/product-meaning-extractor

name: product-meaning-extractor
description: "Deep product analysis before creating videos, presentations, or ads. Use when: 'analyze product', 'extract value', 'product brief', 'what makes this product special', 'prepare brief', 'understand the product', 'video brief'. Takes a URL or product description and outputs a structured brief with core insight, enemy, transformation, proof, mechanism, and emotional hooks. Based on JTBD, StoryBrand, Obviously Awesome (April Dunford), and Value Proposition Canvas frameworks. Do NOT use for writing the script or scene timing (use video-narrative-arc), scoring an existing script (use script-evaluator), or rendering video (use remotion-production-guide); this is the upstream brief-only step before any script is written."

Product Meaning Extractor

Extract the REAL value from a product before writing a single line of video/presentation code. Without this step, content is a flat list of features. With it, content tells a story.

Why This Exists

A feature list alone may not explain why the product matters to this audience. Product analysis connects capabilities to a relevant, supportable customer outcome; it does not guarantee engagement.

This skill forces you to find what actually matters: the enemy, the transformation, the mechanism, and the emotional hook. Everything else flows from these.

Process

Step 1: Gather Raw Material

**From the product URL:** 1. Visit the site, extract ALL text (hero, features, pricing, about, FAQ) 2. Screenshot key visuals (hero, before/after, product shots) 3. Extract brand colors from CSS (`--primary`, `--accent`, meta `theme-color`) 4. Note the tone: formal/casual, technical/simple, premium/accessible

**From reviews/testimonials (if available):** 1. Find testimonials on the site itself 2. Check App Store / Product Hunt / G2 / Trustpilot / Reddit mentions 3. Extract relevant VERBATIM customer phrases with their source, author/context, and date. Do not turn a paraphrase or invented phrase into a customer quotation.

**Evidence travels with the brief:** For each factual number, capability, comparison, customer name, or testimonial, retain the source URL/file and relevant scope/date. Separate verified observations, attributed vendor claims, and hypotheses. Examples below illustrate a structure, not facts about the current product. If evidence is missing, use `[needs data]`, omit the claim, or write a clearly labelled hypothesis; continue the useful brief without inventing proof to fill a field.

Step 2: The "So What?" Test

For EVERY feature on the site, ask "So what?" until you reach the real value. Most features need 3-4 "so what?" iterations:

Feature: "Outputs .PSD with layers"
So what? → "You can edit individual elements"
So what? → "You don't redo the whole job if one thing is wrong"
So what? → "It saves hours of re-work and frustration"
REAL VALUE: "Never redo work from scratch again"

Feature: "AI-powered analysis"
So what? → "It finds patterns humans miss"
So what? → "Decisions are based on data, not gut feeling"
So what? → "You stop guessing and start knowing"
REAL VALUE: "Confidence in every decision"

Do this for every feature. Most products have 3-4 real values buried under 10+ feature bullets.

Step 3: Fill the Product Brief

Output this structured brief (fill EVERY field, mark unknowns as `[needs data]`):

# Product Brief: [Product Name]

## Core Insight
[One sentence: WHY does this product exist? Not what it does - why the world needs it.
Test: remove the product name. If the sentence still makes sense, it's good.
BAD: "ProductX uses AI to optimize workflows" (about the product)
GOOD: "Creative teams shouldn't choose between speed and quality" (about the world)]

## Enemy
[What is specifically bad without this product? Be concrete and visceral.
BAD: "Manual work is time-consuming"
GOOD: "Retouchers spend 45 minutes per photo removing scratches pixel by pixel.
       A 200-product catalog = 150 hours of mind-numbing work. Client wants changes? Start over."
The enemy should make the reader think: "yes, that's exactly my problem."]

## Transformation
**Before:** [A specific "day in the life" WITHOUT the product. What does the person DO, FEEL, WASTE?
            Write it as a mini-scene, not a bullet point.]
**After:**  [Same person WITH the product. What changed? Be specific about outcomes AND feelings.]

## Unique Mechanism
[HOW does it solve the problem? The specific approach that makes it different.
BAD: "Uses AI to improve results"
GOOD: "Pixel-level neural retouching that preserves original resolution and DPI,
       outputting editable .PSD with layers - not a flattened, compressed JPG"
The mechanism answers: "Why should I believe this works?"]

## Proof Points
1. [Measured result, if available: source + metric + sample/context + date; retain limitations]
2. [Social proof, if available: source + actual person/company + attributed experience]
3. [Comparison, if available: source + versions/conditions + supported specific advantage]
4. [If no hard data available: mark as [needs data] and suggest what to measure]

## Emotional Hooks (rank top 3)
Pick the strongest emotional transitions for this specific product:
- [ ] Frustration → Relief ("Stop spending hours on...")
- [ ] Fear → Safety ("Never lose quality when...")
- [ ] Chaos → Control ("Finally, one tool that...")
- [ ] Shame → Pride ("Deliver work that...")
- [ ] Scarcity → Abundance ("Unlimited [X] without...")
- [ ] Complexity → Simplicity ("Just upload and...")
- [ ] Slow → Fast ("[X] in seconds, not hours")
- [ ] Expensive → Affordable ("Premium results at...")
- [ ] Isolation → Belonging ("Join [X] teams who...")
- [ ] Ignorance → Insight ("Finally see what...")

## Customer Language Bank
### Pain phrases (how they describe the problem):
- "[verbatim from reviews/testimonials]"
- "[verbatim]" 
- [If no reviews found: optional hypotheses labelled [inferred, not a customer quote]; do not a