Most businesses are taught to compete. We do competitive analysis, we look for a unique selling proposition, and we fight for our slice of an existing market pie. We strive to be seen as the “best” choice among a sea of similar options. But what if the most powerful strategy wasn’t to compete at all? What if, instead of fighting for the pie, you baked a completely new one?
This is the radical and transformative strategy of Category Creation. It’s the discipline of designing and dominating a new market category that makes all existing competitors irrelevant. It’s not about being better; it’s about being different.
What is Category Creation and how is it different from a regular branding strategy?
Category Creation is the process of defining a new problem, evangelizing that problem, and then positioning your company as the definitive solution. A regular branding strategy tries to win a game that already exists. Category Creation defines a new game that only you can win.
Think about it. Salesforce didn’t just build a better CRM; they created the category of “cloud-based software.” Tesla didn’t just make a better electric car; they created the category of “desirable, high-performance EVs.” HubSpot didn’t just offer marketing tools; they created and evangelized the entire category of “inbound marketing.” In each case, they didn’t just sell a product; they sold a new way of thinking. As the authors of “Play Bigger,” the seminal book on the topic, state, category kings capture, on average, 76% of the market capitalization of their entire category.
What are the core components of a successful Category Creation strategy?
Creating a new category is not a simple marketing campaign; it’s a company-wide mission. It requires a deep commitment to a new point of view and involves three key pillars.
- Product Design: You must have a product or service that is fundamentally different and delivers a unique solution to the new problem you’ve defined. It can’t be just an incremental improvement. It needs to be a “category killer” that delivers a 10x better experience or outcome, making it impossible for customers to go back to the old way.
- Company Design: Your entire company, from your business model and culture to your hiring practices, must be aligned around the new category. If you are creating a category around “radical transparency,” your own company culture must embody that value. You have to live the category to lead it.
- Category Design (The Marketing): This is where you condition the market to think in your new terms. It involves three key activities:
- Evangelism & Thought Leadership: You must relentlessly write, speak, and publish content about the new problem and your unique point of view. This isn’t product marketing; it’s worldview marketing. You need to name the category, frame the problem, and tell the story of why this new way is the future.
- Mobilizing the Ecosystem: You need to get others to adopt your language and vision. This means working with analysts, press, influencers, and even partners to help evangelize the new category. When third parties start using your terminology, the category starts to feel real and inevitable.
- Lightning Strikes: These are planned, high-impact events or announcements designed to capture the market’s attention and solidify your leadership position. This could be a groundbreaking product launch, a major funding announcement, or publishing a data-backed report that reframes the entire industry conversation.
Is Category Creation only for venture-backed tech startups?
Absolutely not. While many famous examples come from Silicon Valley, the principles can be applied to any business, of any size, in any industry.
A local accounting firm could create the category of “Financial Strategy for Creative Freelancers,” moving beyond “bookkeeping” to own a specific, high-value niche. A CPG brand could create the category of “Upcycled Snack Foods,” changing the conversation from “healthy snacks” to “sustainable snacking.”
The key is to identify a problem that people don’t know they have or can’t yet name. As Henry Ford famously (and perhaps apocryphally) said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” He didn’t build a faster horse; he created the category of “automobile.”
Creating a new category is the highest-risk, highest-reward strategy in business. It requires courage, conviction, and a long-term vision. But for those who succeed, the prize isn’t just market share; it’s a legacy. You become the company that everyone else is measured against, a defining force that moves the entire world from the old way to a new way.
Define the Game, Don’t Just Play It
Are you tired of fighting for scraps in a crowded, noisy market? Perhaps it’s time to stop competing and start creating. At Buzz Hypnotica, we help visionary founders and leaders design and dominate new market categories. If you have a unique point of view and the courage to build the future, let’s talk.
