Today's lesson

 How to stand out in a crowd like a purple cow in a black and white world.
If you want to stand out in the crowd today all you need to do is be honest. Most everyone else is pretending to be something they are not.

Well, maybe not all you need to do….
 

The first thing you need to do is grab the attention of your audience with some kind of pattern interrupt.  

Having spent 7 years in the outdoor advertising industry placing ads on the street for dozens of local marketers taught me a few things about display advertising and I think the lessons learned can be applied online, on the street, around the corner, and around the world. 

The pattern interrupt.
 

What is a pattern interrupt in marketing? 
In marketing both online and on the street the first thing we need to do is catch the attention of our would-be audience. 
 

Imagine you are driving by a field of cows and suddenly you see a purple cow. 

That is a pattern interrupt. 

Now we have your attention. Your brain is trying to match the purple cow with something it has seen before. 
This is the perfect time for a marketer to slip in a message.