# Before-After-Bridge (BAB)

## Core Logic

Show the _friction state_ (Before) → contrast with the _desired state_ (After) → walk the audience across the _bridge_ (the product's workflow) that gets you there. The headline is the **process improvement**, not the pain (PAS) or the vision alone (Future Pacing). The bridge is the proof — viewers leave knowing the _steps_, not just the value.

Canonical BAB samples: Kyvos (B2B BI accelerator), DeskLog (auto-dealership SaaS), AgentGPT (compound-labeled `"Before-After-Bridge / Feature-Benefit Cascade"` — BAB outer arc, Cascade inner rhythm).

## Emotional Arc Pattern

```
Friction / Anxiety ──▶ Recognition ──▶ Relief ──▶ Process Confidence ──▶ Motivation
   (before state)        (contrast)     (product)      (bridge walk)         (CTA)
```

DeskLog verbalizes this as: "Friction and anxiety over dealership chaos shift to relief and control via clean dashboards, ending in confidence." Kyvos: "From friction and high costs to effortless speed, universal compatibility, and major savings."

The curve is **shallower than PAS** (the before state is real but not catastrophic) and **proof-heavier than Future Pacing** (you don't take the bridge on faith — you watch each step work). The middle of the video is the bridge walk: 3-6 consecutive feature/benefit scenes showing the workflow operate end-to-end.

## Typical Section Sequence

| Order | Type               | Role                                                                    | Approx % |
| ----- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- |
| 1     | pain_point or hook | Establish the friction state — "the before" — with visual or named pain | 8-15%    |
| 2     | benefit_highlight  | Tease the After: name the desired state in a single line                | 5-10%    |
| 3     | product_intro      | Name the product as the bridge between before and after                 | 10-15%   |
| 4     | feature_showcase   | Bridge step 1 — first workflow action                                   | 12-18%   |
| 5     | feature_showcase   | Bridge step 2 — next workflow action                                    | 12-18%   |
| 6     | feature_showcase   | Bridge step 3 — culminating workflow capability (often the WOW feature) | 12-18%   |
| 7     | benefit_highlight  | Crystallize the After: outcome metric or business value                 | 8-12%    |
| 8     | cta                | Direct action — book demo, sign up                                      | 8-15%    |

**Reveal timing** — BAB is the **early-to-mid reveal** archetype; product lands at 17–38% across samples. Brief before-state setup (1-4 scenes) → product reveal → bridge walk dominates the runtime. Don't extend the before state past 4 scenes — that turns BAB into PAS.

## When to Use

- Product is a _workflow tool_ where the value is in the process improvement, not in one capability
- Audience knows the friction state but doesn't necessarily call it pain (it's just "how things are")
- You can show 3+ distinct workflow steps that build to a coherent end-to-end process
- The category exists but your product's _approach_ to it is the differentiator
- Enterprise/B2B SaaS where the buyer needs to see the workflow before committing
- Product launches where the "before" is the customer's current toolchain, not their psychological state

## When NOT to Use

- Pain is the headline (→ use PAS; BAB's "before" is too brief to carry agitation)
- Product creates a new category nobody knows yet (→ use Future Pacing; BAB needs the audience to recognize the before state)
- Product is desire-driven, not workflow-driven (NFTs, collectibles) (→ use Feature-Benefit Cascade)
- You have one signature feature, not a multi-step workflow

## Hook strategies that work for BAB

- **Category announcement with implied friction** and **Poetic pain validation** are the archetype-native moves — they establish the before state without sinking into an emotional valley.

Don't open BAB with a shocking statistic or visceral pain metaphor — those belong to PAS, where extended agitation does the heavy lifting. BAB's before state is a quick setup, not an emotional valley.

## Persuasion techniques that recur

- **Contrast (chaos → clean)**, **Process efficiency / step-by-step proof**, **Visual proof of mechanics**, **Risk and effort reversal** ("We Plug. You Play."), **Authority by association with logos**, **Empirical proof and concrete numbers**, **Cutting-edge innovation** as wow climax, **Familiarity and ecosystem compatibility**.

## Common compound

BAB very often runs Feature-Benefit Cascade as its bridge-walk rhythm. Write as `"Before-After-Bridge with Feature-Benefit Cascade"` (see guide.md).

## Variants (Golden Samples)

Two distinct BAB implementations:

<kyvos path="kyvos.md">
**Kyvos — Category-First BAB** (~60s, B2B Cloud BI Acceleration SaaS)
Opens with category announcement ("Cloud BI Acceleration"), spends 4 scenes selling the *concept* of plug-and-play BI before naming the brand at scene 5, then walks the bridge through speed (sub-second query), tool-compatibility (any BI tool), and cost-savings (50% reduction). Ends with classic empowerment beat ("Do What You Do Best") + CTA.
Key technique: Category-first opening, "We Plug. You Play." effort-reversal beat, concrete-number empirical proof at the bridge climax.
</kyvos>

<desklog path="desklog.md">
**DeskLog — Workflow-Walkthrough BAB** (~95s, Auto Dealership CX SaaS)
Opens with poetic friction validation ("the heart of your dealership... every step must flow seamlessly. Because when it doesn't..."), names the product at scene 2, then walks the bridge through 4 sequential workflow steps (check-in → journey tracking → manager control → vision AI). The Vision AI scene is the "wow climax" that elevates the bridge from organized to predictive.
Key technique: Poetic-pain hook (3-sentence prose, anaphora), tight 7-scene runtime, wow-climax feature near the end of the bridge, contrast-via-transition (messy tags morph into clean logo).
</desklog>
