the four-move framework.

most brands i meet have at least three of the four moves. the order is the bit they get wrong, and the order is what makes the framework worth anything.

the four moves came out of an internal worksheet we built in 2022 to stop our team relitigating the same strategy questions on every new client. we cleaned it up, then printed it on a single sheet of a4, then pinned it to the wall.

five years and 200+ brand engagements later, we still pin it to the wall. the worksheet hasn't really changed. what's changed is how often we have to argue for the order.

move 01get something to say.

not a tagline. not a position. an actual point of view that contradicts somebody else's. if your brand could be lifted off your homepage and dropped onto a competitor's homepage without anyone noticing, you don't have something to say yet.

the cheapest test: write the sentence “we believe ____, even though most of our industry believes ____.” if you can't fill it in, this is move zero, not move one.

move 02find a format.

once you know what you're saying, you need a vehicle for saying it. the vehicle is the format. a podcast, a newsletter, a show, a book, a 60-second weekly post. the format is what carries the point of view at cadence.

“the brands that grow are the ones that pick a format and stay loyal to it for two years before they're allowed to change it.”

the wrong format kills the point of view. spark nz had a great point of view about tradies and a banner ad budget; we built tough yarns instead. same money, same audience, completely different shape.

signs your format is wrong

your team dreads producing it. you produce four units a quarter instead of every week. nobody else can make it without you. it's all about you instead of about the audience.

move 03ship at cadence.

cadence beats quality. always. the brand that ships every week at a 7 will out-grow the brand that ships every six weeks at a 9. by month four, the cadence brand also stops being a 7.

your job in this move is to make the cadence cheap to maintain. that means a production system, a small team that owns it, and a publishing day everyone in the building knows about.

move 04earn the room.

the last move is the hardest. earning the room means people quote you, refer to you, share you, and bring you up when you're not present. you can't shortcut it; you only earn it by doing moves 01·03 long enough.

the only thing that speeds it up is being more honest, more often, than your peers. the only thing that slows it down is faking moves 01·03 to get to move 04 faster.

how the moves stack.

move 01 is the bet. move 02 is the bet's vehicle. move 03 is the engine that drives the vehicle. move 04 is the road getting smoother as you drive on it. you don't have a brand until all four are running at once.

when to redo move 01.

once a year. usually after summer, before planning. the format and cadence are fine to leave alone. the bet should be re-checked annually because what was contrarian last year may be obvious now.