8. Analogy
I mentioned in my DocSend teardown that I am no fan of comparisons. Saying things like “we’re Google for petcare” might seem smart and efficient, but it also diminishes the impact of your storytelling by taking away your company’s character.
Be who you are, be proud of it, and put it forward in your own words.
Here, however, Coinbase does something completely different: they introduce themselves through an analogy.
Coinbase is to Bitcoin what iTunes is to MP3.
It works because :
First, it’s an apt analogy — iTunes disrupted the mp3 market by making it easy to purchase, download, store, and listen to mp3s. People born in the 00s will never know the long and tedious process to go from CD to mp3, only to not have enough storage space on your 128MB Sony NW-MS10 for the latest release.
Just like iTunes, Coinbase is looking to beat the competition on UI and UX.
Second, iTunes was revolutionary — iTunes changed the way we listen to music and consume cultural media in general. It ushered in the dematerialisation of entertainment and the rise of the pay-to-play and subscription business models.
Just like iTunes, Coinbase’s idea was to revolutionise the way we access and trade cryptos.
As far as comparisons to other companies go, this one is good and exciting!
