Mythbuster: Defining competitors too tightly

This article discusses the common problem of defining competitors too tightly, losing sight of the broader market and adopting closely targeted advertising that eventually leads to loss of market share.

Mythbuster: Defining competitors too tightly

Les Binet and Sarah Carteradam&eveDDB

Les Binet and Sarah Carter get a little bit angry about some of the nonsense they hear around them… like defining competitors too tightly.

Recently, we were asked to help an ailing brand. After dominating its category for decades alongside a very similar competitor, recently the brand lost the top spot to its rival. What had gone wrong?

We immediately noticed something striking. Yes, our brand had lost market share to its doppelgänger. But more surprisingly, for years, both brands had been losing market share to a...

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