Your Category’s Grand Entrance

How the “Lightning Strike” event proclaims the new reality

This is the third article in a series on how to launch a new category of products or services.

We’ve all seen movies or read books where the people are under some kind of oppression and “the hero” emerges from nowhere to lead the rebellion which overcomes evil and establishes a new and glorious future. At some point in these stories, the hero makes his grand entrance, rallying the troops and bringing cheers of delight from the oppressed people (and sometimes even the audience in the theater). Often this comes at the key turning point in the battle. The battle isn’t yet won, but everyone knows a new era has arrived.

A great example is the story of David and Goliath. The Israelite and Philistine armies faced each other across the Valley of Sochoh. Each day, the Philistines sent out their 9 foot tall champion Goliath with a challenge. “Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” The Israelites have no one that can match up to this brute, so they “were dismayed and greatly afraid.”

Then David, the shepherd boy younger brother of some of the Israelite soldiers showed up on the scene. He was offended that this bully was not only mocking the Israelite army, but their God. He told King Saul “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul is skeptical, but no one else has stepped up to the challenge, so eventually he agreed to send David.

David chose 5 smooth stones and approached the giant with his sling in his hand. Goliath laughed and made fun of him, but David, by the grace of God, let loose with a single shot that felled the Philistine. The Israelite army rose and pursued the Philistine army and won a great victory that day. As they returned from battle, the people sang David’s praises. It would be many years before the story would be complete, but everyone knew that everything had changed.

Your category similarly needs to make a grand entrance that gives the “oppressed people” you serve hope and that marks a new era in the industry. In their book Play Bigger Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, and Kevin Maney call this the category’s “lightning strike”.