While we all know we need to adapt, knowing how to achieve this is much trickier. Brands that identified opportunities to flex and respond to changing consumer needs throughout 2020 will inevitably continue to do this as we come out the other side.

These are the challenger brands of tomorrow. You could soon be one of them. Businesses of all shapes, sizes and origins are beginning to see the value in adopting a challenger mindset and embracing the opportunity to learn from other challenger brands.  Afterall, the world is evolving, shouldn’t your brand too?

As the experts in challenger brand thinking (we quite literally wrote the book on it), PHD can help you discover your inner challenger and propel your brand to the next level.

IS YOUR BRAND A CHALLENGER BRAND?

Any brand – big or small, new or old, traditional or new age, has the potential to be a challenger brand. You simply need to work out what you’re challenging.

We used to think of challenger brands as a simple David vs Goliath story – the new little brand vs the big established brand. It’s no longer that straightforward. There are many different challenger brand narratives. Each challenges something different – from a competitor, to a category or a cultural norm.

Whether you’re a Missionary like Nike, challenging social conventions and injustice by featuring Colin Kaepernick. Or perhaps an Irreverent Maverick like Budgie Smugglers, challenging idealised views of the male form by searching for Australia’s most ordinary rig, challenging something is your point of difference.

Being a challenger is about how you think and how you behave – not who you are or how big you are.

Now’s the time for challenger brands

In 2020, the global pandemic brought about a new world order and a new battleground for brands was formed in which old-world brands struggled to keep up, and challenger brands triumphed.

In times of uncertainty challenger brands seize the opportunity to think outside the square and emphasise their point of difference. We’ve seen it happen when some of the biggest household names grew off the back of the GFC: WhatsApp, Groupon, Instagram, Uber, Kickstarter and Airbnb, to name a few.

With some brands busy tackling COVID-19 by creating socially distanced logos and generic messages of togetherness, challenger brands did things differently.

Challenger mindsets have helped Australian brands navigate the pandemic crisis

It was local hero challengers that won the hearts and minds of Australians throughout COVID-19. This was achieved by showing a true understanding and empathising with people during this hard time.

Two distinct challenger brand archetypes prevailed – The Peoples’ Champion and The Real and Human Challenger. Brands with these archetypes outperformed throughout the crisis as people turned to brands they felt were on their side and offered a human touch.