03.02 · Patterns / Diagnosis section

Name the tension before introducing the answer.

Diagnosis sections earn the rest of the page. Buyers who recognize themselves in the diagnosis read the methodology. Buyers who do not, leave, and that self-selection is healthy for both sides.

The canonical diagnosis

Diagnosis

Most media reports stop before the business question.

CPM, impressions, clicks, and dashboards can explain activity. Diray helps brands understand whether the work is moving demand, retail response, and market share.

The diagnosis template

Every Diray diagnosis follows one shape. Lock the shape, swap the variables for the page's buyer.

Template

Diagnosis = Problem statement + Impact on the buyer + Why the field misses it

The problem names what is happening. The impact names what it costs the buyer this quarter. The third clause names the blind spot the rest of the category shares, which is why Diray earns the room.

Two diagnoses, two buyers

Same template. Different operating reality. The diagnosis shifts to the language the buyer already uses internally.

Buyer · CPG director

Velocity, not impressions.

Quarterly reports show reach and frequency. Finance asks whether retail velocity moved in the launch markets, and the answer lives in a different system. The category measures media, not movement.

Buyer · Retail-media manager

Conversion, not coverage.

Network dashboards stack ROAS by SKU. The board asks which audiences are pulling new buyers into the brand, and the platform cannot separate repeat from incremental. The category optimizes for what is easy to count.

Buyer-felt symptoms

After the diagnosis, list 3 to 4 symptoms the buyer is already living. These earn trust faster than any capability claim.

BUYER SIGNALS WHAT THE BUYER IS LIVING
SYMPTOM_01
Fragmented video investments
Across linear, CTV, streaming, YouTube, digital video, and retail media.
SYMPTOM_02
Reports stop at channel
Channel metrics, not business movement. Finance asks questions the report cannot answer.
SYMPTOM_03
Unclear what is driving outcomes
Which networks, schedules, audiences, retail signals are moving the business this quarter.
SYMPTOM_04
Pressure to connect spend to revenue
From finance and leadership. Intent, velocity, and market share need a defensible read.

Diagnosis rules

  • One sentence diagnosis, in the reverse panel. No paragraphs.
  • Symptoms in the buyer's words. Never agency framing.
  • No "solution" word in the diagnosis section. That belongs to the next section.
  • End with a transition line ("Diray's answer:") that hands the page to the methodology section.