Ontology. Ontology. Ontology.

Palantir

1. Brand Overview

Who They Are

Palantir builds data integration and decision-making software that powers the most complex operations in the world. From defense to finance to critical infrastructure, Palantir exists where failure is not an option. The company has positioned itself as the anti-establishment partner of the establishment, offering radical transparency, extreme security, and scalable insights. Palantir doesn’t sell dashboards; it sells conviction that enables better decisions, made faster, wins wars, saves lives, and redefines companies in any industry. Palantir is deliberately different from its competitors because it solves problems that aren’t easy. 

Business Objective

This campaign would be successful if Palantir saw an increase in qualified leads, brand awareness, demo requests, and secured new partnerships. Also, if the company saw an increase in press coverage from top-tier media outlets, along with well-known podcasters/content creators in the tech and business sectors. Also, reduce sales cycle length for new customers in key segments. 

2. The Challenge

Problem

Despite powering some of the world's most critical infrastructures, from military intelligence to global supply chains, Palantir is still misunderstood. It's still perceived by many as either too complex or too controversial. Many decision makers still don't know what Palantir does, only that it's used by governments. In markets outside of defense or intelligence, its ambiguity hurts mass adoption. Palantir has historically refused to play by the conventional marketing rules with minimal branding, little public education means customers don’t understand how its products solve real-world problems. People don’t buy what they don’t understand. Palantir’s biggest enemy isn’t its competition but its obscurity within the market. 

Why It Matters

If this perception gap continues, Palantir will struggle to grow and scale beyond its current reach. The company risks being typecast as just a tool for governments and not commercial businesses. If competitors emerge that can market themselves better to commercial sectors, Palantir could lose market share even if its tech outperforms. Palantir is a pivotal point in its existence, as its they scale globally, they need to shift the brand narrative to ensure that people are fully aware of its positives and value add.  

3. Audience

Who They Are

Palantir is trying to reach senior-level operators, CTOs, and strategic leaders within complex organizations. These people don’t jump and chase shiny tools; they are focused on the future and want data-literate and field-tested tools. They think in systems and value proof, not flashy promises. They trust outcomes over hype and value referrals from industry veterans. Their decisions are based on internal politics, budgets, not techcrunch trends.  When they do make a decision, they bring their full budget, awareness, and a demand for strong outcomes. 

What They Want

They want clarity, insight, and, more importantly, control. They’re not just buying software; they're buying leverage—the ability to predict risks and blind spots and act in real time, which Palantir offers. They want to be the ones who saw the signal through the noise by connecting the dots faster, enabling them to operate at a higher level than their competitors. 

4. Insight

Core Human Truth

People are haunted by what they are actively seeing and doing with their data to empower their companies. They won’t admit it, but behind the layers of dashboards, data, they have a growing fear that they will miss something that breaks the system. They crave clarity and the feeling that that they have the tools to operate at higher levels than their competitors. They want the power to see the edge before the rest. 

Supporting Signals

Many companies often discuss their shortcomings/failures from an inability to take advantage of the data they already have. They have the data, they just didn’t know what it meant. They don’t need tools to predict the future, they need it warn them when they are headed down the wrong path. The best operators are spending their budgets on tools that give them awareness not just reports and powerpoints. Gartner predicted that “operational blindness” will be a top 3 C-suite concern in the next few years. 

5. Strategy

Strategic Platform

Palantir should stop marketing itself as a data and software company but start showing up as a supply chain partner. This campaign would position Palantir as a force behind an organization that enables its employees to constantly be aware and educated of what's happening. It's not about dashboards but about the advantage of a strong supply chain. Palantir isn’t selling a data platform but confidence to act. Palantir turns chaos into clarity where it matters most. Palantir enables its partners to be calm in a crisis and operate efficiently while under pressure. 

Strategic Rationale

Palantir’s biggest threat to growth isn’t competition but the market's misunderstanding of its offerings. Right now, enterprise buyers don’t know or don’t understand what they’re getting, and they don’t see themselves in the brand. This strategy fixes that by aligning Palantir to what they do want: confidence, clarity, and command during moments of complexity. This reframes Palantir as more than just a tool but a mindset. This turns Palantir into something more palatable, emotional, and the products become more obvious without needing to explain them in deep detail.

6. Campaign Expression

Tagline or Headline

AI-Powered Automation for Every Decision. // Maximizing Outcomes. Driving Automation. // Transform. Automate. Deploy. // Maximizing Builder Leverage // Empower Your Data // AIP. GOTHAM. FOUNDRY. APOLLO. // Ontology. Ontology. Ontology. // Deploy. Monitor. Manage. // Solve Hard Problems // Mission Driven Engineering // Software thats Wins // No More Steak Dinners // Process Data Faster // Collect. Automate. Deploy. // Act Before Its Obvious // Clarity Wins // Built for Operators // A Decision Engine // See What Others Don’t // 

Key Message

This campaign is about repositioning Palantir from a software company to a strategic ally for those who can’t afford to be caught off guard. Showing that Palantir offers decisive foresight, not more data. The tone is serious, surgical, and a sense of urgency. We want the audience to feel like Palantir is the partner they have been missing. As well as a sense of clarity when the next crisis hits, because Palantir enables them to see what others don’t.

Creative Executions

• OOH - Billboards near colleges, potential client offices, and airports. 

• Short / Long form content - short form interviews with current partners, cinematic spots, podcast appearances in relevant segments. Videos with customers talking about the before-and-after results of the Palantir partnership. 

• Print Ads - ads in relevant newspapers and magazines

• Continued AIP Events - more frequent AIP events, AIP in colleges that show future leaders the tools. Another type of event that is powered by Palantir showcases results from real customers. 

• Hackathons - several teams of builders set up against each other, some have to build with Palantir while the other teams do not use Palantir. 

7. Success Metrics

How We’ll Measure Impact

This campaign would be successful if Palantir saw an increase in positive brand awareness, qualified leads/demo requests, and new partners/clients. Also, if they saw a reduction in sales cycle time. An increase in media appearances from the top-tier outlets showcases the brand perception shift from complex to critical infrastructure. 

8. Creative