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Transcript
- Lucas: If you've ever wondered how a small startup gets credit for inventing an entire industry — I mean, not just a product, but the concept itself — there's a case study from the past decade that I still think about, and it's Drift. Luna: The conversational marketing company that Salesforce eventually bought? Yeah, I remember. But I think a lot of people saw them as just a chatbot platform. Lucas: Right. And that's exactly the misperception. Drift didn't just build a chatbot. They built the category of 'conversational marketing' — and they did it so effectively that now every CRM and marketing automation vendor has a conversational feature. But before Drift, that phrase barely existed. So how did they do it? Today I want to focus on one specific lever they pulled: category creation through content. Luna: I love this. So often we talk about differentiation within an existing market. But what if you just create a new market entirely? Lucas: Exactly. And the key piece — the one I want to unpack — is a book. In 2019, Drift's co-founder and CEO at the time, David Cancel, published a book called 'Conversational Marketing.' Now, a lot of CEOs write books. Most of them don't sell well and don't move the needle. But Cancel's book wasn't really a book. It was a lead generation engine disguised as a business book. Luna: Okay, I need you to explain that. How is a book a lead gen engine? Lucas: Sure. So first, the book was deliberately short — around 150 pages. It was designed to be read in two hours. And it was free. You could get the PDF, the audiobook, or buy the paperback on Amazon. But the moment you downloaded any version, you entered Drift's funnel. They captured your email, and then you got a sequence of follow-ups that weren't just 'buy our software' — they were more content, more examples, more frameworks from the book. They built a relationship. Luna: So the book wasn't a product. It was a lead magnet. A really high-quality lead magnet that also established them as the authority on the topic. Lucas: Exactly. And here's the number that makes it concrete: by 2021, that book had generated over 100,000 downloads. That's not a bestseller in the traditional sense, but in B2B SaaS, 100,000 qualified leads is massive. And because the book defined the category, every person who read it thought of Drift as the default solution for conversational marketing. They weren't comparing Drift to Intercom or Zendesk — those were 'messaging' companies. Drift was 'conversational marketing.' Different category. Luna: That's brilliant. They essentially wrote the dictionary definition of the space they wanted to own. But wasn't there also a podcast that played a big role? Flip My Funnel? Lucas: Great catch. Flip My Funnel was another huge piece. The podcast was hosted by Drift's VP of Marketing, and it literally flipped the traditional sales funnel upside down. The idea was that conversations — not forms — should be at the top of the funnel. They interviewed people from HubSpot, Salesforce, all these big names, and every episode reinforced the same core idea: the old funnel is broken, conversations are the future. And every episode ended with a subtle call to action that led back to Drift. Luna: So the podcast wasn't just thought leadership. It was a distribution channel that constantly reinforced the category name and Drift's ownership of it. Lucas: Right. And they didn't stop there. They also created an event called the Flip My Funnel Summit. It was a live event — post covid they did virtual — but the point was the same: bring together marketers who were tired of the old ways, and give them a new framework. The event had no sales pitches. It was just content. But the entire event was branded as 'conversational marketing' and Drift was the presenter. So attendees left thinking Drift = conversational marketing. Luna: It's almost like they were running for office. They had a platform, a book as a policy document, a podcast as a town hall, and an event as a rally. Lucas: That's a perfect analogy. And it worked because they didn't try to sell their product in those channels. They sold the category. They said, 'The world is moving to conversational marketing, and here's why.' By the time a company decided they needed conversational marketing, Drift was the only logical choice. They created the demand, then captured it. Luna: So for our listeners who are building a brand in 2026 — maybe they're in a crowded space, maybe they're a startup — what are the practical takeaways? How do you apply this without a huge budget? Lucas: Great question. I think there are three concrete steps. First, name the problem. Drift didn't say 'we have a better chatbot.' They said 'marketing forms are broken, and conversations are the solution.' That's a problem anyone in B2B marketing can relate to. So step one: articulate the problem your category solves, in plain language, that your target audience already feels. Luna: So you're not inventing a pain point. You're giving a name to a pain they already have. Lucas: Exactly. Step two: create a flagship piece of content that defines the category. That could be a book, but it could also be a comprehensive guide, a research report, or even a video series. The key is that it's substantial enough to be referenced by others. Drift's book was quoted by analysts, journalists, other marketers. That's the gold standard — when other people use your language to describe the space. Luna: And step three? I'm guessing distribution. Lucas: Right. Step three is consistent, multi-channel reinforcement. Drift used the book, the podcast, the event, and also had a strong blog and social presence. But notice — they didn't spread themselves thin. Every channel was about the same core message. The category name appeared everywhere. So for a smaller brand, you might pick just two channels — say a podcast and a newsletter — and hammer the category message across both. Consistency beats volume every time. Luna: I'd also add that they made it easy for others to spread the message. The book was free, the podcast had shareable clips, the event had hashtags. They gave people assets to evangelize for them. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's actually a good point to bring in something I want to mention. If this kind of marketing thinking is useful to you — if you've ever used an idea from this show in your own work — that's exactly why we keep making it. And the way these stay ad-free is listener support. If today was actually useful to you, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to keep this going. We appreciate anyone who does. And speaking of making things easy to spread, Drift also put their CEO front and center. David Cancel was the face of the movement. He wrote the book, he spoke at events, he tweeted constantly about conversational marketing. That's another lesson: if you have a founder or a leader who can be the voice, use them. Lucas: That's a big one. People trust people more than brands. Cancel became synonymous with the category. And when he spoke, he wasn't selling Drift — he was preaching the gospel of conversational marketing. The product sold itself after that. Luna: But there's also a risk, right? What happens when the founder leaves or the company gets acquired? Does the category survive? Lucas: Great point. Drift was acquired by Salesforce in 2022, and the brand has been absorbed. But the category — conversational marketing — is now a standard feature in most marketing stacks. So in a way, they won. The category outlived the company. That's the ultimate goal of category creation: you change the industry, even if your specific product eventually fades. Luna: So it's not about building a company that lasts forever. It's about building an idea that does. Lucas: Exactly. And I think that's the most inspiring takeaway for marketers today. You don't need a billion-dollar budget. You need a clear idea, a flagship piece of content, and consistent distribution. If you can name a problem that people already feel, and provide a framework they can adopt, you can create a category too. Luna: Alright, so for our listeners who want to try this: what's one thing they can do this week? Lucas: This week, write down the problem your audience constantly complains about. Then write a one-sentence definition of a new way to solve it. That's your category. Then start a simple three-part blog series or a short podcast miniseries exploring that idea. That's the seed. In six months, you might have something. Luna: I love that. Small start, big ambition. Thanks, Lucas. And thanks to everyone listening. We'll be back next episode with another marketing playbook you can actually use. Lucas: See you then.