Reframe Perception to Drive Growth

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🧠 The Psychology of Category Creation

When buyers encounter a product, their brains instinctively ask one question: “What is this?” To save effort, they categorize it instantly, a shortcut that shapes perception and choice. Smart marketers leverage this mental habit by creating new categories, framing their products as the first of their kind. When you define the label, you define the market.

Steps to Create and Own a Category

1️⃣ Sell a Movement, Not Just a Product:
Great category creators don’t sell features; they sell philosophies. Instead of promoting software, HubSpot championed “inbound marketing”, a rejection of pushy tactics in favor of helpful, educational content. This idea reframed how marketers saw themselves and turned HubSpot into a movement, not a tool.

2️⃣ Turn Weaknesses into Differentiation:
Sometimes your product’s quirks can become its strength. Staying in a stranger’s home should feel awkward, but Airbnb redefined it as authentic. By embracing what made them different and launching the “Belong Anywhere” campaign, they turned a potential liability into an emotional advantage and created a new category: the sharing economy.

3️⃣ Name the Problem Before You Solve It:
You don’t always need to invent a new market; sometimes, naming an existing problem is enough. Snickers did this brilliantly with “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry.” They coined “hangry,” popularized the feeling, and owned the solution. The product didn’t change; the perception did.

The Takeaway
Category creation isn’t just innovation; it’s storytelling. When you define the language your market uses, you shape how buyers think, talk, and act. The brand that frames the conversation first becomes the default choice, and every competitor plays by its rules.

🖥️ Microsoft Elevates Copilot With Local File Actions

Microsoft just dropped a game-changer in Copilot’s capabilities: Copilot Actions for local files. Imagine saying, “Organize my desktop files, archive April invoices, and backup my project folder,” and letting Copilot autonomously handle it, no more manual clicks, file jockeying, or switching contexts.

Here’s how it works:

1️⃣ Invoke Copilot + Set a Goal:
On Windows, open Copilot and describe what you want done in natural language. For example:

“Find all Word docs older than 6 months and compress them into a ZIP.” Copilot then launches a contained execution environment to run safely and autonomously.

2️⃣ Let Copilot Execute Tasks Locally:
Once your goal is set, Copilot can work across your desktop and web apps. It can open files, manipulate them, automate UI tasks, and even navigate web interfaces, all without your constant oversight.

3️⃣ Step In (or Not):
You always retain control. If you want to pause, redirect, or inspect what Copilot is doing, you can, but you also have the option to let it fully run in the background with minimal friction. This transforms your entire operating system into an AI agent, not just by suggesting what to do, but actually doing it.

The Takeaway
With Copilot Actions, you’re no longer stuck issuing instructions step by step. You can think at a higher level while the AI handles the execution. The boundary between you and your machine blurs, making your OS not just a tool, but a collaborator. This is a compelling leap toward ambient, autonomous computing.

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*Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See Terms and Conditions. Direct deposit, savings and overdraft coverage provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. *Brokerage services provided by Cash App Investing LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, subsidiary of Block, Inc. Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. Bitcoin services are not licensable activity in all U.S. states and territories. Block, Inc. operates in New York as Block of Delaware and is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Investing and bitcoin are non-deposit, non-bank products that are not FDIC insured and involve risk, including monetary loss. Cash App Investing does not trade bitcoin and Block, Inc. is not a member of FINRA or SIPC. For additional information, see the Bitcoin and Cash App Investing disclosures. **To earn the highest interest rate on your Cash App savings balance, you need to be 18 or older, have a Cash App Card, and direct deposit at least $300 monthly into Cash App. Cash App will pass through a portion of the interest paid on your savings balance held in an account for the benefit of Cash App customers at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. Savings yield rate is subject to change. ***No fee overdraft coverage of up to $200 for Cash App Card transactions is available when you direct deposit at least $300 monthly into Cash App. Eligibility requirements apply, see terms for details.