Research and define your target audience for brand identity
Researches and defines target audience for brand identity using JTBD, psychographics, and emotional motivators.
/plugin marketplace add mike-coulbourn/claude-vibes/plugin install claude-vibes@claude-vibesOptional focus area or specific audience segment00-BRAND/00-discover/You are helping a startup founder deeply understand their target audience. This research will inform brand positioning, voice, and messaging.
Founder Brief (required): @docs/00-BRAND/00-DISCOVERY/01-founder-brief.md
Check above: If no founder brief content loaded, STOP and tell the user to run /00-BRAND:00-discover/01-discover-founder first.
Optional focus area: $ARGUMENTS
CRITICAL: ALWAYS use the AskUserQuestion tool for ANY question to the user. Never ask questions as plain text output. The AskUserQuestion tool ensures a guided, interactive experience with structured options. Every single user question must go through this tool.
CRITICAL: You MUST use the Task tool to launch the brand-audience-researcher agent. Do not do the audience research yourself — that's what the specialized agent is for.
Your job is to:
ALWAYS use the AskUserQuestion tool when interacting with the user. This ensures a guided, interactive experience where the founder feels engaged and consulted throughout the branding process.
Use AskUserQuestion to:
Never save final outputs without user approval.
BEFORE launching the brand-audience-researcher agent, you MUST:
Use the Skill tool to invoke claude-vibes:ai-writing-detection
Use the Sequential Thinking MCP tool (ultrathink) to prepare AI-aware instructions:
Include AI-aware instructions in the agent prompt so output is human-sounding from the start
Use Task tool with subagent_type: "claude-vibes:BRANDING:brand-audience-researcher" and this prompt:
Research the target audience for this startup. ultrathink
## FOUNDER CONTEXT
**Business**: [Extract from founder brief - what they do]
**Problem Solved**: [Extract - the core problem]
**Initial Customer Description**: [Extract - who founder thinks the customer is]
**Founder's Why**: [Extract - purpose/motivation]
## CRITICAL: INTERACTIVE DISCOVERY
**ALWAYS use the AskUserQuestion tool to ensure an interactive, guided experience:**
- Gather preferences and opinions before making recommendations
- Present options with clear tradeoffs for the user to choose from
- Validate findings and get feedback before proceeding
- Confirm final outputs resonate before saving
Never make significant decisions without user input. The brand identity belongs to them.
## RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Deliver a comprehensive audience profile covering:
### 1. Jobs-to-be-Done (All Three Dimensions)
- **Functional Job**: What task are they trying to accomplish?
- **Emotional Job**: How do they want to FEEL?
- **Social Job**: How do they want to be SEEN by others?
- **The Struggling Moment**: What triggers their search for a solution?
### 2. Four Forces Analysis (Bob Moesta)
- **PUSH**: What frustrates them about current solutions?
- **PULL**: What attracts them to new solutions?
- **ANXIETY**: What fears hold them back from switching?
- **HABIT**: What keeps them comfortable with status quo?
- **Switching Analysis**: Is Push + Pull > Anxiety + Habit?
### 3. Psychographic Profile
- **Limbic Type**: Which of the 7 types? (Traditionalist, Harmonizer, Open Connoisseur, Hedonist, Adventurer, Performer, Disciplined)
- **VALS Segment**: Which segment? (Innovator, Thinker, Achiever, Experiencer, Believer, Striver, Maker, Survivor)
- **Core Values**: What do they believe in?
- **Motivations**: What drives their decisions?
### 4. Emotional Motivators (HBR Research)
- Which emotional motivators drive this audience?
- What emotional territory could this brand own?
### 5. Language & Community
- **Where they gather**: Reddit, forums, Discord, social platforms
- **Influencers they follow**: Who do they trust?
- **Language patterns**: Exact words and phrases they use
- **Brands they love**: What earns their loyalty?
### 6. Research-to-Strategy Bridge
Map findings to brand strategy elements:
- Primary JTBD → Brand Promise
- Push Forces → Problem Messaging
- Pull Forces → Benefit Messaging
- Anxiety Forces → Trust Signals Needed
- Emotional Jobs → Emotional Territory
- Social Jobs → Brand Personality
## TOOLS TO USE
- **Sequential Thinking MCP**: Structure your analysis through the Four Forces and Three Job Types systematically
- **WebSearch**: Search extensively for:
- `"[audience] reddit" OR "[problem] discussion"`
- `"[audience] frustrations" OR "[audience] pain points"`
- `"why [audience] switched from [old solution]"`
- `"[audience] values" OR "what motivates [audience]"`
- `"brands [audience] trust" OR "[audience] favorite brands"`
- **WebFetch**: Read full Reddit threads, forum discussions, and reviews — extract authentic voices, exact language, and emotional undertones
- **AskUserQuestion**: Validate key findings with the founder:
- "Does this match your ideal customer?"
- "Any segments I should explore deeper?"
- "Does this language resonate with people you've talked to?"
## OUTPUT REQUIREMENTS
Structure the output using the templates in the `jtbd-psychographic-research` skill:
- Forces of Progress Canvas
- Job Story Template
- Psychographic Profile Summary
- Research-to-Strategy Bridge
Include a "Key Quotes and Evidence" section with real quotes from research.
Deliver findings that are SPECIFIC to this audience — avoid generic insights that could apply to anyone.
After the agent returns:
Ensure docs/00-BRAND/00-DISCOVERY/ directory exists
Save the audience research to docs/00-BRAND/00-DISCOVERY/02-audience-research.md
Next step: "Run /00-BRAND:00-discover/03-audit-competitors to analyze the competitive landscape."