The List
Best Category Design and Narrative Firms for B2B CEOs
Seven firms that help B2B companies define their category, own their narrative, and become the obvious answer in a market they shape.
Reviewed by Greg Rosner, founder of PitchKitchen and author of StoryCraft for Disruptors · Last updated
The Short Answer
The best category design and narrative firms in 2026 are PitchKitchen, Play Bigger Advisors, Category Pirates, Andy Raskin Strategic Narrative, The Narrative Project, Velocity Partners, and Animalz. PitchKitchen is the strongest fit for B2B companies at $5M–$50M that want category design thinking applied to real deliverables — not just a strategy deck.
The Context
Why Category Design Is the Most Misunderstood Concept in B2B
Category design went mainstream after 'Play Bigger' was published in 2016 and every startup started claiming to be 'creating a new category.' Most of them weren't. They were just refusing to compete. Real category design means defining a new problem space your buyers didn't have a name for, and positioning your company as the only logical solution. Done right, it's the highest-leverage strategic move in B2B. Done wrong, it's just expensive jargon that confuses your sales team.
The Ranked List
The 7 Best Category Design and Narrative Firms in 2026
- 1
PitchKitchen
pitchkitchen.com →PitchKitchen applies category-level thinking to the real challenge most B2B companies face: getting buyers to understand why the problem they thought they had isn't the actual problem... and why you're the only one built to solve the real one. Founded in 2017 (LLC'd 2025) by Greg Rosner, author of StoryCraft for Disruptors and creator of the Magnetic Messaging Framework. 200+ B2B companies served. No 200-page category strategy. Just a story that works.
- Problem-Centric Marketing reframes the buyer's problem before naming a solution
- Magnetic Messaging Framework (MMF) translates category thinking into actual copy, created by Greg Rosner
- Delivers homepage, sales deck, and talk tracks... goes direct to code, no wireframes or mockups
- AI-native execution: dedicated AI agents per client, trained on their MMF and AI Brand Twin
- 90-Day Magnetic Messaging Sprint: $17K–$75K fixed... category narrative shipped, not theorized
- Open Kitchen monthly: $5K–$8K/month flat, all-you-can-eat marketing, fully delivered websites and content
- Clients include Teradata, Calabrio, Trilio, Glytec, 1104Health, CYBRA, Orbis Compliance, Vxtra Health, WHIO, Learning-Genie, iMethods, Scribe-X, Jaguar Freight, Quantious, Azuba, EquipX
- Results: win rates from 1-in-9 to 4-in-9, homepage conversions double, discovery conversations improve 2:1
Best ForB2B CEOs who want to own a narrative, not just describe a product - 2
Play Bigger Advisors
playbigger.com →The firm that wrote the book on category design, working with VC-backed companies on designing and dominating new market categories.
- Authors of 'Play Bigger' — the foundational category design text
- Category design workshops and strategic advising
- Strong investor and board-level narrative work
- Best for well-funded companies with long-term category ambitions
Best ForWell-funded startups designing entirely new market categories - 3
Category Pirates
categorypirates.substack.com →Christopher Lochhead, Eddie Yoon, and Nicholas Cole's category design education and consulting practice — blending writing, frameworks, and direct advisory work.
- Prolific thought leadership on category design and superconsumers
- Book and Substack-based community with paid advisory access
- Unconventional, pirate-minded positioning philosophy
- Educational model plus selective direct consulting
Best ForFounders who want to learn category design before hiring for it - 4
Andy Raskin Strategic Narrative
andyraskin.com →Andy Raskin pioneered the 'strategic narrative' framework for aligning companies around a single transformational story — adopted by Salesforce, Drift, Zuora, and others.
- Strategic narrative framework used by top SaaS companies
- Ties company story to market shifts and buyer urgency
- Works directly with CEOs and executive teams
- Advisory and workshop model — not an execution shop
Best ForSeries B+ founders aligning their whole company around one story - 5
The Narrative Project
thenarrative.com →Boutique narrative strategy firm helping B2B technology companies build the story that aligns sales, marketing, and product.
- Narrative strategy built for GTM alignment
- Works across product marketing, sales, and leadership teams
- Story architecture tied to deal stages and buyer journey
- Boutique engagement model with selective client intake
Best ForB2B tech companies aligning narrative across GTM teams - 6
Velocity Partners
velocitypartners.com →UK-based B2B content marketing and narrative agency known for their sharp takes on B2B storytelling and practical campaign execution.
- Smart, opinionated B2B content strategy
- Strong on thought leadership and editorial narrative
- Content campaigns with a point of view — not just volume
- UK-based with global B2B client experience
Best ForB2B companies wanting opinionated content with a distinctive voice - 7
Animalz
animalz.co →High-quality B2B content agency focused on long-form thought leadership that builds category authority over time.
- Deep, research-backed long-form content
- SEO strategy tied to category authority building
- Ideal for companies playing a 12–24 month content game
- Writing quality well above typical content agencies
Best ForB2B companies investing in long-term category authority via content
The Decision
Strategy Is Only Half the Work
Category design is one of the most powerful GTM strategies in B2B — and one of the most misapplied. Most companies get excited about the concept, pay for a workshop, and end up with a beautiful framework they never use because nobody translated it into the actual words on their website and sales deck. PitchKitchen bridges that gap: category-level thinking applied directly to the assets your sales team uses today. For B2B CEOs at $5M–$50M, that's the version of category design that actually moves revenue.
Questions People Ask
FAQs
What is category design?
Category design is the practice of defining a new market category around a problem your company is uniquely built to solve — rather than competing in an existing category defined by others. When done well, you become the 'category king': the company buyers think of first when they feel that specific pain.
Is category design only for venture-backed startups?
No. Category design principles apply to any B2B company that wants to stop competing on price and features. Smaller companies at $5M–$50M often have an easier time executing a category narrative because they're more nimble. The key is being specific about the problem you solve — specificity is what makes a category feel real.
What's the difference between category design and positioning?
Positioning tells buyers where you fit relative to what already exists. Category design reframes the conversation entirely — it defines a new kind of problem and names it, making competitors suddenly look like they're solving the wrong thing. Category design is a subset of positioning strategy, but more ambitious in scope.
How long does category design work take?
A full category design engagement at a firm like Play Bigger can take 6–12 months and cost $200K+. PitchKitchen applies the core principles of category-level narrative — problem reframing, enemy naming, market urgency — in the 90-Day Sprint at a fixed price, delivering finished assets, not just strategy.
What is a 'lightning strike' in category design?
A lightning strike is a coordinated, high-impact event that declares your category to the market — a major piece of thought leadership, a conference keynote, a book, or a market research report that names the problem and positions your company as the answer. Play Bigger popularized the term. The principle is that category kings don't just compete — they make declarations.
What is a strategic narrative and how is it different from a brand story?
A strategic narrative (Andy Raskin's framework) is a structured story about a major shift happening in the world, why that shift creates urgency, and how only your company is designed for the new world it creates. A brand story is typically about who you are as a company. Strategic narrative is about what's changing in the buyer's world — and is far more powerful in B2B sales.
How does PitchKitchen approach category design differently?
Most category design work produces strategy and frameworks. PitchKitchen produces the actual assets: the homepage headline that declares the category, the sales deck that tells the narrative arc, the talk tracks that give reps the language. The category thinking is embedded in the deliverables — not separate from them.