What separates movement material from the rest of the hubbub clambering for our attention is this: it is remarkable.   As marketing guru Seth Godin explains in his book, Purple Cow:

Something remarkable is worth talking about.  Worth noticing.  Exceptional. New. Interesting.  It’s a Purple Cow.  Boring stuff is invisible.  It’s a brown cow.

If you spend enough time driving through agricultural areas you stop noticing the cows.  At first they were cute, even romantic in their own pastoral way, but given time they blend into the background, unnoticed.  But if you passed a Purple Cow, now that would make you sit up and stare.  And chances are that when you got where you were going you would mention the amazing bovine.  Chances are pretty good that you would bring it up over dinner that night, too.

This same phenomenon is true in the realm of media.  Continually bombarded with ads and news stories, our brains have been very adept at filtering.  Another nonprofit doing its normal work or another new product just like the rest?  Brown cows. Unremarkable.  Unnoticed.  But if you were shown a Purple Cow – an organization that was doing or offering something truly remarkable – your mental filter will make sure you took notice.

Even better than being remarkable enough to get noticed, a Purple Cow is remarkable enough to get discussed.  That one discussion will then turn into another, creating the dialogue and buzz that is essential for any movement.  So when you are planning your nonprofit’s next campaign or developing you company’s next product, make sure it is remarkable.  A Purple Cow, combined with a clear and succinct call to action, is an essential ingredient for launching any successful movement.