The Existing Marketing Trap: How to Stop Competing and Start Category Designing with Al Ramadan

What if the biggest reason your marketing isn’t working has nothing to do with your price, your pitch, or even your product? Al Ramadan, co-founder of Play Bigger and co-author of the groundbreaking book Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets, talks with Tom Schwab about the existing marketing trap. The mistake of competing for attention in crowded, established markets instead of creating and owning a new category.

Al shares how he’s helped companies generate over $50 billion in market value by reframing the game entirely.

If you’ve ever struggled to stand out, explain your true value, or escape the endless cycle of being “better, faster, or cheaper,” this conversation will flip the way you think about marketing.

Timestamps From This Episode:

[03:16] How category kings dominate markets and capture most of the value and financial rewards.

[10:10] Elevating your perceived value by focusing on a specific problem.

[16:22] Category design for all entrepreneurs – both large and small.

[22:06] Reframing products – A look at the BlackBerry vs iPhone.

[26:18] Why you should seek to create new, undefined markets rather than compete in established ones.

Resources From This Episode:

PlayBigger.com

InterviewValet.com

Looking For More?

Here are some resources to help you get started with a Podcast Interview Marketing strategy to grow your brand or business.