rmbc-research
RMBC Stage 1 of 4. Produce the Unified Research Document — the input to Stage 2 (Mechanism) and ultimately to the Brief 2.0.
Pre-flight
Brands/{brand_slug}/BrandContext.mdexists.- Read PLAYBOOK.md § 2 (Deep research) for awareness-level + competitor-research conventions.
Procedure
1. Market awareness assessment (Eugene Schwartz, DTC-modified)
Use Gemini Deep Research (or Claude with web search) with the canonical prompt from PLAYBOOK § 2. Identify the dominant awareness level (typically Problem / Solution / Product Aware in DTC). Note the % distribution if data permits.
2. Competitor analysis
- Identify top 5 competitors in the niche.
- For each, capture: their hero claim, price point, mechanism (if any), funnel shape, ad creative patterns.
- Use yt-dlp + library grounding if their content lives on YouTube.
3. Psychographic profile
- Deep psychological drivers, fears, aspirations of the target.
- Where they hang out (forums, IG accounts, podcasts).
- Language they use when describing their problem (literal phrases, NOT marketer-speak).
4. Supplement-only — ingredient research
If is_supplement:
- For each main ingredient: 2-3 peer-reviewed studies (citations, participants, results).
- Use Perplexity or equivalent for citation-rich output.
- Highlight any FDA / FTC compliance considerations (must record in Brand's compliance.md).
5. Compile the Unified Research Document
Write to Brands/{brand_slug}/Marketing/research/{date}-{slug}-research.md with frontmatter:
---
type: rmbc-research
brand: {brand_slug}
product: "{product_or_offer}"
niche: "{niche}"
geography: "{geography}"
created: YYYY-MM-DD
status: draft | reviewed
---
Body sections: Market Awareness · Competitor Analysis · Psychographic Profile · (supplement) Ingredient Research · Open Questions.
6. Append Log entry
Hard rules
- Cite every claim. Generic "research shows" is unacceptable — link or reference the source.
- Never invent ingredients or studies. If you can't find data, say so.
- Compliance scan. Anything in the research that suggests a compliance landmine → flag it and add to the brand's compliance.md.
Failure modes
- Brand context skeletal — surface the blocker; brief work can still proceed but voice / claims will be weak.
- Brand not yet onboarded — abort, run
/brand onboard {slug}first.