Marketing, sales & UX laws · law 034
Law of the Category
By Shivam Bhandari · Reviewed 31 October 2026 · How we write
what it means
If you can't be first in a category, create a new category you can be first in.
How Law of the Category works
Customers resist hearing that you are ‘better’ than the brand they know. They are much more open to hearing what is new. So instead of fighting the leader, define a new category and lead it.
New categories are often a sharper slice of an old one: a segment, a use case, or a new way of delivering the same job.
where it comes from
From Al Ries and Jack Trout's The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (1993).
Law of the Category examples in business
D2C brands
Rather than becoming another headphone brand, boAt positioned itself around affordable, fashionable audio for young Indians.
Food
A ‘protein snack for office-goers’ stands out more than another chips brand.
Services
An accountant who becomes ‘the GST expert for restaurants’ owns a category no generalist firm does.
How to apply it
- 1Write the category you compete in today and who leads it.
- 2List narrower categories based on customer type, use case, or delivery format.
- 3Pick one you can credibly lead and name it simply.
- 4Market the category first, your brand second.
common misreading
Inventing a category nobody needs is not a strategy — the new category must match a real customer job.
ask yourself
What new category could you name where you would be the obvious first choice?
put it into practice
Frequently asked questions
What is Law of the Category?
If you can't be first in a category, create a new category you can be first in. Customers resist hearing that you are ‘better’ than the brand they know. They are much more open to hearing what is new. So instead of fighting the leader, define a new category and lead it.
Who came up with Law of the Category?
From Al Ries and Jack Trout's The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (1993).
How do you apply Law of the Category in business?
1. Write the category you compete in today and who leads it. 2. List narrower categories based on customer type, use case, or delivery format. 3. Pick one you can credibly lead and name it simply. 4. Market the category first, your brand second.
What is a common misunderstanding of Law of the Category?
Inventing a category nobody needs is not a strategy — the new category must match a real customer job.