DRM Masters — Lineage & Framework Index
This skill sits inside the Direct Response Marketing (DRM) school of thought. Every Strategic Design Document produced by /gtm-design must be consistent with this lineage — not brand marketing, not growth-hacking, not content-marketing.
The Lineage
| Era | Master | Core Contribution | Used In Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s–70s | Eugene Schwartz | 5 Awareness Levels + 5 Sophistication Stages | Step 1 (Marketing Statement) + Step 4 (Unique Mechanism) |
| 1970s–2000s | Dan Kennedy | Message–Market–Media Match; positioning discipline | Step 1 + Step 2 |
| 2000s–today | Todd Brown | Big Idea; E5 Method | Step 1 + Step 4 |
| 2000s–today | Perry Marshall | 80/20 Curve; audience targeting | Step 2 |
| 2000s–today | Russell Brunson | Perfect Webinar (Hook-Story-Offer); Epiphany Bridge; 3 Secrets | Step 5 |
| 2000s–today | Frank Kern | Results-in-Advance; Core Influence | Step 7 (Bonus Stack) |
| 2010s–today | Sam Ovens | Niche-Down positioning | Step 2 |
| 2010s–today | Alex Hormozi | Grand Slam Offer; Value Equation; Leads framework | Steps 6–8 |
How The Lineage Builds On Itself
- Kennedy gave the foundational rule: Message must match Market must match Media. Break any link, everything fails.
- Schwartz gave the measuring stick for WHERE the market is. Awareness tells you how warm; Sophistication tells you how jaded.
- Perry Marshall layered on: inside any market, 80% of the revenue sits in 20% of the buyers. Strategy follows power law.
- Todd Brown asked: so what’s the ONE contrarian Big Idea that makes the market stop and listen?
- Sam Ovens sharpened it: niche-down until the prospect says “this is for me specifically.”
- Russell Brunson systemised the delivery: Hook → Story → Offer; 3 Secrets break 3 False Beliefs.
- Frank Kern added: before they buy, make them FEEL the result already.
- Hormozi closed the loop: the offer itself must be so good it’s dumb to say no — Value Equation 4 variables.
Invocation Rule
Each Step in SKILL.md cites the master(s) responsible. When you work a Step, read the cited master’s reference file FIRST before producing output. Do not skip — the frameworks are there to enforce quality and prevent AI-generic drift.
Reference Files
kennedy.md— Message–Market–Media Match + NO BS positioningschwartz.md— 5 Awareness Levels + 5 Sophistication Stagestodd-brown.md— Big Idea + E5 Methodperry-marshall.md— 80/20 Curvebrunson.md— Perfect Webinar + Epiphany Bridge + 3 Secretskern.md— Results-in-Advance + Core Influenceovens.md— Niche-Down positioninghormozi.md— Grand Slam Offer + Value Equation
Explicit Out-of-Scope
These approaches are NOT part of this lineage and must NOT contaminate output:
- Ogilvy-style brand advertising (awareness-first, no direct CTA)
- HubSpot inbound/content marketing (long SEO plays, no urgency)
- Growth hacking / AARRR funnels (product-led, not message-led)
- “Authentic sharing” soft-sell (contradicts DRM principle that selling is the service)