April Dunford, founder of Rocket Media, discusses the importance of context and positioning for companies and products. She argues that ignoring context can confuse and lose customers. Dunford provides examples of how context can highlight or hide a product's strengths, and how positioning a product in a market that emphasizes its unique value makes that value more obvious to customers. Her key recommendations are to let go of the past, isolate differentiators, and position in a market where unique value is clear.

1. April Dunford
Founder, Rocket Media
@AprilDunford
Context & Positioning:
The Path from Why?
to Wow!
#GHConf18

2. OBVIOUSLY AWESOME
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

3. WHY CONTEXT
MATTERS:
AN EXPERIMENT
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

4. Ball
Cap
This
Sloppy
Action
Dirty Metro
Plaza
Garbage
BinsDid Not
Stop
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

5. STREET
PERFORMER!
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

6. Big
Camera
Dope
White
Bow Ties
Fancy
Wood
Feeling It
Program
Says he
Won
Awards
‘n Stuff
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

7. GENIUS!
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

8. CONTEXT CAN KILL
EVEN A GREAT PRODUCT
VS

9. CUSTOMERS
CONTEXT FOR COMPANIES & PRODUCTS
COMPETITION
BRANDING &
MESSAGING
PROMOTIONAL
PRODUCTS
CHANNELS PRICING

10. WE IGNORE
CONTEXT
COMPLETELY
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

11. EXAMPLE: WHAT IF I TOLD YOU
YOUR DATABASE IS NOT A DATABASE?
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

12. WHY ARE WE SO BAD AT
CONTEXT SETTING?
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

13. NEW IDEAS START WITH A DESIRE TO
MAKE AN EXISTING THING BETTER
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

14. BUT WE STRETCH
THAT DEFINITION
UNTIL IT BECOMES
SOMETHING ELSE

15. WE DON’T NOTICE THIS
GRADUAL TRANSFORMATION
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

16. BUT OUR
CUSTOMERS
ARE
CONFUSED,
AFRAID
(OR BORED)
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

17. CONTEXT CAN HIGHLIGHT
STRENGTHS
(OR HIDE THEM)
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

18. EXAMPLE: CAKE INNOVATION
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

22. +

23. +

24. +

26. WHAT YOU SAID IT WAS
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27. CAKE
FUNDAMENTALLY
NOT CAKE
OLD THINKING GIVES CURRENT
PRODUCTS AN ADVANTAGE
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30. LOLLIPOP CAKEPOP
NEW THINKING CHANGES
CUSTOMERS PERCEPTION
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31. HOW DO WE SET CONTEXT?
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

32. STEP 1: LET GO
OF THE PAST
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

33. STEP 2: ISOLATE
YOUR KEY
DIFFERENTIATORS
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

34. STEP 3: POSITION
IN A MARKET
WHERE YOUR
UNIQUE VALUE IS
OBVIOUS
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

35. EXAMPLE: ARE BOTH OF THESE
THINGS ROBOTS?
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36. EXMAPLE: A CRM FOR EVERYONE
OR A CRM FOR BANKERS?
@aprildunford aprildunford.com

37. @aprildunford aprildunford.com
CHOOSE
YOUR BEST
STAGE

38. APRILDUNFORD.COM

39. Learn more about the
GrowthHackers Conference at
GrowthHackers.com/Conference