Australia’s challenger brands: The underdogs disrupting their categories | WARC | The Feed

Australia’s challenger brands: The underdogs disrupting their categories

Challenger brands are not necessarily small or niche but can be any brand that is ready to disrupt by bringing something new to a category.

Why it matters

Well-established organisations looking to launch their own challenger brand must ensure the challenger culture remains intact, even if it sits within a large corporation, because it needs to live by its own values and create its own business.

Takeaways

• A challenger brand does not offer the same experience as the competition but something better than anything in its category.
• Challengers need a consistent brand narrative that helps them find their place or reinvent the category.
• Lack of budget shouldn’t impact creativity, since challenger brands are more likely to rely on earned ideas.

Quote

“If you're a brand that people really love, then almost by definition, there's going to be some people that the brand isn't suited for. That's okay with us. We’d prefer to be that than a middling brand that anybody can use but nobody really loves.” – Xavier Shay, software engineer, Up Banking