12 Nov 2024
by Bastiaan van der Sluis
10 minutes
Blue Ocean Strategy: Stop Playing the Same Game as Everyone Else
Most businesses fight tooth and nail over the same customers, the same attention, and the same tired ideas. They tweak, optimise, and hustle in a desperate attempt to win a slightly bigger slice of the same old pie. That’s the typical mindset: “Keep your head down, follow the formulas that have always worked, and just do it better.”
But guess what? That’s called a Red Ocean—a bloody, oversaturated market where everyone competes on price, features, or who can shout the loudest. It’s exhausting, it’s frustrating, and most people don’t make it out alive. They end up drowning in a sea of sameness. They might survive for a while, but they sure as hell don’t thrive.
There’s another way.
It’s called Blue Ocean Strategy, and it’s about abandoning the fight altogether—setting sail for open water, where you have no competition because you’re playing a different game entirely. Think of it as stepping out of a crowded boxing ring and saying: “Screw this. I’m going to invent a new sport.”
Let’s break it down.
The Difference Between Red Oceans and Blue Oceans
Red Oceans
Definition: Competition, saturation, blood in the water. Everyone fights over the same customers using the same tired tactics.
Example: Fast food chains slashing prices to the bottom and bombarding the airwaves with “99¢ deals!” All for a minuscule margin.
Feeling: Stress. Everything comes down to incremental improvements, cost-cutting, or shouting a bit louder.
Blue Oceans
Definition: Uncontested markets, open space, innovation. You don’t fight competitors; you make them irrelevant.
Example: Cirque du Soleil redefining what a circus could be—classier, more theatrical, more sophisticated. Suddenly, the old ringmaster-and-elephant routine looks ancient.
Feeling: Opportunity. You set the rules. You target an audience nobody else is serving. You charge a premium because you’re irreplaceable.
In a red ocean, the battle is about being incrementally better than what exists—maybe your coffee shop offers a slightly better latte, or your marketing agency has an extra freebie thrown in. And guess what? No one cares because ten other places do the same thing.
In a blue ocean, you change the entire playing field. Instead of opening another coffee shop, you create something nobody’s done—like a co-working café where remote workers stay all day, hold meetings, pay memberships, and generate a culture that’s different from your run-of-the-mill Starbucks. That’s new space. That’s open water.
Why Most Businesses Stay in the Red Ocean
It Feels Safe: It’s easy to measure success in comparison to the guy next door. You can watch competitor movesand “out-feature” them.
It’s Familiar: Traditional business wisdom is: “Look at your competition and beat them by 5%.” We’ve been taught to fight for scraps.
Risk Aversion: Trying something radically different means you might fail spectacularly. That’s scary.
But here’s the kicker: the more crowded the space, the harder it is to stand out. And the harder it is to stand out, the less people care. Most creatives, entrepreneurs, and businesses don’t fail because they’re incompetent. They fail because they blend in, refusing to take a real leap into deep water.
The Psychology of Red Oceans: Why People Stay Where It’s Crowded
It’s not just about business strategy—it’s about fear, social proof, and habit. Psychologically, people want to go where they see others have gone before. They believe that if everyone else has validated a market, it must be safer, or easier, or more assured. But ironically, that’s the exact place where competition is the fiercest.
Fear of the Unknown: Doing something so different that no one has tried it? That’s terrifying. If it flops, you have no comparison point to rely on.
Fear of Judgment: People worry about being laughed at—“What if my weird concept bombs?” A known market is less risky for your ego.
Short-Term Thinking: Red ocean strategies might yield small wins quickly. Blue ocean strategies can take more time, experimentation, and faith.
Remember: “The biggest breakthroughs don’t happen by outworking the competition. They happen by outthinking them.”
How to Create a Blue Ocean Strategy
1. Stop Competing, Start Creating
Ask yourself: What can I offer that literally no one else does?
This doesn’t mean a slightly better version of what already exists. It means a category shift.
Patagonia didn’t just sell clothes; they built an entire movement around sustainability, activism, and minimalistic living. People buy the story as much as the product.
2. Identify the Unserved
Look at who isn’t being catered to. Who is frustrated by the current options in your industry?
Find the pain points everyone complains about but no one fixes. Netflix didn’t just improve Blockbuster. It killed the whole notion of late fees, store visits, and limited selection.
3. Remove, Reduce, Raise, Create (ERRC Framework)
Eliminate norms that everyone takes for granted. (iTunes removed the need to buy entire albums.)
Reduce friction, cost, or effort. (Airbnb drastically lowered barriers to entry for travelers and hosts.)
Raise what truly matters to your audience. (Tesla raised expectations for electric cars to be fast, luxurious, and desirable.)
Create an entirely new model. (Cirque du Soleil blended circus, theater, and music for adults, not kids.)
4. Make Competitors Irrelevant
The goal isn’t to be better; it’s to make them obsolete.
Uber wasn’t a “better taxi.” It was a new way to hail and pay for rides.
