Why the best product, on its own, isn't enough to win
The best product often loses to whoever decides what it gets judged on. What mousetraps, the Palm Pilot and Swatch teach us.
Section
Project Mantra
Notes and analysis on Category Design: positioning, market categories, and how brands with real substance stop competing and start defining.
Articles (5)
What is Category Design (and why the best product isn't enough)
Why the best product often loses, and how a company becomes the reference point for a new category. Origins, verified examples and common mistakes.
What is a category king (and how do you become one)?
Google came almost three years after AltaVista, yet today we say “google it.” What separates the first to arrive from the one that takes the category.
How to name a new market category
One word decides who you'll be compared with for years. Where lasting category names come from, and why your brand name shouldn't be one.
Five signs you're competing in the wrong category
A pharmacy drink, a spray that barely sold, a light beer that changed its audience: what they had in common, and how to spot it in your own company.