Blue ocean strategy involves creating new market space by changing the rules of competition to make competition irrelevant. It pursues differentiation and low costs to maximize opportunity while minimizing risk. Examples of companies that have used blue ocean strategy successfully include Cirque Du Soleil, Nintendo Wii, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, HubSpot, and Threadless. In contrast, red ocean strategy involves competition in existing industries with known market boundaries, resulting in cutthroat competition over market share and reduced potential for profits and growth.