Competition Strategy Analyzer

Generate strategic analysis for "25 words or less" competition entries and automatically add to GitHub issue.

Execution Modes

Mode	Behavior
Interactive (default)	Ask clarifying questions about brand voice, tone preferences
Unattended	Use defaults based on sponsor category, no prompts

The comp-scout-daily workflow always invokes this skill in unattended mode.

Interactive Mode

When run interactively, this skill may ask:

• "What tone would you prefer? (sincere/humorous/mix)"
• "Any specific themes you want to emphasize?"
• "Should we focus on any particular angle?"

Unattended Mode

When invoked with --unattended or by comp-scout-daily:

• Uses sponsor category to determine default tone
• Generates standard set of 5 angle ideas
• No user prompts - runs end-to-end automatically

What This Skill Does

1. Analyzes the competition's brand, sponsor type, and prompt
2. Determines winning tone and approach
3. Generates angle ideas and themes
4. Auto-persists strategy as comment on the competition's GitHub issue

No manual "please save to issue" step required.

Input

Competition data (from GitHub issue or comp-scout-scrape):

• url, title, brand
• prize_summary, prize_value
• prompt, word_limit
• closing_date
• issue_number (for auto-persist)

Optional flags:

• --unattended - Skip all interactive prompts, use defaults

Workflow

Step 1: Identify Sponsor Category

Classify the brand/sponsor into one of these categories:

Category	Examples	Indicators
Wellness/luxury	Spas, skincare, premium travel, health retreats	Premium language, self-care themes, aspirational imagery
Tech/gaming	Electronics, gaming, apps, software	Features, specs, community, innovation
Food/beverage	Grocery, restaurants, drinks, snacks	Sensory language, recipes, family moments, occasions
Travel	Airlines, hotels, destinations, experiences	Adventure, discovery, escape, bucket-list
Retail/general	Department stores, homewares, fashion	Lifestyle, value, everyday convenience
Rural/agricultural	Farm supplies, outdoor equipment, regional brands	Practical language, weather, land, hard work

Step 2: Determine Winning Tone

Based on sponsor category, identify the likely winning tone:

Sponsor Type	Likely Winning Tone
Wellness/luxury	Sincere, aspirational, emotional honesty. Judges want to feel you genuinely need/deserve this.
Tech/gaming	Knowledgeable enthusiasm, self-aware humour. Show you understand the product without being a fanboy.
Food/beverage	Relatable moments, sensory details. Specific tastes, smells, family traditions.
Travel	Discovery, bucket-list energy, specific memories. What makes this destination special to YOU?
Retail/general	Personality, memorability, genuine need. Stand out from generic "I'd love to win" entries.
Rural/agricultural	Practical, financially savvy, honest about habits. Down-to-earth authenticity wins.

Step 3: Assess Brand Voice

Analyze how the brand communicates:

Questions to answer:

• Is the brand formal or casual?
• Do they use humour or stay serious?
• What values do they emphasize? (family, adventure, quality, value, sustainability)
• What language patterns appear in their marketing?
• Who is their target audience?

Output example:

"Casual and friendly, emphasizes family moments and everyday joy. Uses warm, approachable language. Target audience is parents/families."

Step 4: Analyze the Prompt

Break down what the prompt is really asking:

Questions to answer:

• What's the surface-level question?
• What's the emotional response they're hoping for?
• What generic answers will judges see hundreds of times?
• What would make an entry memorable?

Example:

Prompt: "Tell us in 25 words or less why you love our coffee"

Surface: Why do you like coffee? Real ask: What specific, personal moment makes our coffee special? Generic answers: "I love the taste", "It wakes me up", "Best coffee ever" Memorable: Specific sensory detail, unexpected moment, personal ritual

Step 5: Generate Angle Ideas

Create 3-5 distinct approaches, each with:

• Different emotional hook
• Different arc structure (sincere, comedic, self-deprecating, list-pivot)
• Brief description of the strategy

Format:

1. **Sincere - The morning ritual**
   Focus on a specific moment when the product is part of your routine.
   Arc: Honest admission → Sensory detail → Warm landing

2. **Self-deprecating - The confession**
   Admit to a relatable "flaw" that the product addresses.
   Arc: Confession → Constraint → Resolution

3. **Comedic - The unexpected angle**
   Find an unusual perspective that subverts expectations.
   Arc: Setup → Pivot → Callback

4. **Sensory - The specific detail**
   Zero in on one vivid sensory moment.
   Arc: Scene-setting → Sensory detail → Emotional resonance

5. **List-pivot - The credentials**
   Quick list establishing context, then pivot to the real point.
   Arc: List → Gap → Aspiration

Step 6: Identify What to Avoid

Common pitfalls for this type of competition:

Always avoid:

• Generic superlatives ("amazing", "best ever", "fantastic")
• Begging or desperation ("please pick me", "I really need this")
• Lies or fabricated stories
• Clichés the judges will see hundreds of times
• Empty enthusiasm without specificity

Category-specific pitfalls:

