Category design is an approach in which a company does not compete for a better position within an existing category but defines a new category in which it is the natural leader. Instead of claiming to be the best marketing agency, it names a differently framed problem and offers a solution to it that nobody else offers in this form. The strength of the approach lies in the fact that framing the problem predetermines the criteria by which the customer compares you. It is not, however, a wordplay trick – the category must correspond to a real need customers feel, and the company must be able to deliver on it. In practice it starts by naming the problem in the customer's own language, then building content that explains this frame, and finally using it consistently across all communication. In generative search, framing carries particular weight.
See also: Perceptual map, Canonical brand answer, Brand story.
