Glossary

Audience Tension

The human truth or psychological conflict your target audience experiences. Not demographics ("millennials") but the underlying tension that creates action.

Example: "Want to make better choices but don't want to feel preachy" (Oatly's Curious Progressives).

Where it appears: The Audience (forced output), The Plan (synthesized in brief).

Batch Generate

Feature in The Frame that generates 4+ territories at once for side-by-side comparison on the Territory Perception Map.

Use case: When you want multiple strategic options to evaluate trade-offs.

Believability

X-axis on the Territory Perception Map. Measures whether the brand can credibly claim this territory based on current associations, capabilities, and market position.

High Believability: Close to what brand already does. Safe but limited growth.

Low Believability: Distant from current brand. Risky but potentially breakthrough.

Cascade

The data flow in Cascade Mode where outputs from one tool become inputs to the next. Brand context, problem reframe, audience tension, and positioning flow through all five tools.

Path: Story → Audience → Message → Plan → Frame.

Sector Messaging Convention

What most brands in a category assume and do. Based on Jean-Marie Dru's disruption methodology. Naming the convention is the first step to challenging it.

Example: "Most challenger banks assume customers want simplicity. They all lead with app features and fee transparency. None of them acknowledge the anxiety of managing money alone."

Where it appears: The Story (forced output), The Message (used to find white space).

Exclusions

What you deliberately choose NOT to be or do. Essential for positioning. Based on Michael Porter's strategy-as-trade-offs principle.

Example: "We are not competing on specs, not chasing tech enthusiasts, not trying to be Apple."

Where it appears: The Message (forced output), The Frame (territories include what they're NOT).

Executional Considerations

Strategic guardrails in The Channel that control WHAT concepts can say (versus creative sliders that control HOW they feel).

Example: "Must avoid 3310 nostalgia trap", "Cannot compete on specs vs Samsung/Apple".

Field prevents: AI generating concepts that violate strategic boundaries, even if sliders would otherwise allow it.

Forced Output

A field marked with a gold accent border that must be completed before continuing to the next tool. Prevents vague or incomplete strategic thinking.

Examples: Real Problem (Story), Audience Tension (Audience), Position Statement (Message).

Free Roam Mode

Using tools independently without the cascade. Good for standalone tasks (social concepts, competitive analysis, costing) or exploring without full pitch pressure.

Opposite: Cascade Mode (cascading 5-tool flow).

Golden Thread

The unifying strategic throughline that connects problem to platform. Each tool adds a link: Problem → Tension → Position → Direction → Platform.

Makes strategic logic visible so clients see a discovered truth, not a fabricated recommendation.

Learn more: The Golden Thread

Lock & Continue

Button that saves current tool's outputs and advances to the next tool in the cascade. Only active in Cascade Mode when forced outputs are complete.

Warning: Editing a locked step may affect downstream outputs.

Cascade Mode

Connected 5-tool flow where data cascades from tool to tool. For full pitch development from problem definition to strategic platform.

Time estimate: 90-120 minutes first time, 60-90 minutes after practice.

Pitch Readiness Check

Quality assessment in The Frame showing percentage score (e.g., 73%, 89%) and red/yellow/green flags across 5 dimensions.

Dimensions: Strategic Coherence, Deliverability, Evidence Base, Client Fit, Differentiation.

73% = "Presentation Ready with Fixes": Decent foundation but weak on deliverability/evidence.

89% = "Strategically Sound": Strong across most dimensions, minor refinement needed.

Position Statement

Forced output in The Message following the format: "For [audience], [brand] is the [category] that [unique claim] because [reason]."

Must include exclusions (what you're deliberately NOT).

Example: "For women who want a kinder definition of beauty, Dove is the personal care brand that champions real bodies and real confidence."

Promising Territory

Zone on the Territory Perception Map with high Stretch but lower Believability. Risky but potentially breakthrough if you have evidence to support it.

When to choose: Client is bold, you have research/evidence, and agency can deliver on the promise.

Real Problem

The underlying challenge that needs solving, not the client's stated brief. Forced output in The Story.

Example: Client says "increase awareness". Real problem might be "Permission to enter the category has been lost."

Format: "The client asked for [stated brief]. The real problem is [reframe]. This matters because [tension]."

Regenerate All

Action button in The Channel that generates 3 completely new concepts. Use when first batch missed the mark entirely.

Opposite: Vary This (variations of current concept).

Strategic Confidence

Score in The Frame showing whether adding platform detail helped or hurt overall strategic coherence.

89% → 85%: Added complexity made story messier. Consider simplifying.

89% → 91%: Platform strengthened coherence. Good sign.

Strategic Platform

The organizing thought that brings strategy to life. Not a campaign, not a tagline-a foundational idea that guides creative development.

6 components: Platform Statement, Organizing Principle, What It's Not, Evidence Points, Cultural Context, How It Scales.

Generated in: The Frame (Tool 5).

Stretch

Y-axis on the Territory Perception Map. Measures how much the territory pushes the brand forward vs staying in comfortable current territory.

High Stretch: Ambitious, growth-oriented. Risky if not credible.

Low Stretch: Safe, proven ground. Limited growth potential.

Sweet Spot Territory

Zone on the Territory Perception Map with high Believability AND high Stretch. Marked with ⭐ symbol. Ideal balance of credibility and ambition.

When to choose: Client is risk-averse or you want proven ground with growth potential.

Territory

A communications framework space that the brand could occupy. Not a campaign or tagline, but a strategic direction.

Example: "The Long Fix" (Boeing), "Absurdist Honesty" (Oatly), "Truthful Portraits" (Dove).

Where they appear: The Frame generates 4+ territories, maps them on Perception Map for evaluation.

Territory Perception Map

Visual in The Frame plotting territories on two axes: Stretch (Y-axis) vs Believability (X-axis).

Zones: Safe (low stretch, high believability), Balanced (middle ground), Promising (high stretch, lower believability).

Markers: ✅ Recommended (algorithm suggests), ⭐ Sweet Spot (high on both axes).

Territory View

Visualization in The Audience showing semi-transparent clouds representing each brand's audience footprint on the segment map.

Toggle: Pin view (exact positions) vs Territory view (audience clouds).

Use case: See where brands compete for the same audience segments and where white space exists.

Vary This

Action button in The Channel that creates variations of the current concept. Use when you like the core idea but want different executions.

Example: "Broken Promise Museum" concept is great, but you want it less serious. Use Vary This with sliders adjusted toward comedic.

Opposite: Regenerate All (completely new concepts).

White Space

Competitive positioning gap where no strong brand currently occupies. Found by analyzing sector messaging convention and mapping competitors.

Example: If all challenger banks emphasize "simplicity and control" (convention), white space might be "anxiety acknowledgment and support".

Where it appears: The Message (forced output), used to define positioning with trade-offs.