I could’ve been a
contender…
Thinking and Being like a Challenger
By Bianca Cawthorne

Wherever you have a leader…

…you have someone wanting your position

“Success means never le.ng the compe44on
define you. Instead you have to define yourself
based on a point of view you care deeply about.”
Tom Chappell, Tom’s of Maine

Leaders in the market
Reassure
Reinforce the status quo
Paternalis4c
Consumer‐centric

Leaders provide consumers with…
Simplicity of choice
Reassurance of scale
Ease of access
Reliability
Trust

Adam Morgan coined the phrase ‘Challenger Brand’

What does challenger mean?
challenge vb.
1. to invite or summon to a contest
2. to call into question or dispute
3. to make demands on or stimulate
4. to lay claim to
5. to question a statement or fact

So, it means the little guy against the Big Guy…

Look at #5…
challenge vb.
1. to invite or summon to a contest
2. to call into question or dispute
3. to make demands on or stimulate
4. to lay claim to
5. to question a statement or fact

Challengers are able to succeed against a dominant leader by
questioning their leadership & strategy
VS
VS
VS

Challengers take a different stance to Leaders
Category Leaders Challengers
Reassure Disrupt
Reinforce the status quo Challenge the Status Quo
Paternalis4c Adult to Adult
Consumer‐centric Brand‐Centric

Sometime to succeed, you need to act like a
Challenger Brand
Not a Follower Brand
We cannot beat the # 1 in your category by being
like them

Creating Challenger Brands

What you need to do to develop a Challenger brand
1. You need a different approach to the market leader ‐ but you don’t always have to
break the rules of the category
2. It isn’t about being provocative for the sake of it…you need to have a grounded
brand idea
3. You need to study brands outside this category
4. You need to study the Challengers in those categories

There are different ways that you can challenge the
leaders in a category
Ra4onal
Virgin Atlan+c Dyson
Stood up to BA by being beOer than Challenged the rules of vacuum
them in price and service cleaner category and made a beOer
product
Play by Break
Rules Rules
Mastercard Persil / Omo
Competed with Visa by providing a Challenged the rules of the laundry
more emo4onal voice in a category by focusing on the posi4ve,
func4onal category rather than the nega4ve
Emo4onal

Virgin Atlantic – We cut fares not quality
The first airline to tell the truth about long‐haul flying, and do
something about correc4ng its inherent discomfort and boredom.
Demonstrated clear values of quality service and a precise,
entrepreneurial image ‐ values that could maintain consumer
loyalty, even in a price war.

Mastercard ‐ Some Things in Life are Priceless
Mastercard launched its Priceless campaign in 2003 as a bid to
differen4ate itself from Visa, taking a more emo4ve posi4oning
that reflected a new, less ostenta4ous, approach to wealth.
The campaign’s messages connected more deeply with
consumers to such an extent they spread virally and were even
parodied, giving consumers (and the banks) the social confidence
they needed in order to trust Mastercard.

Dyson ‐ Dyson is Different
Before Dyson, consumers didn't pay much aOen4on to vacuum
brands or floor‐care technology. The category was clogged with
brands, and years without meaningful innova4on led to a market
flooded with cheap, inferior vacuum products that pushed
average prices down.
Dyson revolu4onized and reshaped the vacuum category by
developing truly innova4ve products that solved problems that
consumers thought would be part of vacuum cleaning forever.

Persil / Omo ‐ Dirt is Good
Persil challenged the category norm that most people think that
dirty clothes are ‘bad’ and that washing clothes is a 4resome
chore: children are annoying when they get clothes dirty ‐ but
mums don’t want to hold children back
The brand idea of Dirt is Good became a central part of
communica4ons. Dirty clothes demonstrate your child is curious,
crea4ve, exploring. Persil’s patented technology gives your child
the freedom to get dirty, safe in the knowledge that the brand
can remove stains easily.

Designing Challenger Brands

How do Challenger Brands use design?
• To make a powerful statement about who they are
• To showcase their revolutionary attitude and behaviour
• To dramatise their big difference from all the others
• To create new codes and define a new language and aesthetic
• To set a new standard for others to follow

Crea4ng an Engaging Personality

Being Different to the Rest

Marrying Func4on and Aesthe4cs

Simplifying Complex Categories

Challenging Design Paradigms

Bringing the Brand to Life

Bringing Challenger Brands to Life Beyond the Pack

“We don’t have a lot of money,
so we are going to have to think”
Bill Bernbach

Personal service at Pret…through to personal comment cards

Burger King ‘Have it Your Way’… On door stickers

…and on parking spaces

Diesel irreverence… On office artwork…

…and on office tables

Puccino’s personality … On coffee cups

…and on sugar sachets

Innocent’s quirkiness…on distribution vans…

…and on promotional packs

What would your Genius Bar look like?

Contact
Bianca Cawthorne
Butterfly London
46 Brook Road
St Margaret‘s
TW1 1JE
M: +44 (0) 7866 806 367 (UK)
M: +971 (0) 55 288 7614 (UAE)
bianca@butterflylondon.com