Challenger brands

Are big brands really doomed? How big brands can adapt to the threat from small insurgents

Article • David Taylor, WARC Best Practice, October 2018

Explores insights from new research into the threat to big brands of attack by small 'insurgent' brands.

Article • Nick Geoghegan, WARC Best Practice, July 2016

This article explores the position of a brand as challenger - a state not necessarily conferred by not-market-leader status; traditions won't do so the rules must be re-written.

Monzo shows the power of brand (though losses increase)

News • 09 July 2019

Monzo, the UK-based fintech, continues to add customers both in the UK and now the US, but profits are yet to arrive as the challenger bank invests in staff and increased marketing spend.

Nett Tampons: Boys React To Tampons

Case Study • Cannes Creative Lions, Entrant, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2019

Nett, a tampon brand, created a film to educate young girls in France on tampon safety which helped the brand increase its penetration by 2.2 pts.

Entel Perú: Unlimited Apologies

Case Study • Cannes Creative Lions, Entrant, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2019

Entel Peru, the Peruvian telecommunications company, increased prepay sales by using an emotionally meaningful sports figure to highlight the company’s selling point of letting Peruvians talk to any operator.

Kingo Energy: Kingo

Case Study • Cannes Creative Lions, Entrant, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2019

Kingo Energy, a solar energy company, created a video for social media that drove brand awareness among investors around the world and potential users in Guatemala.

Uber threatened in London stronghold

News • 13 June 2019

After almost a decade of dominance in London’s ride-hailing scene, Uber is facing competition on a number of fronts that could undercut the newly public company and beat it at its own game.

Bodyform/Libresse: There will be blood – and vulvas

Case Study • Marketing Society UK, The Brave Awards, Highly Commended, 2019

Libresse, a brand of feminine hygiene products, launched the #bloodnormal campaign across the world to normalise the discussion of periods and establish itself as a vocal women's empowerment brand.

Eve Mattress

Case Study • Design Business Association, Silver, 2019

Eve sleep, a mattress company, increased sales and awareness in the UK by redesigning its packaging and branding to break category conventions with bright colours and ques of being wide awake.

World of Zing

Case Study • Design Business Association, Silver, 2019

World of Zing, a food and drink start-up, increased brand awareness across the UK by launching a redesign of its packaging that used live prints of the products as inspiration.

Eleni & Chris Salon Signature Collection

Case Study • Design Business Association, Gold, 2019

Eleni & Chris, a haircare brand, launched its salon professional range of haircare in Norway and Sweden with a branding design that reflected the contrasting personalities of its creators and Scandinavian design.

What direct-to-consumer challenger brands know that you don't

Article • Nick Geoghegan, WARC Webinars, June 2019

Discusses several key behaviours that allow DTC challengers to compete with the market leader and win.

INFINITI Middle East: Let the cars speak

Case Study • SABRE Awards, EMEA, Trade Show, Gold, 2019

Infiniti, the luxury division of Japanese carmaker Nissan, created an integrated campaign encompassing PR, social media, creative and digital, for the global launch of its QX80 model in the Middle East.

Starling Bank: Helping a Challenger Bank Take Flight

Case Study • SABRE Awards, EMEA, United Kingdom and Ireland (Medium Budget), Gold, 2019

Challenger banking brand Starling employed a traditional PR approach to move from the fintech news websites to mainstream media.

Square: Square: Digital Towns

Case Study • SABRE Awards, EMEA, Financial Services, Gold, 2019

Electronic mobile payment company Square took a boots-on-the-ground approach to raise its profile among small business owners, and reach national and local influencers for its launch in the UK.

Starling Bank: #MakeMoneyEqual

Case Study • SABRE Awards, EMEA, Consumer Marketing (Existing Product), Gold, 2019

Challenger banking brand Starling launched a multichannel campaign in the UK to drive new business and lead a conversation about gender stereotypes in finance.

Mega Image: Mega slices of life

Case Study • Cătălina Ciocîltan, Claudiu Trușcă, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Content Strategy, 2019

Mega Image, the leading urban Romanian supermarket chain, increased its customer acquisition following its E-Shop platform launch by using a coherent and relevant content digital strategy to raise the target audience's engagement rate.

Fineline: Fineline For Fashion

Case Study • Sasirapat Sibunruang, WARC Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Content Strategy, 2019

Fineline, a Thai laundry care brand, succeeded in standing out in an overcrowded market by repositioning the brand to appeal emotionally, via self-image and fashion, and growing brand value.

Tuenti: Almost as Incredible as

Case Study • Sebastián Tarazaga, Dany Minaker, María Quinzio, Mathilde Plisson, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Content Strategy, 2019

Tuenti, the first mobile virtual network operator in Argentina, used a cross-media campaign to increase awareness of the brand and grow its presence in a sector with established players.

Briefing: Luckin Coffee files for US IPO

News • 24 April 2019

Luckin Coffee is a coffee company best known as the one-year-old challenging Starbucks in China. The homegrown startup has now filed for an IPO in the United States, as it races to open more outlets than its Seattle-based competitor.

Nana: Breaking the taboo around periods in the world’s most conservative region

Case Study • Alvaro Bretel, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Brand Purpose, 2019

Nana, a feminine hygiene brand, used educational content to connect with girls and increase sales in Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE, and Lebanon.

Google Cloud: Ask the Cloud

Case Study • Jane Dorsett , Ellie Gogan-Tilstone, Chris Oliver, WARC Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Innovation, 2019

Search engine Google used direct marketing to target chief technology officers in the US to achieve growth in the B2B cloud computing market.

Flixonase: Allergy tracker powered by AI

Case Study • Dmitry Anureev, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2019

Flixonase, the allergy relief brand owned by GSK, successfully drove sales in Russia by modelling data on pollen movement.

Embrator: Street

Case Study • Naila Fattouh, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2019

Embrator, the Egyptian clothes manufacturer, targeted young males in Egypt by changing window advertising and releasing a series of TV ads during Ramadan.

VOO: Buffer Rage

Case Study • AME Awards, AME Awards, Bronze, 2019

VOO, the Belgian telecom company, hijacked the buffering wheel on online videos to promote its service’s speed.