How to Create a Category for your Brand

Every Marketer thinks their company is different.

But, if you’re REALLY doing things differently, then why are you still playing by someone else’s rules?

This week, we’re breaking down how to create and own your own category, featuring insights from Kari Hanson, CMO at Robin.

Kari has been in the game for 20+ years and was a driving force behind ZoomInfo’s early category-defining moves.

She’s a category architect of the highest order and I’m glad she came on the podcast.

From positioning to thought leadership to internal alignment, this is your blueprint for becoming the biggest fish in a pond that you build yourself.

Let’s dive in. 🎣

1️⃣. When is Creating a New Category the Right Move?

Kari’s Take: “If you hear yourself saying, “We approach this a different way,” or, “There’s a different way to solve the same problem,” over and over again, that’s probably a sign that you need to create a new category and reframe it because you have an opportunity to get in front of it.”

By being able to set yourself against the entire market, you win tons of Marketing collateral.

Instead of being the 4 largest fish in a big pond, you can be the largest in a small (but growing!) pond. 

Takeaway: Don’t compete for scraps in someone else’s narrative.

If you see the game differently, just change it. 

Creating a new category lets you control the story, the comparison points, and the buyer’s mindset.

It’s not just Marketing.

It’s leverage.

2️⃣. Lead Those Thoughts with Some Thought Leadership

Kari’s Take: “If you’re talking about thought leadership from a Marketing perspective, you’re not really talking about your product anyway.

Your thought leadership might be about a new category, or it might focus on how another company is doing really well.

But really, from a category creation perspective, thought leadership is about showing that you’re the visionary in the market.” 

In category creation, you can’t just talk about how great your product is, even if it is all that and a bag of chips.

You have to zoom and talk about the category as a whole.  

Takeaway: A rising tide lifts all boats.

If your product is truly great, showing the value of the whole category will bring the spotlight back to you in the end.

3️⃣. Webinars are BACK!

Kari’s Take: “The webinars are starting to come back. For a while nobody wanted to do them. Now everybody wants to sit in on them.”

When making a splash in a new category, events where you can talk DIRECTLY to customers are invaluable. 

Takeaway: If you’re going to host an event, make it feel like one. That means:

• Crafting a tight pitch that actually hooks people
• Ensuring a seamless stream (looking at you, Wi-Fi dropouts)
• Making sure it doesn’t feel like just another sales call in disguise. 

SIDE NOTE: I’ve been beating this drum recently but ICYMI: we’re working with RingCentral to upgrade some of our biggest events in 2025.

The early tests are STELLAR. If you’re putting on events yourself, checking them out is worth your time.

4️⃣. Innovation is a Treadmill That You Can’t Get Off

Kari’s Take: “If you’re creating something new, by definition, you’re an innovator. That means you always have to be innovating. What we’re offering today is very innovative, but we also need to be thinking about what things will look like 12 months down the road. What’s the next innovation? You have to keep telling that story.”

It’s not enough to launch once.

You need to stay ahead by always thinking about what’s next and keeping that future vision front and center. 

Takeaway: Launching something new isn’t a one-time flex.

It’s a commitment.

Keep a pulse on where your market is headed and build your next move BEFORE your customers ask for it.

5️⃣. Just Get Better at Writing

Kari’s Take: “Every marketer, no matter their role, should understand how a business works and how to write really, really well.” 

Even if you’re not in product or finance, you should know what LTV means, how your company makes money, and be able to explain your value, clearly and concisely, in the written word. 

Takeaway: I can’t tell you how many times I’ll receive a cold email and not even understand what the person is trying to sell me.

If you can’t write clearly, you can’t Market.

Period, exclamation point, period. 

IN A MEME