In a world of fierce competition between so many brands, you have to stand out. Especially if you’re a “challenger” brand. You may not have the money the big guys do to blanket the airwaves and show up everywhere. The good news is, finding a way to zig instead of zag to disrupt the status quo can get you noticed without a huge budget. The bad news is, it’s not easy.
Start a Riot in Your Industry.
Becoming a disruptive, differentiated brand takes courage, clarity, and community. A challenger must be willing to break norms, express itself through a bold brand personality, and take risks to build loyalty.
Disrupting doesn’t always mean yelling louder or being crazier. Chef Derek Sarno has become a disrupter by creating self-filmed YouTube videos that are positive, authentic, and extremely calming. Steak-Umm’s social media was disruptive with posts that were philosophical, with reflections on loneliness, student debt, mental health, and community.
Obviously, there’s no set formula to break the rules, but there is one thing any good disrupter has in common: a challenger mindset. If your brand is exploring ways to break out of the mold in your market, drive revenue, and create community, there are a few guideposts to follow.
Hijack Attention. Rewrite the Game.
The best challenger brands question every norm: packaging, pricing models, service delivery, product names, and more. Instead of mimicking the category leaders, they carve out a whole new white space with bold. That way they don’t compete within their category, they reimagine it. Disruptive brands find success by subverting the familiar to catch an audience’s attention, spark conversation, and win share.
They had the right look and the right product, now they needed to get it in front of the right audience. Months before the product was even for sale to the masses, they proactively sent out their unconventional olive oil bottles to unconventional retailers and food content creators with small followings. No big names, which made the small names feel even more special. They asked for nothing from these influencers, and it got them a lot in return, with each one gushing about Graza and all the ways they would use it in their cooking.
As they got closer to launch, and word was spreading, Graza began sending product out to bigger and bigger name chefs, building more awareness and buzz.
In just three months, they passed the 500K in revenue milestone, overtaking many major brands for shelf space.
Be So Bold, They Have to Pay Attention.
Taking a novel approach to your brand positioning can be just as disruptive to your market. Creating a bold, consistent voice across every touchpoint — from a website to packaging to social content — is one of the most effective ways to build trust and stickiness. Today’s consumers want to buy from brands that feel human, and successful challenger brands have mastered the art of using personality to build emotional resonance. Humor, bold opinions, and cultural commentary can transform everyday products into meaningful experiences.
What if your product isn’t necessarily revolutionary? What if it’s just…water. Liquid Death flipped the script by selling water in a tallboy can with death metal branding, alongside a brand voice that feels more like an edgy stand-up comedian than a CPG company. Their tagline? “Murder Your Thirst.”
Liquid Death branding is nothing if not memorable, shareable, and unmistakably unique, all of which are foundational aspects of a challenger brand strategy. According to CEO Mike Cessario, “‘Why would you want to follow a fucking water brand that just posts photos of their bottles all day?’ If we create actual entertainment and not try to just sell, sell, sell, it will naturally create that fandom for Liquid Death that you can’t even buy with money.”
At every turn, they look for the most outrageous, attention-getting way to express their brand. They took hateful online comments about their brand and turned them into an entire album of catchy tunes. Greatest Hates is a 10-song collection including songs like “Dumbest Name Ever For Water” and “This Crap Is Pure Evil.” The album was so popular they went on to create volumes II and III.
Continuing to push the limits they partnered with a pregnant Kylie Kelce to pound Liquid Death in an ad where she is “drinking for two,” and even announced a “Kegs for Pregs” program. They even hand out samples from a Liquid Death hearse, keeping cans on ice in a giant coffin.
The company hit the market in 2019 and is currently valued at 1.7 billion dollars.
Flip The Script then Stand Your Ground.
Nothing that is truly disruptive is guaranteed to work. Solo Stoves took a risk with its “Giving Up Smoke” campaign enlisting Snoop Dogg as their spokesman. They hit the #18 spot of Ad Age’s 40 Best Ads of 2023 and gained 60,000 new social media followers, but the ad did not translate into sales. The CEO was fired (or they “mutually separated” depending on who you ask) because of the lack of immediate lift, but was it a brand play to gain new customers in the future or an immediate sales play? Brand awareness campaigns need more nurturing and have a longer-term conversion cycle. So, was the campaign a failure? It may take years to find out.
In a saturated world, blending in is easy. But the challenger brands that stand out – the ones with real community, staying power, and momentum – are the ones willing to challenge the status quo. A paid ad can be a great band-aid, but do something big enough, fun enough, interesting enough, or emotional enough to get people talking, then they are doing the marketing work for you for free.
As our (matter) ECD Kenny Friedman says:
At (matter), we help clients win by thinking outside the box, leading with personality, and fostering community. If you’re ready to make bold moves, grow your audience, and turn your product into a platform for community, we’re up for the challenge. Contact us today to learn more.
