Podcast
#97: How to Play Bigger And Dominate a Category With the Brand Story You Own
#97: How To Play Bigger And Dominate A Category
Most people believe that the best product wins. That used to be true when consumers had fewer choices. But today we have abundant competing products and services. Therefore, defining a new and unique category for your offering is what will separate you from your competition and ensure your survival.
Christopher Lochhead, host of the Legends & Losers podcast and author of the irreverent marketing book Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets, explains how to create brand dominance through the right market category.
Christopher has been described as the “Howard Stern of entrepreneurialism.” His methods of point-of-view storytelling, the “magic triangle” of business, and insight into market categories are critical for your brand position.
If you want to become a legend, join us for an in-depth method from the legend himself. Learn how you don’t have to beat others at their own game by creating a new game for yourself.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn
- What is a brand category, and why is it important?
- How to “prosecute the magic triangle”
- How you can find the right problem
Key Quotes
- “The category makes the brand, not the other way around.” – Christopher Lochhead
- “Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.” – Christopher Lochhead
- “Humans think the person who articulates our problem the best must have a solution.” – Christopher Lochhead
- “If you think having the best product is all it takes to win, you’ll probably lose.” – Park Howell
- “You tell people that, whether they know it or not, they have a problem that I can fix.” – Park Howell
Mentioned in this episode
- Christopher Lochhead
- Christopher Lochhead Twitter
- Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate the Market
- Legends & Losers Podcast
- The Ramones
- Spanx
- Hewlett-Packard
- Oracle
- Intel
- Xerox
- Netflix
- Jack O’Neill
Story Marketer of the Week: Nike
Phil Knight, one of the founding members of Nike Incorporated, published his memoir and his company’s origin story. Knight founded Blue Ribbon Sports Company to bring low-cost shoes to the American market, but the journey was not an easy one. Rival shoe businesses kept Nike on the brink of bankruptcy for decades, and Knight knew he had to change his brand’s narrative to survive. His book, Shoe Dog, details the ups and downs of their forty-five-year history.
This book is an invaluable insight into the process of becoming a leading member of an industry, and all the challenges that go with it. Stories of underhanded competition, unscrupulous suppliers, a decade of Nike almost going out of business teach the most important lessons for businesses: belief is irresistible, and always take the next step.
For an authentic look into a company’s rocky history, we have decided to name Nike as our Story Marketer of the Week.
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