Learn in the textbookBasic Concepts of Competitive Strategy
DefinitionA blue ocean strategy (ブルーオーシャン戦略) avoids fighting rivals in an existing market and instead offers new value to create, by itself, a market with no competitors.
ExplanationAn existing market crowded with rivals fighting over limited demand is called a red ocean, and an untapped market with no rivals is called a blue ocean. By looking at what customers still lack and rethinking the assumptions the industry has taken for granted, the strategy creates new demand itself.
AnalogyIt is like giving up the fight for a spot at a packed fishing pier and sinking an artificial reef in empty water offshore, so that you create a brand-new fishing ground with no one else on it.
Memory hookRed is a sea stained with the blood of competition; blue is a calm, empty sea. Remember it by the contrast in color.