• Table of Contents

  • Category Design Isn’t Just for Tech Unicorns
  • Why Most Brands Are Playing Checkers in a Chess Game
  • What Is Category Design, Really?
  • The Three Pillars of Category Design
  • “But We’re Not a Unicorn…”
  • Case Study: How Drift Created the “Conversational Marketing” Category
  • Framework: The Lightning Strike Strategy
  • Stop Competing. Start Creating.
  • How to Start Designing Your Category Today
  • 1. Identify the Old Game
  • 2. Define the New Problem
  • 3. Name the New Game
  • 4. Evangelize Relentlessly
  • 5. Align Your Org
  • Common Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)

Category Design Isn’t Just for Tech Unicorns

Category design isn’t just for billion-dollar tech unicorns. It’s a strategic weapon for any brand ready to stop playing in someone else’s sandbox. If you’re still trying to ‘differentiate’ in a crowded market, you’re already losing. Here’s how to build your own category—and dominate it.

Why Most Brands Are Playing Checkers in a Chess Game

Let’s get one thing straight: if your entire marketing strategy is built around “being better” than the competition, you’re already in the wrong game. You’re not playing to win—you’re playing not to lose. And that’s a losing strategy.

Category design flips the script. It’s not about being better. It’s about being different. Not in a “we have a slightly better UI” kind of way, but in a “we created a whole new way to think about this problem” kind of way.

And no, you don’t need a $100M war chest or a Silicon Valley zip code to do it. You need guts, clarity, and a willingness to burn the old playbook.

What Is Category Design, Really?

Category design is the deliberate act of creating and owning a new market category. It’s not positioning. It’s not branding. It’s not messaging. It’s all of them—and more.

It’s the difference between being “a better taxi” and being Uber.

It’s the difference between being “a faster horse” and being the Model T.

It’s the difference between being “another CRM” and being Salesforce.

The Three Pillars of Category Design

• Category Creation: Define a new problem and a new solution. Don’t just compete—reframe.
• Category Domination: Evangelize the category. Educate the market. Make your POV the default lens.
• Category Defense: Build moats. Codify your language. Make it hard for others to copy your playbook.

“But We’re Not a Unicorn…”

Good. That means you’re not shackled by legacy thinking or bloated org charts. You can move fast, take risks, and punch above your weight.

Category design isn’t about budget—it’s about boldness. It’s about having the audacity to say, “We’re not like them. We’re not even playing the same game.”

And here’s the kicker: the earlier you are, the easier it is to design a category. Once a market is mature, it’s harder to reframe it. But if you’re early? You get to write the rules.

Case Study: How Drift Created the “Conversational Marketing” Category

Drift didn’t just build a chatbot. They built a movement. They coined “conversational marketing,” wrote the book on it (literally), and made it the new standard for B2B engagement.

They didn’t say, “We’re a better chatbot.” They said, “Forms are dead. Conversations are the future.” That’s category design in action.

And they did it without being a unicorn—at least not at first.

Framework: The Lightning Strike Strategy

Coined by the authors of Play Bigger, the Lightning Strike is a focused, high-impact marketing event designed to make your category impossible to ignore.

• Pick a moment: Product launch, funding round, industry event.
• Coordinate all channels: PR, social, email, content, sales enablement.
• Drive a single message: Your category POV.

It’s not about volume—it’s about velocity. One big strike beats 100 small sparks.

Stop Competing. Start Creating.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you’re still trying to “differentiate,” you’re already in someone else’s category. You’re playing by their rules. You’re fighting for scraps.

Category design lets you flip the table. You don’t just win the game—you change the game.

Truth Bomb: “If you’re not designing the category, you’re living in someone else’s.”

How to Start Designing Your Category Today

You don’t need a 200-page strategy deck. You need clarity, courage, and a killer POV. Here’s how to get started:

1. Identify the Old Game

What’s the current category? What assumptions does it make? What’s broken about it?

2. Define the New Problem

What’s the real pain your customers feel—but can’t articulate? What’s the shift in the world that makes the old way obsolete?

3. Name the New Game

Coin a term. Own the language. Make it sticky. (Think: “Inbound Marketing,” “Revenue Operations,” “Conversational AI.”)

4. Evangelize Relentlessly

Write the book. Launch the podcast. Host the event. Be the loudest voice in the room about your category.

5. Align Your Org

Category design isn’t a marketing stunt. It’s a company strategy. Product, sales, customer success—they all need to speak the same language.

Common Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)

• Too Generic: If your category sounds like everyone else’s, it’s not a category—it’s a commodity.
• Too Jargony: If your mom can’t understand it, it won’t spread.
• Too Slow: Category design rewards speed. Don’t wait for perfect—launch, learn, iterate.

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