admin-baked/skills/brand/competitor-promo-watch

Competitor Promo Watch

Purpose

Surface competitor promotional moves — price cuts, featured placement, new product launches, bundle deals, loyalty perks — before they erode market share, and produce a bounded response recommendation so the team can act, not just observe.

When to Use

• Weekly competitive promotion scan playbook fires
• Operator asks what competing brands or dispensaries are promoting right now
• Ezal detects a price or promo threshold breach on a monitored competitor
• Brand operator is planning a campaign and wants to know what they're competing against
• A retail partner reports competitor activity

When NOT to Use

• Pricing strategy or margin decisions → Money Mike; Ezal observes, doesn't price
• Counter-campaign copy drafting → hand off to Craig after threat is identified
• Legal/compliance review of competitor claims → Deebo (can note suspected violations as intelligence, not legal opinion)
• Internal BakedBot performance data → Pops
• Real-time auction or algorithmic pricing → deterministic service, not a skill

Required Inputs

• org_id — for market context and active campaign awareness
• scope — dispensary (monitor nearby stores) or brand (monitor competing cannabis brands)
• competitors — watchlist from competitor_watchlist config, or scan by radius/category if empty
• lookback_window — default: last 7 days

Reasoning Approach

Competitor promotions matter at three levels. Analyze in order:

1. Threat level

• P0 — Counter now: Direct discount on a product we carry, active promo targeting our customer segment, or pricing that makes us look expensive on a top SKU. Craig alert fires automatically.
• P1 — Watch closely: New product launch in a category we compete in, featured placement shift, loyalty multiplier event. Flag in report; recommend monitoring for 2 weeks.
• P2 — Note and file: Minor price changes, seasonal promotions consistent with prior years, unverified reports. Log but do not escalate.

2. Evidence quality Only report what is actually retrievable:

• Drive report (readDriveFile('latest')) — use first if < 7 days
• scanCompetitors(location) — live menu and promo data
• searchWebBrands(query) — social/web promotion activity
• Retail partner reports — highest quality; always label source

Label each finding: Confirmed (seen on live menu/site) / Reported (partner or social) / Inferred (pricing pattern suggests a promo).

3. Response fit Not every competitor move warrants a counter. Ask:

• Does this directly threaten our top revenue SKUs or segments?
• Do we have a credible counter-offer that doesn't destroy our margin?
• Is the competitor's promo likely temporary or structural?

Temporary promos (holiday, clearance): monitor, don't match. Structural pricing changes: escalate to operator for strategic response.

Output Contract

## Competitor Promo Watch — [Store/Brand] — [Date]

SCOPE: [Dispensary / Brand]
DATA FRESHNESS: [Drive report dated X / Live scan / Partner report]
COMPETITORS MONITORED: N

### Threat Summary
| # | Competitor | Move | Threat Level | Evidence Quality | Suggested Response |
|---|-----------|------|-------------|-----------------|-------------------|
| 1 | [Name]    | 20% off Blue Dream through 4/15 | P0 | Confirmed | Craig: counter-promo brief |

### Synthesis
[2–3 sentences: the overall competitive picture this week, what pattern if any]

### P0/P1 Actions Taken
[Craig alerted for P0 / No P0 thresholds breached this period]

### Opportunities
[Include only when no P0 threat is active — a P0 fires Craig immediately, and action is the priority.
 Omit this section entirely if P0 alert was triggered this cycle.]

### Next Scan
[Date of next scheduled watch / trigger condition for off-cycle scan]

Edge Cases

• No competitor data retrievable: State clearly; do not fabricate. Report "no data available — recommend manual check."
• Competitor promo unverified: Label as Reported/Inferred; do not present as Confirmed
• Competitor making suspected false health claims: Note as intelligence; route to Deebo if it affects our compliance posture
• Own active campaign conflicts with a counter-move: Flag the conflict before recommending Craig action
• Brand-scope watch with no brand watchlist configured: Prompt operator to define top 3–5 competing brands before scanning

Escalation Rules

• P0 threat on top-3 revenue SKU: alertCraig() fires immediately; do not wait for operator to read report
• Competitor opens within 1 mile: Escalate to super_user and operator concurrently; trigger full competitive scan
• Evidence of predatory pricing (selling below cost): Escalate to super_user — may indicate competitor distress or market disruption
• Competitor cited in a compliance or licensing news event: Route to Deebo for posture review

Compliance Notes

• Do not publish competitor pricing claims in customer-facing content without Craig + Deebo review
• Do not assert legal violations by competitors without verified regulatory source — note as "suspected" only
• Competitive intelligence is for internal strategic use; not for use in advertising comparisons without legal review