Pm Brand Strategy

---
name: pm-brand-strategy
description: "Establish or iterate on the brand strategy and marketing direction for a project. Use when starting a new project, setting up brand context for the first time, or when the user says 'help me brand this', 'how should I talk about this project', 'set up marketing context', 'define our voice', 'who is this for', 'how do we position this', or wants to iterate on how their project is presented. Writes .claude/product-marketing-context.md which all other brand/design skills read automatically. Supports: Open Source Software, SaaS, Craft Sales."
license: MIT
source: adapted from https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/marketing-skill/marketing-context
---

# Brand Strategy

You are an expert brand strategist. Your goal is to capture the foundational positioning, audience, voice, and visual direction for a project — so every other skill (brand-guidelines, frontend-design, logo-designer) can act consistently without re-explaining context each session.

Output is always written to `.claude/product-marketing-context.md` in the project root.

> For enforcing the brand system across assets, apply the `pm-brand-guidelines` skill.

## Step 0: Identify Project Type

**Before doing anything else**, determine which template applies. Try to infer it from the repo/project first. If it's unclear, ask.

| Type | Description | Examples |
|------|-------------|---------|
| **open-source** | A library, CLI, framework, or tool released publicly for developers to use or contribute to. Goal: adoption. | uv, ripgrep, FastAPI, htmx |
| **saas** | A hosted web application or API sold via subscription. Goal: paying customers and retention. | Linear, Vercel, Posthog |
| **craft-sales** | Physical or digital goods sold directly by an individual maker. Goal: sales and repeat buyers. | Etsy shop, handmade ceramics, digital printables, indie fonts |

Once identified, follow only the sections for that type. State the detected type at the start: *"This looks like an [open-source / SaaS / craft-sales] project. Using that template — correct me if wrong."*

---

## Modes

### Mode 1: Auto-Draft from Project (default)
Scan the repo or project automatically — README, package.json, pyproject.toml, CONTRIBUTING.md, existing website copy, any existing `.claude/` files — and draft a V1 using the appropriate template. Present it section by section for review.

Start with: *"I've scanned the project. Here's my read on how it should be positioned — correct anything that's off, and fill in what I couldn't infer."*

### Mode 2: Guided Interview
Walk through sections conversationally, one at a time. Never dump all questions at once. Use this when the project has minimal documentation.

### Mode 3: Iterate on Existing
Read the current `.claude/product-marketing-context.md`, summarize what's captured, and ask which sections need updating. Useful when the project has evolved or the brand isn't landing right.

Most projects prefer Mode 1. After presenting the draft: *"What needs correcting? What's missing?"*

---

## Template: Open Source Software

> **Primary objective: user adoption.** Success = more developers discovering, trusting, and recommending the project. Avoid commercial language (funnels, LTV, pricing) unless the user introduces it.

See: `templates/open-source-template.md`

### Sections to capture

**1. Project Overview**
- One-liner (punchy tagline — what it does in one sentence)
- What it does (2-3 sentences, plain English)
- Category (how would a developer search for this?)
- Project type: CLI / library / framework / developer tool / data tool / other
- License

**2. Audience**
- Primary users: who are they and what are they doing when they reach for this?
- Secondary users: who else benefits?
- Contributors: who would want to contribute and why?
- Not for: anti-audience

**3. Problem & Differentiation**
- What frustration or gap does this address?
- What do people use instead, and why does that fall short?
- Core design philosophy or bet (e.g. "zero config", "composable primitives")
- Word-of-mouth pitch: what would a user say to a colleague?

**4. Brand Voice & Tone**
- Personality (3-5 adjectives): e.g. "direct, pragmatic, a bit opinionated"
- Technical depth: accessible / intermediate / expert-first
- Writing style: terse and precise / narrative / educational / conversational
- Words/phrases to use vs. avoid
- One example sentence that nails the voice

**5. Visual Direction**
- Color mood: dark+technical / warm+approachable / clean+minimal / bold+energetic
- Existing colors (hex if known)
- Typography feel: monospace-forward / editorial / geometric sans
- Aesthetic references: (e.g. "like Linear", "like Stripe docs")
- Logo direction: icon-only / wordmark / combination

**6. Adoption Goals**
- Primary metric: downloads / stars / dependents / contributors / other
- Discovery path: how do developers find this today?
- Trust signals: what makes devs confident enough to add as a dependency?
- Adoption barrier: biggest thing stopping people from trying it?
- "Aha" moment: when does a user realize this is exactly what they needed?

**7. Key Messages**
- Headline (what sticks after 10 seconds on the README)
- 2-3 supporting points
- CTA: install and try quickstart / star the repo / read the migration guide

**8. GitHub Presence**
- README purpose: quick start / deep reference / narrative intro
- Social proof to highlight: stars, downloads, notable dependents
- Contribution posture: welcoming beginners / core team only / bounty-driven
- Topics/tags to set — decide them here, then use `oss-health-check`'s Phase 2 to actually verify/apply them via `gh repo edit`; this section is the "which," that skill is the "did it happen"

---

## Template: SaaS

> **Primary objective: paying customers and retention.** Success = signups converting to paid, low churn, expansion revenue. Brand builds the trust that makes people willing to give you their credit card.

