest, biggest, smallest, baldest, hairiest, newest, oldest, etc. - just be remarkable.

One of the other reviews called this book a great idea starter and so it is. Seth's book was read by our entire management team and ever since we ask ourselves "is it purple enough" when we come up with new marketing ideas. The idea of necessary distinction is not a new one to marketers. Way back when I started working for P&G we talked about "USP's" or unique selling propositions. Seth just makes that concept current and easy to understand. Should be in every marketer's vocabulary.

Seth Godin's reputation for spotting what successful marketers have done and sharing it with the rest of us is well deserved. In his relatively short book, Purple Cow, he pinpoints what leads to business success: stand out, be different, be remarkable.

It's not enough to be very good or adequate. There are plenty companies doing that. Nor is it wise to copy exactly what another successful company has done. It won't work the same for you. The worst thing of all is to try to be everything to everybody. That's a death knell for sure.

Instead Seth shares many stories and anecdotes to illustrate how selecting your niche and producing a product or service better than anyone else is the goal. Better yet, find a niche so small that you're the only company in it. When a potential customer needs that specialized product or service they'll have to come to you. And, if that customer is what Seth calls a "sneezer," he will spread the word about you cheaper and faster than an expensive ad campaign.

Speaking of sneezers. These should be your target market. Seth says "Only the risk-taking, idea-spreading people on the left part of the curve are willing to listen to you."
The rest wait until a product or service has been around for a while, until it's safe.

Before you spend another dollar on ads and advertising campaigns, read Seth Godin's Purple Cow. It may cause you to disband your advisors, cancel your focus groups and listen to your customers instead.

If you are looking for ways to think outside of the box, then Purple Cow is the book for you.

Ja-Naé
Wild Women Entrepreneurs President/Founder

While Puple Cow offered some great examples and inspiration it was merely a compilation of case studies and had little hands-on directives for the readers. The brevity was nice as I was able to read it in 2 days.

I work for a nonprofit religious ministry, I'm a Christian writer in my own right--so you'd think I wouldn't have anything in common with Godin and yet his punchy insights challenged me to think differently about my job and my world.

The bottom line is that the product you represent can be like everyone else or it can be different. It can be a purple cow or a brown cow.

Godin writes with irreverant, fun, moving style that sets this book apart from boring business tomes. Its a quick read and yet it will get your mind spinning in a million directions. Read it and see how your business ventures improve, whether you're working for a nonprofit or a Fortune 500 company.

Challenge the status quo. Dare to be different.

Purple Cow makes you re-evaluate things and really think, and that's the basis of a great book. The ideas shared and the ones you may drum up in your own mind are worth far more than the cost of the book.

If you're looking to differentiate yourself or your business, give this book a shot. It's a quick read, and it's packed with common sense and highly feasible to implement ideas that will lead you down a creative path you may have thought didn't exist.

Highly recommended to say the least.

Every day as consumers, we are inundated with thousands of products striving for our attention. Excellent quality is expected, so this will not be a reason for us to tell our friends about a product. Marketers are faced with the problem of disinterested consumers and the ever-increasing expense (and failure rate) of reaching them. It is on this background canvas that Seth Godin paints his idea of the Purple Cow.

To become effective, we must work on developing what Godin calls a "purple cow" - something that is new, exceptional, interesting, and worth telling your friends. According to him, most vast majority of products on the market today are boring.

He suggests we can make our products less boring by:

* Building remarkable products, not remarkable advertisements. He suggests management consider taking 2-3 months of the marketing budget, and spend it on hiring a world-class engineer or designer to create this amazing product.
* Making a small portion of all the consumers passionately loyal to your product, rather than the whole market indifferent. Find a niche, and devote yourself completely to it.
* Creating an 'unfair advantage' for your company. Think Amazon and free shipping.

Finally, Godin outlines a plan for profitability.

1. Differentiate your customers, and target the most profitable
2. Never go for 'cheap' - you can't beat Walmart at its own game
3. Aim upmarket with luxury products with fat margins
4. Add value on everything you sell

This book very clearly and emphatically pointed out what I should have already known -- that mass marketing has little effect on today's consumer.

Maybe marketing students know that, but I am not a marketing student.

I am sure that mass-marketing professionals stubbornly assert that mass-marketing is still the best option, but Godin has quite clearly demonstrated that is not the case.

Godin's book proves the very concept he proposes. His remarkable title and remarkable concept, his "purple cow", grabbed my attention and worked its way into my vocabulary. The book sat on my wish list for months, while many other titles never even got a glance.