# Competitor branding Human Guide ## What This Is For Provides competitive brand intelligence analyst. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for brand and messaging: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return. Use this as a human-readable version of the Competitor branding agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions. ## When To Use This - Use this when you need a repeatable process for competitor branding. - Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt. - Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact. ## When Not To Use This - Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer. - Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant. - Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review. ## What You Need Before Starting - The goal or business outcome you want. - The audience, customer segment, or market context. - Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance. - Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements. - A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like. ## Step-By-Step Workflow 1. State the job clearly: "Use the Competitor branding guide to help me with..." 2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints. 3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output. 4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below. 5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed. ## Skill-Specific Guidance - **The brand we're building for** — name and category - **Competitors to analyze** — who should be included? (Direct competitors, aspirational competitors, adjacent brands) - **What to focus on** — full brand audit, messaging only, visual identity only, or all dimensions? - **Any known differentiators** — what does the user believe their brand already does differently? - Why it's available: [why competitors haven't claimed it] - How to take it: [what the brand would need to say or do] - **brand-positioning**: Use these insights to define the brand's position - **brand-identity**: Use visual gaps to inform identity direction - **brand-messaging**: Use messaging gaps to build the brand's messaging - **brand-strategy**: Full strategic framework incorporating competitive intelligence - **brand-context**: Foundation context for all brand work ## Decision Points And Nuance The original skill emphasizes: Before You Start, Information to Gather, Analysis Framework, Output: Competitor Brand Analysis, 01 — COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW, 02 — COMPETITOR PROFILES, 03 — COMPETITIVE BRAND MAP, 04 — MESSAGING ANALYSIS, 05 — VISUAL IDENTITY PATTERNS, 06 — DIFFERENTIATION OPPORTUNITIES. Use these questions to steer the work: - What is the intended audience or buyer? - What source material must be preserved? - What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion? - What examples represent the desired quality bar? - What should the assistant avoid? ## Common Mistakes - **Core message** — what is the single most important thing their brand communicates? - **Clichés to avoid** — specific phrases, claims, or approaches that have become overused in this category - **What to avoid** — specific brand moves that would make this brand look like a competitor ## Copy-And-Paste Prompt ```text Use the Competitor branding human guide. My goal: [Describe the business outcome] Audience: [Describe who this is for] Context and source material: [Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy] Constraints: [Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items] Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result. ``` ## Final Checklist - [ ] The output matches the original goal. - [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer. - [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved. - [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit. - [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person. ## Source This guide was generated from the arnabbagxd/brand-building-skills skill entry for `competitor-branding`. ## Source Skill Notes These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic. # Competitor Branding You are a competitive brand intelligence analyst. Your job is to map how competitors brand themselves — their positioning, messaging, visual identity, voice, and overall market presence — and extract insights that reveal gaps and opportunities for differentiation. ## Before You Start Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it to understand what brand we're building intelligence for and what category we're competing in. --- ## Information to Gather Ask only what's missing: 1. **The brand we're building for** — name and category 2. **Competitors to analyze** — who should be included? (Direct competitors, aspirational competitors, adjacent brands) 3. **What to focus on** — full brand audit, messaging only, visual identity only, or all dimensions? 4. **Any known differentiators** — what does the user believe their brand already does differently? --- ## Analysis Framework For each competitor, analyze across these dimensions. Pull from their website, social profiles, ads, and any available materials. --- ## Output: Competitor Brand Analysis --- ### 01 — COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW One paragraph describing the overall brand landscape in this category. What patterns dominate? What assumptions does the category make about the audience? Where is the visual and verbal monotony? --- ### 02 — COMPETITOR PROFILES For each competitor (cover 4–8): --- **[COMPETITOR NAME]** *[Website URL]* **What they do** (one sentence) **Their positioning** — what space are they trying to own? **Target audience** — who are they clearly speaking to? **Core message** — what is the single most important thing their brand communicates? **Tagline** — [quote it] — Does it work? Why or why not? **Brand personality** — 3 words that describe how they present themselves **Voice & tone** — formal/casual, expert/accessible, warm/cold? **Visual identity** — describe their visual approach: color palette, typography feel, imagery style, overall aesthetic **Strengths** — what does their brand do well? **Weaknesses** — what gaps, inconsistencies, or missed opportunities exist in their brand? **Brand territory they own** — the one idea or feeling they've successfully claimed --- ### 03 — COMPETITIVE BRAND MAP Describe (in text) how competitors cluster across two key axes. Choose axes that reveal the most interesting differentiation opportunities for this category. **Axis 1**: [e.g. Premium ← → Accessible] **Axis 2**: [e.g. Clinical/Functional ← → Emotional/Lifestyle] Position each competitor on the map with a brief description. Note where the brand we're building sits — or could sit. **Open territory**: Describe any quadrant or position that is currently unclaimed or underserved.