Challenger brands

Case Study • APG (UK), Gold, 2021

Libresse/Bodyform, a menstrual hygiene products brand, launched a global campaign to position themselves as the brand that understands women's intimate lives and build penetration to a wider audience.

Dacia: Ingenious Productions - Lessons in selling cars from a living room

Case Study • APG (UK), Entrant, 2021

Dacia, Renault's budget car brand, launched a campaign in the UK to challenge the negative perceptions that its cars are cheap by reframing itself as ingenious.

2021 Pandemic Brand Playbook: Decoding (and leveraging) the “disruptor” gene of challenger brands

Article • Matt Kleinschmit, WARC Exclusive, Spotlight US, September 2021

Discusses why changing US consumer attitudes and behaviors during the pandemic have made this a perfect time for the rise of challenger brands.

The US bread-baking fad is over, but other COVID-induced consumer behaviors remain

Opinion • Cathy Taylor, September 2021

Cathy Taylor, WARC’s US Commissioning Editor, introduces the latest installment in WARC’s Spotlight US series, which offers insight into US consumer behavior during an uncertain year shaped by COVID-19 and economic challenges.

RIO Pads: India! Periods are red, not blue

Case Study • Manisha Sain, Devanshi Shah, WARC Awards for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2021

Rio Pads, a sanitary products brand, launched a campaign in India to promote its more absorbent pads and challenge taboos surrounding periods.

ManipalCigna Health Insurance: Health insurance for the healthy

Case Study • Rajesh Sharma, Akhilesh Nath, Arushi Chak, WARC Awards for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2021

Health insurance brand ManipalCigna improved its equity scores, digital engagement and sales through a digital and social campaign that encouraged behavioural change in India.

Oatly: The New Word

Case Study • Marketing Society, The Marketing Society Awards, Highly Commended, 2021

Oatly, a producer of alternative dairy products using oats, created a new Cantonese word for plant-based milk to start a conversation about sustainability in Hong Kong.

Varo: Democratized dollars

Case Study • Cannes Creative Lions, Entrant, Creative Strategy Lion, 2021

Varo, a financial services company, launched a campaign in the US after becoming America's first digital bank, targeting low-income earners who had been left behind by traditional banks.

Little Caesars: Big pizza

Case Study • Cannes Creative Lions, Entrant, Creative Strategy Lion, 2021

Little Caesar's, a pizza brand, launched the Big Pizza campaign in the US to drive sales and increase brand awareness.

Jawwy: The Fairness Show

Case Study • Mario Morby, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2021

Mobile telco brand Jawwy focused on fairness to increase brand equity and grow sales in the cluttered Saudi telecom category.

WaterWipes: Early Days Club

Case Study • SABRE Awards, EMEA, Gold, 2021

Waterwipes, a brand of baby wipe, launched the Early Days Club to support new parents in the UK and Ireland during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Embracing the underdog: The Australian challenger brands disrupting their categories

Article • Josie Tutty, WARC Exclusive, July 2021

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.

Goya: Empowering a new generation of real-life chefs

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Entrant, Sustained Growth, 2021

GOYA, a Latin packaged foods company in the USA, launched a four-year campaign in the USA to expand its consumer base.

Bolt: Santa fired all the deer

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Entrant, Instant Impact, 2021

Bolt, the transportation service, aimed to increase quantity of rides and profits in Ukraine without overspending.

Jawwy: The fairness show

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Entrant, Instant Impact, 2021

Jawwy, the telco brand in Saudi Arabia, created an idea based on promoting the value of fairness.

Coffee Mate: Plant-based rage

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Entrant, Instant Impact, 2021

Coffee-Mate, a lactose-free coffee whitener, repositioned itself as a healthy plant-based alternative in Canada.

Kit & Kin: Branding

Case Study • Design Effectiveness Awards, Design Effectiveness Awards, Silver, 2021

Kit & Kin, an eco-friendly baby care brand, launched its brand in the UK with packaging featuring fun animal visuals to promote its commitment to the environment.

Nûby UK: Packaging

Case Study • Design Effectiveness Awards, Design Effectiveness Awards, Bronze, 2021

Nûby, a baby products brand, increased sales in the UK by redesigning its packaging to feature informative speech bubbles and a colour coding system to amplify Nûby's helpful and friendly brand voice.

Wheel: Beyond the confines of HER kitchen

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Entrant, Brand Purpose, 2021

Wheel, an Indian detergent powder brand, partnered with Jio, an Indian mobile service provider, to provide an e-learning platform to women living in rural areas of India.

Fast-growing brands making fast-moving goods: Why China´s FMCG challengers are special

Article • Alexander Kremer and Cedric Jäger , WARC Exclusive, Spotlight China, June 2021

Picus Capital’s Alexander Kremer and Roland Berger’s Cedric Jäger examine what is driving the exponential growth of FMCG challenger brands.

What we know about challenger brands

Article • WARC Best Practice, June 2021

Current reading and insights on the topic of challenger thinking and how challenger brands can break through in their category.

RAKBANK: She Can Play

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, MENA, 2020

RAKBANK, a banking brand, improved brand perception in the UAE with its She Can Play campaign that focused on a young girl and her love of football.

Lexus: Small business drive

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Silver, Customer Experience, and Personalisation & Insight Award, 2021

Luxury car brand, Lexus, ran data-driven test-drives to connect adventure-seeking drivers with unexplored urban locations in Hong Kong.

Aldi Stores: 2010-2019 – How taking an alternative path took aldi from shame to pride

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Grand Prix, Sustained Growth, 2021

German discount supermarket Aldi ran a ten year, multi-channel campaign in the UK to improve perceptions, grow sales and share, and become a top-five grocery retailer.

Maersk: Setting a new course for growth

Case Study • WARC Awards for Effectiveness, Grand Prix, Business-to-Business, 2021

Shipping giant Maersk used digital and TV executions to reposition itself as a complete end-to-end logistics and services provider to the C-Suite in Denmark.