Nintendo Wii didn’t try to outgun PlayStation or Xbox with graphics; it made gaming accessible to entire new demographics—families, grandparents, casual players.
5. Find Your Blue Ocean Through Experimentation
Many businesses start in a red ocean and pivot when they see a spark of possibility.
Instagram started as a location-based check-in app. They noticed everyone was obsessing over photo filters, so they pivoted.
Slack was an internal chat tool for a gaming startup that never took off, but the chat system had a life of its own.
Spotify didn’t battle iTunes for downloads. It changed the entire relationship between consumer and music with on-demand streaming.
If you’re waiting for a perfect, “Aha!” moment, you’ll never move. Test, adapt, iterate. Pay attention when people say, “Wait, this is cool. I haven’t seen that before.”
Common Pitfalls in Trying to Go Blue
Playing It Too Safe
“We’ll just differentiate with a cooler logo or an extra perk.” That’s not enough. You’ll still be in the red ocean, just wearing nicer swim trunks.
Misreading Your Audience
Pivoting into something new that no one asked for might leave you stranded. You must identify a realunserved or underserved need.
Half-Hearted Execution
Blue Ocean requires committing to a radically different path. If you dip your toe in but keep leaning on your red ocean tactics, you’ll confuse everyone.
Lack of Storytelling
A new category doesn’t sell itself. You need a narrative that helps people understand why your difference matters.
Failing to Validate
Some leaps are misguided. Always run small tests. If nobody bites, pivot again.
Real-World Blue Ocean Examples
Let’s dig deeper into the brands that truly sailed into open water, so you can see exactly what Blue Ocean Strategy looks like in practice.
1. Tesla: Luxury Meets Sustainability
Before Tesla, electric cars were slow, ugly, and designed as economy vehicles. The general view was: “People who buy electric cars do it for morality, not style.” Tesla reframed the category, making their cars status symbols—sleek, fast, and undeniably cool.
Competition: Traditional automakers were stuck in the “electric = cheap, city-only” mentality.
Blue Ocean: Tesla made electric cars aspirational, competing with BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche instead of other electric cars.
Result: A massive cult following and an entire shift in how we see eco-friendly vehicles.
2. Dollar Shave Club: A Simple Shift in Distribution
Razors were dominated by a few big brands. The standard approach? Put them on store shelves. Dollar Shave Club bypassed that entirely by selling direct-to-consumer with a subscription model.
Competition: Gillette, Schick—fighting for shelf space, running discount ads.
Blue Ocean: Humorous viral marketing, monthly blade deliveries, and a brand that didn’t take itself too seriously.
Result: A $1 billion acquisition by Unilever and a new normal for personal grooming subscription services.
3. Red Bull: Selling Lifestyle, Not Just a Drink
Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominated the beverage space. Where do you even start? Red Bull created an energy drink category hinged on extreme sports, adrenaline, and a fearless lifestyle.
Competition: Traditional soda giants focusing on taste, brand heritage, mass commercials.
Blue Ocean: Extreme sports events, stunt marketing, niche targeting. Red Bull isn’t just a drink; it’s an identity.
Result: A brand bigger than its product. Red Bull stands for “pushing limits,” not just “quenching thirst.”
4. Airbnb: Redefining Hospitality
Hotels fought over star ratings, location, loyalty programs, and “best price” claims. Airbnb changed the fundamental question from “Which hotel?” to “Why stay in a hotel at all?”
Competition: Marriott, Hilton, Booking.com.
Blue Ocean: Airbnb turned any home into a potential short-term rental. It leveraged existing unused space, crowdsourced hospitality, and built trust through reviews.
Result: A multi-billion-dollar platform that made hotels scramble to adapt.
5. The Revival of LEGO: Reinventing Play
LEGO faced serious decline in the early 2000s. Video games were taking over, kids lost interest in basic building blocks. They had to create a new era of engagement.
Competition: Mattel, Hasbro, plus digital gaming.
Blue Ocean: LEGO partnered with blockbuster brands—Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter—turning each set into a “world” kids wanted to inhabit. They also launched video games and theme parks.
Result: A massive turnaround. LEGO became a cross-media sensation, not just a box of bricks.
6. Netflix: From Mail-Order DVDs to Streaming Titan
Blockbuster dominated the movie rental space, burying people with late fees and limited selections. Netflix started by mailing DVDs—then pivoted to streaming when the tech caught up.
Competition: Brick-and-mortar video stores.
Blue Ocean: An all-you-can-watch subscription model with zero late fees, eventually no physical store, massiveon-demand library.
Result: Netflix changed how we consume media, forcing giants like Disney and HBO to adapt or die.
Practical Exercises to Find Your Own Blue Ocean
Don’t just read about it—apply it. If you’re serious about stepping out of the red ocean, give these exercises a shot.
Exercise 1: The “Day One” Mindset
Pretend you know nothing about how your industry currently operates.
