4 builders who never spoke to each other

Name what you are against

Pick a named opponent or a prevailing practice and define yourself as its opposite, because a stated enemy gives the story a shape and forces the reader to take a side. Expect it to feel confrontational and to lose you part of the market, which is the mechanism rather than a side effect.

The method

1. 01

   Name an opponent, because a clearly identified enemy hands you a storyline and a reason for existing and forces people to take a side.

2. 02

   Differentiate by contrast: name the prevailing way of doing things and define yourself against it.

3. 03

   If everyone in your category describes themselves identically, stop competing on those words and stake out a point of view about what is wrong with the status quo.

4. 04

   Differentiate on the unit your product is built around when every rival is built around a different one, and name the rivals.

5. 05

   Differentiate by taking a values position strong enough that part of the market rejects you, since undecided people never buy anyway.

What it returned

• 2016

  Loom launched in 2016 as OpenVid, another easy screen recorder, before repositioning

• Hey set itself against conventional email, Lemonade against insurance stereotypes, and Apple's I'm a Mac ads against the PC

• RemNote positions against Anki and SuperMemo on the grounds that they treat the flashcard as the atomic unit while it treats the note or concept as the unit.

• Patagonia on the environment, Ben and Jerry's on social justice, Black Rifle Coffee on gun rights

Sources

• #HYPERGROWTH18: The Cheat Sheet | Corey HainesBarney Waters · corey.co · Barney Waters · 2018-09-07
• The Importance of LinesAlex Hillman · dangerouslyawesome.com · Defining Self · 2011-02-01
• Signal's Instagram AdsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Signal's Instagram Ads · undated
• How Loom Created a CategoryHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · undated
• The genius of no name's brandHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · undated
• My guide to brand positioningHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 1/ Through contrast · undated
• From knowledge-management to knowledge-creation with RemNoteMartin Schneider · nesslabs.com · From knowledge-management to knowledge-creation with the founders of RemNote · 2022-01-20