"The pioneer enters the product market (P1M1), then moves the product to a second market (P1M2), then surprises competition by developing a second product for the first market (P2M1) and launches a third product for the first market (P3M1)."
— Reese R. Revere, adapted from Kotler's pioneer expansion logic
The matrix has two axes: Markets and Penetration Levels. Markets are communities, each with their own aspirations. Products are footholds. They exist to signal status.
Markets are communities. Each with their own aspirations.
Market
Definition
M1
Your core community. The people who already have context for what you do. They get it without explanation.
M2
Your adjacent community. Culturally close enough to enter, but you have to earn your way in. They know you exist. They do not claim you yet.
M3
Your experimental community. You are testing. You have no credibility there. You are watching more than you are talking.
Penetration Levels
Penetration levels are trust levels. Not revenue milestones. Not reach numbers.
Level
Definition
P1
Your first product in a community. You are present. That is all you are.
P2
Your second move in that community. You earned enough trust to go deeper. They let you introduce something new.
P3
Full integration. The community claims you. You do not claim them. That is the distinction.
The Path, Step by Step
M1 P1
Your first product in your core community. You are present. That is all you are. The community has context for what you do but has not claimed you yet.
M1 P2
You go deeper in that same community. Second product, second offering, more surface area. You earned the right to introduce something new. You do not leave yet.
M1 P3
Full integration in your core community. They do not just buy from you. They identify with you. You are part of their identity system. That is P3. You don't declare it. They do.
M2 P1
Now you move. You bring what worked in M1 into an adjacent community. You start at P1 again. New community, same rules. You are visible but unproven. You carry M1 credibility but do not assume it transfers automatically.
M2 P2
You go deeper in the adjacent community. They let you expand. Trust is building. You are not a guest anymore, but you are not a resident either.
M3 P1
You enter the experimental community. You are watching more than talking. No credibility yet. This is research and presence, not activation.
The Diagonal — The Win Condition
When you are at M1 P3, M2 P2, and M3 P1 simultaneously, that is the diagonal. This is the optimal condition for market gravity.
Position
What it means
M1 P3
Your core community claims you. You are not just a brand they buy. You are part of their identity.
M2 P2
Your adjacent community trusts you enough to let you go deeper. You earned the second move.
M3 P1
Your experimental community is watching. You are present. You are learning. You are not trying to sell yet.
What the diagonal unlocks
The diagonal is not a milestone. It is a new operating system.
When you hit M1 P3, your core community does not just buy from you. They defend you. They introduce you. They correct people who get you wrong. You stop spending money on retention because retention is no longer a job. It is a reflex.
When you hit M2 P2, you are no longer a guest in the adjacent community. You are not fully claimed, but you are no longer questioned. That is the hardest threshold to cross, and you crossed it.
When you are at M3 P1, you are watching a community that does not know you yet. But they know you exist. That is the seed. When they are ready, you are already there.
Together, these three positions create market gravity. You are not pushing into three communities. You are being pulled in three directions. That is not a campaign. That is a position. That is where Revere's Law begins to work without your effort.
Case Study: North Face
North Face starts in the outdoor community with the technical ski jacket. One product, one community. That's M1 P1.
They go deeper in the same community with the beanie. Small, low risk, but it earns them the second product. That's M1 P2.
Then the backpack. Now they're not just an outerwear brand to this community, they're daily carry gear. The outdoor community doesn't just buy North Face, they build their kit around it. That's M1 P3. Full integration in the core market.
Now they move. They bring what worked in M1 into a new market: casual outdoor users, people who hike or camp but never touched a mountain. They enter with gloves, low commitment, easy sell, credibility already carried over from the jacket. That's M2 P1.
They go deeper into that market with the boot. A bigger ask, more functional commitment, and the new market lets them in. That's M2 P2.
Then there's Supreme. A collab bag dropped into streetwear, a market North Face has zero standing in. They're not trying to own fashion. They're just present, watching how it lands. That's M3 P1.
Jacket, beanie, backpack in the core market. Gloves and boot in the new market. One collab bag testing the experimental market. Three communities, three different depths, all moving at once.
This is the diagonal: M1 P3, M2 P2, M3 P1. The outdoor community owns them. The casual outdoor market trusts them enough to go deeper. Streetwear is watching, and North Face is already there waiting for it to catch up.
Once the diagonal is reached, the social connotation is formed. The consumer no longer has to think about what North Face is. Outdoor associates it with authenticity, casual associates it with reliability, streetwear associates it with cool, and none of that had to be told to them.
That mental framework is what RMPM builds toward: a position earned across markets rather than a message pushed into them. And it's exactly this kind of position that sets up Revere's Law to take over in person, where a brand with this much cross-community trust no longer needs to sell. It only needs to show up.
Find Out Where Your Brand Sits
Book a strategy call. We'll run your brand through the RMPM diagnostic and give you an honest read of your current position and the path forward.
