category-designer

# Category Designer

Define a new category where your recommended product wins by default. Instead of competing on existing criteria ("best AI video tool"), reframe the buying decision so your product IS the category ("the AI avatar platform for non-creators"). Category kings capture 76% of category economics — this is the strategic meta-skill that makes all downstream marketing easier.

## Stage

S8: Meta — This is cross-cutting strategic thinking, like `funnel-planner`. It operates above individual skills and reframes the entire marketing approach. Use it before creating content, offers, or landing pages.

## When to Use

- User is competing in a crowded market and needs to stand out
- User asks about "positioning", "category", "differentiation", "reframing"
- User says "category of one", "own a category", "change the game"
- After `monopoly-niche-finder` to formalize the niche into a named category
- After `purple-cow-audit` to amplify what makes a product remarkable
- Before creating content/offers to ensure consistent category messaging

## Input Schema

```yaml
product: object               # REQUIRED — the product to position
  name: string
  description: string
  key_features: string[]
  pricing: string
  current_category: string    # What category it's currently in
                              # e.g., "AI video tools", "email marketing platforms"

competitors: string[]         # OPTIONAL — main competitors
                              # Default: auto-researched

your_audience: string         # OPTIONAL — your specific audience
                              # Default: inferred from product

monopoly_niche: string        # OPTIONAL — from monopoly-niche-finder
                              # Default: none
```

**Chaining from S1 monopoly-niche-finder**: Use `monopoly_niche.intersection` as the starting point for category design.

**Chaining from S1 purple-cow-audit**: Use `remarkable_angles` to identify category-defining features.

## Workflow

### Step 1: Analyze Current Category

1. `web_search`: `"best [current_category]"` — see how the market is currently framed
2. Identify the default buying criteria (price, features, ease of use, etc.)
3. Map where the product wins AND loses on current criteria
4. Identify: what does this product do that competitors DON'T even try?

### Step 2: Find the Category Seed

The category seed is the intersection of:
- What the product does uniquely well
- What a specific audience cares about most
- What competitors ignore or can't do

Formula: `[Unique capability] + [Specific audience] + [Outcome they care about]`

Example: "AI avatar platform" + "for non-creators" + "who need professional video content"
= **"AI Video Content Platform for Non-Creators"**

### Step 3: Design the Category

Define:

1. **Category name** — 3-6 words, self-explanatory, memorable
2. **Category POV** — "The old way was [X]. The new way is [Y]. [Product] is the [category name]."
3. **Buying criteria** — new criteria where your product automatically wins
4. **Lightning strike** — the "aha moment" that makes the category real (a stat, story, or demonstration)
5. **Category ecosystem** — what other products/services exist in YOUR category (you define the landscape)

### Step 4: Create Category Assets

Produce:
1. **Category narrative** — 2-3 paragraph story of why this category exists now
2. **Comparison reframe** — how to redirect "Product X vs Product Y" to "Old category vs New category"
3. **Content angles** — 5-10 content pieces that educate the market about the category
4. **Objection handling** — "Isn't this just [old category]?" → "No, because..."

### Step 5: Self-Validation

- [ ] Category name is self-explanatory to someone hearing it for the first time
- [ ] Product genuinely wins on the new buying criteria (not forced)
- [ ] Category is big enough to matter but specific enough to own
- [ ] Narrative is compelling and truthful (not spin)
- [ ] Content angles are substantial enough for 6+ months of content

## Output Schema

```yaml
output_schema_version: "1.0.0"
category:
  name: string                  # The new category name
  pov: string                   # Point of view statement
  product_name: string
  old_category: string          # What it was before
  buying_criteria: string[]     # New criteria where product wins
  lightning_strike: string      # The "aha" proof point

  narrative: string             # Category story (2-3 paragraphs)
  comparison_reframe: string    # How to redirect comparisons

  content_angles: string[]     # Content pieces that establish the category
  objection_responses: object[] # Objection handling
    - objection: string
      response: string

  category_definition: string  # For chaining — the full category definition
  category_framing: string     # For chaining — positioning statement

chain_metadata:
  skill_slug: "category-designer"
  stage: "meta"
  timestamp: string
  suggested_next:
    - "grand-slam-offer"
    - "monopoly-niche-finder"
    - "affiliate-blog-builder"
    - "landing-page-creator"
```

## Output Format

```
## Category Design: [Category Name]

### The Shift
**Old category:** [what it was]
**New category:** [what it is now]
**Why now:** [why this category exists today]

### Category Definition
**[Category Name]:** [1 sentence definition]

### Point of View
"[The old way] was [X]. [The new way] is [Y]. [Product] is the [category name] that [outcome]."

### New Buying Criteria
When evaluating a [category name], look for:
1. [Criteria where your product wins]
2. [Criteria where your product wins]
3. [Criteria where your product wins]
(Note: [old criteria like "most features"] no longer matters because [reason])

### Lightning Strike
[The stat, story, or demo that makes the category undeniable]

### Category Narrative
[2-3 paragraphs telling the story of this category]

### Comparison Reframe
When someone asks "[Product] vs [Competitor]":
→ Reframe: "That's like comparing [new thing] to [old thing]. The quest