{"id":607,"slug":"audience-layering-foundation-article-marketing","title":"Reference framework: audience layering — foundation research vs public article vs marketing page (3-column comparison)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["content-architecture","agency-methodology","editorial-discipline"],"reference_body":"**The three layers of a research-first content operation, side by side:**\n\n| Dimension | Foundation Research | Public Article | Marketing Page |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| **Primary audience** | Future self, internal team, AI agents indexing the KB | Prospects evaluating expertise; peers; journalists | Prospects making a decision |\n| **Implied secondary** | None — written as if no one is watching | Skim-readers, AI engines, search crawlers | Sales conversations, AI shopping assistants |\n| **Length** | Atomic notes 50-500 words each; clusters 5,000+ | 1,200-3,500 words | 200-600 words |\n| **Tone** | Telegraphic, technical, hedged with confidence labels | Narrative, opinionated, conversational | Direct, outcome-framed |\n| **Source treatment** | Every claim cited inline with URL + date + confidence | Named sources in prose; key citations linked; confidence smoothed | One or two anchor citations; rest deferred to linked article |\n| **Update behavior** | Continuous; notes evolve | Versioned with visible \"last updated\" | Rewritten when underlying article changes materially |\n| **Failure mode if skipped** | Articles repeat received wisdom; no compounding | Marketing pages assert without defending | Articles get traffic but no conversion or trust |\n| **Closest analog** | A researcher's lab notebook; a Zettelkasten | A New Yorker feature; *Bits about Money* | Stripe docs landing page |\n\n**The Candid KB occupies the Foundation Research column.** The Candid public site (candidcreative.ca) occupies the Marketing Page column. The Article column is the missing layer — the place where Candid writing for prospects gets derived from KB research. **Brief 14 is the architectural argument for filling that layer.**","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-first-workflow-stages-0-to-5","title":"Reference framework: Research-first workflow — 5 stages (Capture → Foundation → Synthesis → Article → Marketing page → Maintain)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"rule-research-first-sequence-foundation-before-article","title":"RULE: Foundation research before article, article before marketing page. Never write the marketing page first.","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"research-brief-research-before-pages","title":"Research brief: Research Before Pages — methodology for KB-backed websites (piece 14 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T20:46:33.394Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T20:46:33.394Z"}