Which ocean are you in? The strategy cheat sheet

As an unapologetic strategy geek, I keep trying to make sense of all the strategic mumbo jumbo out there. (Inspired by one of the greatest reads on this topic), a great way to distill complex strategic frameworks into simpler concepts is to categorise strategy into three buckets: Red Ocean, Blue Ocean, and No Ocean. 

Here’s a brief overview of each, along with classic examples of success and failure.

Red Ocean Strategy: Competing in existing markets and beating the competition to gain a larger share of existing demand. However, the waters can be bloody with fierce competition. But despite fierce competition in the candy industry, Mars has thrived with iconic brands like M&M’s, Snickers, and Twix, However, Pepsi has spent billions over the years trying to outdo Coca-Cola and have only managed to grab a small share!

Blue Ocean Strategy: Creating new markets and making the competition irrelevant using innovation to find untapped market space! Cirque du Soleil, which reinvented the circus by combining it with theater and dramatically increasing its appeal. At the same time, Segway, which tried to create a new market but failed to gain widespread adoption and was eventually outpaced by more practical alternatives.

No Ocean Strategy: Representing the highest level of differentiation, this strategy involves creating entirely new categories and reshaping market boundaries. Advocated by the concept of category design or "category pirates," it’s about defining and dominating new spaces. Tesla is a classic example, which not only revolutionized the electric vehicle market but also created a new category of high-performance, luxury electric cars. But then we have the Google Glass, which aimed to pioneer the smart glasses category but failed to capture the market due to privacy concerns and lack of consumer readiness. 

So while experts advocate for more and more differentiation, let’s be real. No strategy is foolproof. There are legends and flops in every category. The trick is figuring out which ocean—or lack thereof—suits your venture best :)