List every assumption your competitors cling to. (Example: “We must have a storefront,” or “We have to undercut on price.”)
Challenge each assumption. Ask: “What if we didn’t do that?” or “What if we did the opposite?”
The Day One mindset strips away tradition. It’s about seeing with fresh eyes.
Exercise 2: The Anti-Pitch
Describe your business or idea in 1-2 sentences without referencing any existing category.
Avoid words like “agency,” “shop,” “store,” “consultant,” or any typical industry label.
Force yourself to articulate what’s truly unique—the problem you solve in a way no one else does.
Exercise 3: Rant Collection
Write down the top 5 things people hate about your industry. Are they complaining about poor customer service, ridiculous fees, outdated technology?
Brainstorm how you could eliminate or reverse each one.
Often, your best Blue Ocean clues are hidden in those customer rants.
Exercise 4: Rapid Experimentation
Pick one radical idea from your brainstorming. It can be small—like offering a subscription box in an industry that never does that.
Test it on a tiny scale: a single landing page, a pilot program with a subset of your audience.
Gather feedback. If there’s genuine excitement or relief, you’re onto something. Scale it carefully.
Expanding the Blue Ocean Mindset in Your Own Business
If you’re a creative professional, entrepreneur, or just someone who’s fed up with the hustle of a saturated market, shifting to a Blue Ocean Strategy doesn’t happen overnight. You’re battling years of conventional wisdom that says “Just do it a bit better and cheaper.” So how do you start?
Look for Industry Blind Spots
What are the unspoken rules everyone follows?
Which customer frustrations have been ignored for ages?
Where do people tolerate mediocrity because they think there’s no alternative?
Develop a Unique Value Proposition
Craft one big promise that nobody else can touch. If it can be copied easily, it’s not unique enough.
Dare to be polarising. Sometimes turning off one audience means you deeply resonate with another.
Test, Adapt, Scale
Run small experiments, gather real feedback, adapt your solution.
Blue Ocean success stories rarely spring fully formed. They evolve from continuous learning.
The Bold Mindset: Anthony Bourdain’s Take on Going Blue
Imagine you’re Anthony Bourdain, walking into a cramped, chaotic kitchen. Everything’s on fire. Orders are piling up. The staff is frantic. That’s your red ocean—everyone fighting for scraps under the same rules.
Bourdain would say: “Screw this game. Let’s do something else.” He’d highlight local street food traditions, or he’d turn the concept of fine dining on its head by focusing on authenticity and grit. He’d go where nobody else is looking because that’s where the real stories are.
Blue Ocean Strategy shares that same philosophy: Don’t just fix the existing system—burn it down and rebuild it the way you want. Embrace the rawness, the authenticity, the risk. Because that’s where memorable shit happens.
In-Depth: LEGO’s Revival (A Deeper Look)
Let’s spotlight LEGO’s comeback story, because it’s a masterclass in turning a red ocean into a blue ocean.
Red Ocean Situation: The toy market was shifting drastically toward digital. Competitors: Mattel (Barbie), Hasbro (board games, action figures), plus the unstoppable rise of video games on consoles and mobile. Kids found the good old building blocks…boring.
LEGO’s Pitfalls: Overexpansion into half-baked products, theme parks that weren’t profitable, and plain old boredom from the core audience.
Blue Ocean Pivot: The realisation that LEGO was about imagination, collaboration, and storytelling. So they partnered with beloved franchises—Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, DC Comics—turning each set into a “world” kids wanted to inhabit. They also launched video games and theme parks.
Video Games & Films: LEGO launched successful video games like LEGO Star Wars, bridging physical play and digital. They eventually created The LEGO Movie, taking a toy brand onto the silver screen.
Result: They weren’t just competing with Mattel or Hasbro; they redefined the brand as a creative experience across multiple platforms. Now LEGO was a phenomenon, from the bricks to the games to entire theme parks that actually worked.
That’s the essence of Blue Ocean: they didn’t become “slightly better blocks.” They turned into a massive storytelling platform that overshadowed the competition.
Your Turn: Finding the Courage to Sail into Open Water
Look: staying in the red ocean is easy—everyone does it. You have benchmarks, best practices, industry standards. You can measure yourself against your neighbor. But you’ll fight tooth and nail for every inch of market share, often at the expense of your sanity.
Blue Ocean requires imagination, guts, and a willingness to break the unspoken rules. You risk falling flat. But if you pull it off, you create a new category that you own—and that’s worth more than any incremental victory in a crowded arena.
Final Thought: What’s Your Blue Ocean?
Most people cling to the shore, too afraid of the open sea. They’d rather fight over scraps in a familiar red ocean than risk the unknown. But here’s the truth:
The biggest breakthroughs don’t happen by outworking the competition. They happen by outthinking them.
So ask yourself: Are you playing the same game as everyone else? Or are you creating a space where no one can touch you? The choice is yours.
Now get out there. Because in the grand scheme of things, staying where it’s “safe” might just be the riskiest move of all.