Strategy
Category Design Canvas
A six-cell canvas for naming and justifying a market category, not just positioning a product in one.
What it is
Six cells: the problem worth solving, the category point of view, the category name and definition, why you and why now, proof and evangelists, and the story arc for telling it. Built for teams betting that 'best in an existing category' is a losing long game.
Reach for it when
- A product with real traction that still gets compared unfavorably to an established category leader
- A founder or product marketer sensing that better features won't win a crowded category
- A repositioning push that needs more than a new slogan to hold up
Running it
- Open by framing that 'best product in an existing category' is a losing long-term strategy — don't skip this framing.
- Pair up to draft Problem Worth Solving and Category Point of View before naming anything.
- Brainstorm category name candidates as a group of 3-8 (leadership, product marketing, founders) and vote.
- Work Why You/Why Now and Proof & Evangelists in small groups, then close by drafting the first three story-arc beats.
Watch out: Teams rename an existing category instead of defining a genuinely new problem, and skip the proof-and-evangelist work entirely — leaving nothing behind but a slogan.
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Recent Comments (3)
This workshop was incredibly effective for our remote team! We adapted it slightly for a virtual setting and it worked wonderfully. The key was breaking into smaller breakout rooms.
Great resource! One tip: prepare all materials the day before to avoid any last-minute rushes.
Used this for our quarterly planning session. The structured approach really helped us stay on track!