From oblique-cowork
Research a public brand on the web (founder interviews, news, podcasts, Wikipedia, Reddit, industry reports) and write a structured case study from the Oblique branding-and-marketing lens, then save it to the Case Study Library with citations and three pre-generated content angles. Handles both success stories ("how did [brand] scale") and failure stories ("post-mortem on [brand]"). Use this skill whenever Sean says "case study on [brand]", "research [brand] for case study", "scale story for [brand]", "how did [brand] scale", "how did [brand] fail", "failure story on [brand]", "post-mortem on [brand]", "research the brand [brand]", "branding case study", "marketing case study", or any variation of asking to mine an external brand's story for the BrandedbySean content bank. Always invoke when Sean references a brand name and wants to capture its scaling or failure story for content. Never invoke for first-hand stories from Sean's own experience — that's bbs-story-mine.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/oblique-cowork:bbs-case-researchThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
This skill mines a public brand's scaling story (or failure story) from the web, filters it through the Oblique branding-and-marketing lens, writes a structured case study, and saves it to the Case Study Library with full citations and three ready-to-ship content angles.
This skill mines a public brand's scaling story (or failure story) from the web, filters it through the Oblique branding-and-marketing lens, writes a structured case study, and saves it to the Case Study Library with full citations and three ready-to-ship content angles.
The output is research-based. It complements the first-hand entries from bbs-story-mine. Both live in the same Case Study Library, distinguished by the source_type frontmatter (research vs first-hand).
research-sourcing protocol: every non-common-knowledge claim gets a URL in the Sources section with a one-line note on what it added.copywriting skill over the full entry. Then run grep -c "—\|–" on the file. If matches > 0, fix and re-check.50 - Knowledge Base/Case Study Library/, set source_type: research, set pillar (local = 2, international = 3), and append a row to _Library Index.md.copywriting (full framework over the entire entry before save) and research-sourcing (citation protocol for every web-sourced claim).Trigger on any of:
If Sean says "I want to do a case study on [brand]" without specifying success/failure, ask: "Success story or failure story?" Don't assume.
bbs-story-mine.State the plan at the start of every run:
1. Confirm brand + angle (success / failure / neutral) → verify: brand named, angle confirmed
2. Run the web research pass → verify: 5+ sources surfaced, mix of types
3. Filter through Oblique lens (brand strategy → marketing → PMF → scale levers) → verify: each lens produces specific findings
4. Write the case study using the template → verify: every section populated, no placeholder text
5. Generate the 3 content angles → verify: hook, opener, tweet drafted
6. Run Copywriting Framework pass → verify: no em dashes, no antithetical pivots, no AI tells
7. Save to Case Study Library + update _Library Index.md → verify: file exists, index updated
Ask:
Run a multi-source search. Required diversity:
For the per-region and per-type source list (Malaysian/SEA outlets, international podcasts, failure-analysis sources), see the "Sources guidance for common research types" section below.
Minimum 5 sources cited. Aim for 8-12 for a strong entry.
For failure stories, deliberately seek:
The Oblique lens has four layers, ordered by importance for BrandedbySean's audience:
Brand strategy decisions. Positioning, naming, narrative, visual identity, voice, audience targeting. The decisions that defined what the brand IS in the market.
Marketing playbook. Channels, creative, partnerships, distribution, founder content, owned vs paid mix. The decisions that drove how the brand grew.
Product-market fit moment. When did demand outstrip supply? What signal told them they had it? What did they double down on after?
Scaling levers. What pulled the trajectory from steady-state to breakout? Channel discovery, geographic expansion, SKU expansion, retail entry, exit windows.
Financial and operational context (funding, margins, headcount, supply chain) is BACKGROUND only. The audience is brand and marketing operators. Don't lead with the spreadsheet.
For each layer, capture:
For failure stories, the lens inverts:
Use the Case Study Template at _Templates/Case Study Template.md.
Sections to populate:
Three angles required:
For failure stories, the hooks change:
Run the copywriting skill over the full entry before save. It owns the framework (em dashes, antithetical pivots, filler openers, hollow power words, fragment stacking, bullet abuse, operator vocabulary, specific numbers).
Then run grep -c "—\|–" on the file before save. If matches > 0, fix and re-check.
Filename: [Brand Name] — [Inflection Phrase].md
Examples:
Liquid Death — Positioning Genius in a Commodity Category.mdFashionValet — What Killed the Brand.mdAesop — Price Ladder and Retail Experience as Moat.mdSave location: 50 - Knowledge Base/Case Study Library/[filename].md
Frontmatter must include:
source_type: researchstatus: researched (move from stub to researched)source_skill: bbs-case-researchpillar: 2 (local) or 3 (international)case_type: success | failure | neutralcreated and last_updated in DD/MM/YYYY formatAfter save:
Case Study Library/_Library Index.mdcopywriting gate, then the em-dash grep, before save.Malaysian / SEA brands:
International brands:
Failure analysis:
After saving, suggest:
bbs-story-mine interview where Sean adds his own commentary on the brand from his operator perspective.Skills Map.md per the standing CLAUDE.md rule.npx claudepluginhub seanng23/oblique-power-skills --plugin oblique-coworkSets up isolated workspaces using native worktree tools or git worktree fallback. Use before starting feature work to protect the current branch.