10/10 Creating Your Own Category: The Ultimate Power Move

When you create your own category, you set the rules, and every competitor is forced to play by your standards.

Welcome to the final edition of Brand Armageddon! Over the course of this series, we’ve tackled everything from cutting through the noise in an overcommunicated world to the power of staying consistent with your brand’s identity. If you haven’t read our last edition on The Power of Brand Consistency, be sure to catch up here.

Now, let’s wrap up with one of the most powerful strategies of all—creating your own category. This is the ultimate branding move, the path to true dominance where you’re no longer competing, BUT you’re leading a space you’ve defined.

Why Compete When You Can Create?

Most brands get stuck fighting over the same market territory. They jostle for position, spend huge amounts on advertising, and try to prove they’re better than the other guy.

But the real power lies in creating a new category altogether. One that only you own. When you create your own category, you set the rules, and every competitor is forced to play by your standards.

Think about Red Bull. Instead of competing with traditional soda companies, they created the energy drink category. By doing so, they became synonymous with energy drinks themselves.

Today, even though dozens of other energy drinks exist, Red Bull owns the space.

People don’t say, “I’m craving an energy drink.” They say, “I need a Red Bull.”

This strategy isn’t about being the best in an existing field. It’s about being the only one in a field you’ve created.

The First-Mover Advantage

Creating a category gives you what’s known as the first-mover advantage.

When you’re the first brand in a new space, you instantly become the default option. Customers will associate your brand with the category itself.

Just like Kleenex became synonymous with tissues, or Google with online search, being first in a category means your brand defines the space.

First movers also have the advantage of setting customer expectations.

You educate the market, you define the problem, and you create the solution. Every competitor who follows has to work within the framework you’ve already established.

How to Create Your Own Category

So, how do you actually go about creating a new category? Here’s a roadmap to help you get started:

1. Identify an Unmet Need

The best categories are built on solving a specific problem that no one else has addressed.

Uber didn’t try to outdo traditional taxis. They saw a need for faster, more convenient ride-hailing and created an entirely new model. What need can your brand fulfill that no one else is addressing?

2. Define Your Unique Value Proposition

Creating a category isn’t just about launching a new product. It’s about creating a unique solution that’s fundamentally different from what exists.

Ask yourself: What can we offer that no one else can? Make sure this unique value is the centerpiece of your brand story.

3. Educate the Market

People aren’t used to your new category yet, so you need to educate them on why it matters.

Peloton didn’t just sell exercise bikes; they sold the concept of on-demand, connected fitness.

Their marketing focused heavily on educating people about the benefits of a virtual fitness community, helping them see Peloton as a solution to their workout needs.

4. Establish a New Set of Rules

When you create a category, you get to set the expectations. You’re not competing on existing standards—you’re creating new ones.

Tesla did this with electric vehicles, shifting the focus away from “fuel efficiency” and onto the thrill of high-performance, sustainable driving.

Tesla wasn’t just another car company; they defined a new category where performance met sustainability.

5. Be Prepared to Defend Your Territory

Once you’ve established your category, competitors will inevitably try to enter it. It’s crucial to stay true to your original mission and continue innovating within your space.

You have to keep pushing boundaries, so competitors always feel like they’re following rather than leading.

The Risk and Reward of Creating a Category

Creating a new category isn’t easy. You’ll need to convince customers why they need something they may never have thought about before.

You’re essentially pioneering a new path, and that takes time, education, and often a lot of trial and error. But the rewards are worth it. When you create a category and dominate it, you build a brand that can’t be easily copied.

Airbnb didn’t just compete with hotels—they created the category of home-sharing.

Today, Airbnb is one of the most recognized travel brands in the world, and they accomplished that without owning a single hotel. The risk they took to define a new category has paid off enormously.

Real-World Example: How Cirque du Soleil Created a Whole New Category

In the 1980s, Cirque du Soleil did something completely unheard of in the entertainment industry. Instead of competing with traditional circuses or theater shows, they created a new category of performance that blended elements of both.

Cirque du Soleil removed animals from their acts, introduced a higher level of artistic choreography, and used music and lighting that made their shows feel more like theater than a circus.

The result?

A totally new experience—part circus, part theater, part artistic spectacle. By creating this new category, Cirque du Soleil not only escaped competition with traditional circuses but attracted a completely different audience willing to pay premium prices.

Today, they are one of the most profitable live entertainment companies in the world, and no one else does what they do quite like they do it.

Why Creating a Category Makes You Untouchable

When you create your own category, you essentially make your brand synonymous with it. You’re no longer competing on features, benefits, or price.

Customers come to you because you’re the only one who truly represents the category.

This makes your brand nearly impossible to replace, because customers aren’t just buying a product, they’re buying into a unique experience or solution that only you provide.

What’s Next?

As we wrap up this series, it’s time to ask yourself one final question:

What can you do that no one else is doing?

The ultimate power move in branding is to stop competing and start creating. By carving out your own category, you’re not just setting yourself apart—you’re making your brand a leader by default.

This marks the end of Brand Armageddon, but the journey is just beginning for your brand.

Now it’s your turn to apply these principles and build something unforgettable. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Now, go out there and conquer your market!

~ Paul G.