And here we introduce the Peleton: the formation that racing cyclists naturally fall into.  The Peleton is a great way to think about categories because where you position yourself is all important. The point of the race may be to win it. But you don't necessarily win by staying in front all the time.  The lead cyclist often has the wind full in the face and others are able to shelter behind. The leader has the psychological disadvantage of knowing they are being pursued - it is easier to chase than to stay ahead.  So peletons featuring teams of cyclists change their shape depending on the terrain, the direction of the wind and a host of other factors. And different cyclists take the lead while others are allowed to rest protected by the rest.

How does this translate into marketing? Well plainly put the one who sells the most products may not be as profitable as one of the competitors who lag behind them. The first to market may have an advantage or may be driving the category and allowing other brands profit for far less effort. The Wii was last to market but outsold the Xbox 360 and the Playstation by virtue of being more playable, cheaper to make and cheaper to write games from. It has forced its technically superior competitors to lower their prices. And it is more profitable.

I started to think about this more deeply when I used a positioning exercise - something I am going to show you in a little while. While working with a publisher. I was trying to move the brand in question as far away from its competitors as I could using propositions to move it. But the publisher was much more interested in which other titles a particular title was alongside. Its the pack of titles that helps to sell an individual title. That's why when there is a runaway best seller like the Da Vinci code or Harry Potter then other authors and titles are brought in to generate additional sales. They don't get anywhere by themselves. Its the company you keep that positions you for success.

Where in the category a brand positions itself is very important. Brands say different things about themselves to position themselves differently with the category. To reposition themselves brands say something different to encourage customesr to position them somewhere else in the category. That's the difference between a proposition and a positioning. A proposition is what you say to persuade someone to position or reposition your brand.

We've come a long way this week using the idea of a category. Its an important one because there is too much thinking about products and brands by themselves in isolation from customers in competitors who are almost always working in the environment of the category. Category thinking is an essential tool for the waggledancer who uses holistic system thinking as the starting point before considering where to make advantage for the specific brand.