This idea came from a workshop I ran for a major publisher earlier in 2008. I use a schematic to establish a positioning and to generate propositions. I'll post a page about that soon. The original idea was to use the tool to find propositions to reposition a product as far away from its competition as possible.  The publishing team pointed out that this was the last thing they wanted to do. If you want to sell a book you don't say there's no other title in the market like it. You do the opposite - you cosy up to your competition - because those who read the best seller like reading similar titles.

So I've borrowed the idea of the peleton from the Tour de France. Cyclists don't cycle away from each other. They cycle close.  That way they can get protection from the wind. Those following have the psychological advantage of chasing rather than trying to staying ahead. They benefit from the slipstream of the riders in front. Exactly the same thing happens when products ride in packs - the leader may not be making as much profit as one of the products further back. But is creating the profile which the others benefit from. This is category marketing by another name. To make the most of your product you need to work out where in the peleton to sit. Whether you are going to push for the lead or whether you are going to sit in the slipstream and benefit from the work of the leader or whether you want to mingle anonymously with the pack. 

It is particularly important where you have a dominant competitor - the equivalent of Harry Potter or the Da Vinci code. The biggest sellers create enough room to allow other products to come through. Pullman's novels wouldn't sell in such large numbers if it weren't for the size and scale of the Harry Potter phenomenon.  If the category is strong it also benefits the leader because it makes them look bigger and more important than they really are. All those books about the blood of the Holy Grail make the Da Vinci Code feel more substantial than the potboiler it undoubtedly is.

It is relevant for advertising because a product can benefit from the promotional budgets of competitors. Try to have a lower share of voice than your market share - that's slipstreaming. If you have competitors who spend profligately or whose ads are poorly branded then your product will benefit.