Category	Avoid
Wellness/luxury	Sounding entitled, over-the-top drama
Tech/gaming	Being too technical, gatekeeping
Food/beverage	Generic taste descriptions, "yummy"
Travel	Bucket-list clichés, generic wanderlust
Retail/general	"I want free stuff" energy
Rural/agricultural	City-slicker posturing, romanticism

Step 7: Auto-Persist to GitHub Issue

Add strategy as a comment on the competition's issue:

gh issue comment $ISSUE_NUMBER -R "$TARGET_REPO" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Strategy Analysis

**Sponsor Category:** {sponsor_category}
**Brand Voice:** {brand_voice}
**Recommended Tone:** {recommended_tone}

### Approach
{approach}

### Themes to Use
{themes_list}

### Angle Ideas
{angle_ideas_list}

### Avoid
{avoid_list}

---
*Generated: {date}*
EOF
)"

Step 8: Report Completion

✅ Strategy analysis complete and saved to issue #42!

**Summary:**
- Sponsor Category: Food/beverage
- Recommended Tone: Relatable with sensory details
- Generated 5 angle ideas

(In interactive mode: "Ready to compose entries?")

Output Format

strategy:
  competition_url: "https://..."
  issue_number: 42
  brand: "Example Brand"
  brand_voice: "Casual and friendly, emphasizes family moments"
  sponsor_category: "food/beverage"
  recommended_tone: "Relatable with sensory details, warm and specific"
  approach: |
    Focus on a specific moment when the product is part of your life.
    Avoid generic taste descriptions - instead, anchor to a memory,
    ritual, or unexpected moment. The best entries will make judges
    nod in recognition.
  themes_to_use:
    - "Family traditions"
    - "Sensory memories"
    - "Everyday rituals"
    - "Unexpected moments"
  words_to_consider:
    - "ritual"
    - "moment"
    - "discover"
    - "finally"
  angle_ideas:
    - "Sincere: The Sunday morning ritual that wouldn't be complete without it"
    - "Self-deprecating: Confessing to hiding the good stuff from the family"
    - "Sensory: The specific smell that triggers childhood memories"
    - "Comedic: The unexpected place/time you've enjoyed the product"
    - "List-pivot: All the things you've tried, but this is the one that stuck"
  avoid:
    - "I love [brand]"
    - "Best [product] ever"
    - "Please pick me"
    - "My family would love this"
    - "Delicious" / "Yummy" / "Amazing"

Example Session

User: Analyze issue #42 for strategy

Claude: I'll analyze this competition and save the strategy to the issue.

[Reads issue #42 details]

Competition: Win a Year's Supply of Coffee (Nespresso)
Prompt: "Complete this sentence in 25 words or less: My morning coffee..."

## Strategy Analysis: Nespresso Competition

**Sponsor Category:** Food/beverage (premium)

**Brand Voice:** Sophisticated but accessible. Nespresso positions itself as
everyday luxury - not pretentious, but elevated. George Clooney campaigns
suggest self-aware humour is welcome.

**Recommended Tone:** Sensory and specific, with room for subtle wit.
The "morning coffee" framing invites ritual/routine angles.

**What they're really asking:** What specific, personal moment makes your
morning coffee ritual special?

**Themes to use:**
- Morning rituals and routines
- Sensory details (aroma, warmth, first sip)
- The pause before chaos begins
- Small luxuries

**Angle ideas:**

1. **The Pause** - Focus on the quiet moment before the day begins
2. **Sensory Detail** - Zero in on one specific sensation
3. **Self-Deprecating** - Admit to needing it more than you'd like
4. **The Ritual** - Describe the specific routine
5. **Unexpected Angle** - Subvert the "morning" framing

**Avoid:**
- "I need coffee to function" (overdone)
- "Best coffee ever" (generic)
- "I'm not a morning person" (cliché)

[Runs: gh issue comment 42 --body "..."]

✅ Strategy saved to issue #42!

Note: When run in unattended mode (via comp-scout-daily), do NOT ask "Ready to compose entries?" - the workflow will automatically invoke compose next.

Unattended Mode Details

When running in unattended mode (e.g., via comp-scout-daily), the skill:

1. Skips all user prompts - No tone preference questions
2. Uses default tone mapping - Based on sponsor category (see Step 2)
3. Generates standard angles - Always produces 5 angle ideas
4. Auto-persists immediately - No confirmation needed

Default Tone Mapping (Unattended)

Sponsor Category	Default Tone
Wellness/luxury	Sincere, aspirational
Tech/gaming	Knowledgeable, self-aware humor
Food/beverage	Relatable, sensory
Travel	Discovery, bucket-list
Retail/general	Personality, memorable
Rural/agricultural	Practical, honest

Invocation by comp-scout-daily

The daily workflow invokes this skill as:

For each new competition issue:
  1. Read issue details
  2. Run comp-scout-analyze with --unattended
  3. Strategy is auto-persisted as comment
  4. Proceed to comp-scout-compose

Integration

This skill:

• Reads competition data from GitHub issues
• Auto-saves strategy as comment
• Outputs strategy for comp-scout-compose to use
• Can be invoked by comp-scout-daily in unattended mode