See: `templates/saas-template.md`

### Sections to capture

**1. Product Overview**
- One-liner
- What it does (2-3 sentences)
- Product category (the "shelf" — how customers search for you)
- Business model and pricing tiers
- Stage: early / growth / mature

**2. Target Audience**
- Primary users: role, industry, company size
- Buyer vs. user distinction (are they the same person?)
- Jobs to be done: 2-3 things customers "hire" this for
- Anti-persona: who should not buy this

**3. Problem & Differentiation**
- Core frustration before finding this product
- Why current alternatives fall short
- Key differentiators (capabilities alternatives lack)
- Why customers choose this over alternatives

**4. Objections**
- Top 3 objections heard in sales/support
- How to address each
- Switching anxiety: what worries people about signing up or migrating?

**5. Brand Voice & Tone**
- Personality (3-5 adjectives)
- Tone by context: marketing / onboarding / error messages / support
- Words/phrases to use vs. avoid
- One example sentence per context that nails the voice

**6. Visual Direction**
- Color mood and hex codes if known
- Typography feel
- Aesthetic references
- Logo direction

**7. Growth Goals**
- Primary metric: MRR / signups / activation rate / NPS
- Acquisition channels: organic search / paid / word of mouth / product-led
- Key conversion step: trial signup / demo booking / credit card
- Trust signals: logos, testimonials, certifications (SOC2, GDPR)

**8. Key Messages**
- Headline
- 2-3 supporting points
- Primary CTA: start free trial / book demo / get started

**9. Content & SEO Context**
- Target keywords by topic cluster
- Key pages and their purpose
- Content tone and depth preferences

---

## Template: Craft Sales

> **Primary objective: sales and repeat buyers.** Success = someone buys, loves it, comes back, and tells a friend. Brand is deeply personal — it's inseparable from the maker's identity and story.

See: `templates/craft-sales-template.md`

### Sections to capture

**1. Shop & Product Overview**
- Shop name and one-liner
- What you make (materials, process, style)
- Product categories offered
- What makes each piece distinct or special
- Where you sell: Etsy / own site / markets / wholesale

**2. Maker Story**
- Who you are and how you got here
- What drives the work (why this craft, why now)
- Studio/workspace: where and how things are made
- Values: sustainability, slow-made, local materials, etc.

**3. Audience**
- Who buys this: demographics, occasions, motivations
- Gift buyers vs. buying for themselves
- Returning customers vs. new discovery
- Not for: who wouldn't appreciate this

**4. Differentiation**
- What makes this different from mass-produced or other makers?
- What do customers always comment on?
- The feeling someone gets when they own/use this

**5. Brand Voice & Tone**
- Personality (3-5 adjectives): e.g. "warm, tactile, quietly confident"
- Writing style: personal / poetic / matter-of-fact / storytelling
- Words/phrases to use: e.g. "handmade", "one-of-a-kind", "made to order"
- Words/phrases to avoid: e.g. "cheap", "bulk", "fast"
- One product description sentence that nails the voice

**6. Visual Direction**
- Color mood: earthy / bright / muted / high contrast / natural
- Colors (hex if known)
- Typography: handwritten feel / clean serif / rustic / modern
- Photography style: lifestyle / studio / detail shots / process
- Aesthetic references

**7. Sales Goals**
- Primary metric: monthly sales / average order value / return buyer rate
- Discovery path: how do buyers find you? (search, social, markets)
- Trust signals: reviews, process photos, materials transparency, response time
- Barrier: what stops someone from completing a purchase?
- Best-selling item or category: what anchors the shop?

**8. Key Messages**
- Tagline or shop headline
- 2-3 things you want every visitor to feel or know
- CTA: shop the collection / commission a piece / follow for new work

---

## Output

Write `.claude/product-marketing-context.md` using the matching template. Include a `type:` field at the top so downstream skills know which framing to apply.

This file is read automatically by:
- `pm-brand-guidelines` — for color, typography, tone decisions
- `ui-frontend-design` — for aesthetic direction when building UI
- `ui-logo-designer` — for brand personality when generating logos

After writing:
> "Brand context saved to `.claude/product-marketing-context.md` ([type]). The brand-guidelines, frontend-design, and logo-designer skills will read this automatically. Run this skill again any time to iterate."

---

## Proactive Triggers (all types)

Raise without being asked:

- **Type ambiguous** → "Is this open-source, SaaS, or craft sales? The template changes significantly."
- **Voice undefined** → "Without voice guidelines, copy will sound generic every session. Let's define 3-5 adjectives."
- **Visual direction missing** → "frontend-design and logo-designer need a color mood to give consistent results."
- **One-liner is vague** → "This should pass the 'explain to a stranger in 5 seconds' test. Let's sharpen it."
- **Anti-audience not defined** → "Knowing who this is NOT for sharpens all the messaging."
- **Context older than a major version** → "Which sections still reflect reality?"

---

## Related Skills

| Skill | When to apply |
|-------|--------------|
| `pm-brand-guidelines` | Apply brand standards to any asset after strategy is defined |
| `ui-frontend-design` | Execute visual direction in code after strategy is established |
| `ui-logo-designer` | Generate logo concepts informed by brand personality and visual direction |
| `pm-product-management` | Connect brand strategy to product roadmap and PRD artifacts |