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The evolution of the challenger brand paradigm

There is no doubt that Adam Morgan’s book “Eating The Big Fish”, first published in 1999, has had a profound impact on how we perceive the relationship between the underdog and the brand leaders. This seminal book was dramatic in its honesty about how precarious life is for the little fish in an environment utterly dominated by big fish. As a solution Morgan offered eight credos that were intended to be a compass with which these challenger brands could navigate and set new rules of engagement to disrupt the status quo and “eat the big fish.” 

In 2009 the second edition of “Eating The Big Fish” has evolved the term “challenger brand” into twelve different challenger stances from “The Irreverent Maverick” to “The People’s Champion.” Indeed the archetypal David vs. Goliath challenger stance, whereby a brand launches a directly positioned attack on the market leader with the intention of replacing it, is problematic as many brands today are adopting alternative routes to earn their challenger status. In addition, often when the little fish become the market leaders they gradually shed the values and ethics that propelled them into that position in the first place.

 

Dollar Shave Club demonstrates the evolution of the challenger model perfectly and falls into the category of the “Value Changer” - offering a proposition focused on superior value for money.

Despite being a tiny contender, Dollar Shave Club succeeded in muddying the clear waters of the shaving market when it launched its unconventional and entertaining YouTube video, which has achieved over six million views.

Although it is essentially challenging the shaving giant Gillette, at the heart of this company is a product that is sincerely valued. The brand achieves a distinct visual identity through the use of wooden imagery and a heritage-style seal to compliment its clubhouse theme, which differentiates it from the sleek and ultramodern razors produced by the rest of the category. As a result this is primarily a brand-led challenge that offers quality razors at a cheaper price and not simply a David vs. Goliath scenario.

Often successful challenger brands begin to face an identity crisis after they become leading players in their market and thereby outgrow their challenger positioning. Virgin Atlantic certainly demonstrated its challenger credentials when it dared to take on British Airways using its unconventional brand personality to agitate its conservative counterpart. Having earned a place as one of the best long-haul airlines, can Virgin still be considered a challenger brand? Virgin’s marketing trends certainly suggest that the brand has been loyal to its mischievous personality that propelled it into the position it is in today. 

Virgin’s 2009 “Still red hot” advert, which celebrated the business’ 25^th birthday, was launched during an economic downturn. At a time when the airline industry saw passenger numbers falling, Virgin deliberately swam against the prevailing cultural tide and increased its marketing spend. This gives credence to the argument that Virgin is still a challenger at heart, as it continues to adhere to its core values – that flying should be a pleasure, not a chore – even during a recession.

Apple is an exemplary challenger brand that dramatically ate the big fish, Microsoft. Yet it is arguably beginning to act like the very brand it set out to defeat. Recently Apple won a lawsuit against their rivals, Samsung, which saw a jury order the latter to pay the former $1 billion for patent infringement. This is not the behaviour of a challenger brand and is perhaps more symptomatic of a market leader wielding a club to protect its position.

The shift in the challenger brand paradigm is evident as brands seek new and innovative ways to disrupt the marketplace. In particular, brands are actively avoiding the formulaic David vs. Goliath scenario of a direct challenge to the market leader and are forging alternative routes instead. Moreover, if a challenger brand does become the market leader it must reconcile its new position with the core values that define it, or else it becomes an adaptation of the brand it set out to crush and ironically may suffer the same fate.

 

 

The Olympic logo in light of the triumph

The London 2012 Olympic Games have been hailed universally as a resounding success, from the wonderfully eccentric opening ceremony to the phenomenal achievements of our athletes and the resounding expression of British unity. But where does the once volatile subject of the Olympic logo fit within this story and in our minds?

 

Brands and logos are specifically designed to make an impact and drive an emotional response, and the London 2012 logo certainly provoked a powerful reaction in the lead up to the Games, albeit mostly negative. However, when Bradley Wiggins rang that enormous bell to announce the commencement of Danny Boyle’s colourful and quirky take on British culture, the logo did not appear so awkward and alien. In fact the London 2012 symbol with its vibrant colours and jagged edges seemed to fit well with this celebration of British peculiarities.

Throughout the Games the logo proved to be incredibly versatile in the way that it was applied in the various sporting contexts, which demonstrated its ability to become an actual brand.

 

 

Given that the motto for the Olympic Games was “Inspire a generation” it would appear that this logo was particularly apt. The design is easily identifiable as the number 2012 and bold in its originality, it is not just an artist’s abstract interpretation of Big Ben or Tower Bridge or a London bus.

 

 

Of course the logo could have been designed to be less obtrusive and more delicate. But as the London 2012 Olympic Games will undoubtedly be remembered as the time when the world took a peek at British eccentricities, it is perhaps befitting that the logo was just as peculiar and individual.

Looking back on those 17 days it is clear that the logo was dominant and effective, it did its job, and in the words of Lord Coe in the Olympics closing speech, '...we did it right'.

 

A tidal wave of patriotism

We all love a good reason to celebrate. And this summer, London is not only gearing up for the Olympics but also for H.R.H. The Queen's Jubilee Celebrations and not forgetting the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championship. So with that combination, it does not come as a surprise that every week we see established brands emerging with limited editions to play a role in national optimism. 

Whilst the Olympic brand (such as the Olympic rings, the torch and the flame) is protected, in order to ensure that sponsors get the exclusivity they have paid for, the national flag and the Queen’s equities are rather more permissive. As a consequence the iconic Union Jack is fast becoming omniprescent throughout the high street. A poignant symbol of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it tackles both the recognition of our Queen's 60 year reign and a message of support for 'Team Great Britain' as well as an opportunity to align brands to a culture of British pride.  So how are brands doing it?

 

Patriotic Pride

An unadulturated celebration of all things British is the brief here. Aligning the brand with the Union Jack in a way that is both relevant and appropriate. British flavoured / themed limited edition products are fast emerging every where. Here are just a few. 

1950’s Revival

Brands will always seize on the opportunity to remind us of their enduring appeal through landmark milestones. Several brands have dug into their archives to bring back some classic designs from yesteryear to remind us how long they've been gracing our cupboards. The Jubilee and its retrospective celebration of Britain over the years provides the perfect stage.

 

Diamonds, crowns and jewels

This category embraces brands that have earnt their right to celebrate the Jubilee through receipt of the Royal Warrant. Some are more overt whereas others a little more understated and elegant.

It would be a shame not to mention some of the great brands that Bloom has been working with to celebrate these occasions. A couple of months ago we couldn't move in the studio for the cultural british images and the red, white and blue flags filling our screens. Here's a few of the brands we've aligned with this wonderful occasion.

                              

    

 

Finally the Museum of Brands are curating an exhibition ‘Jubilee, Jubilee’ which is showcasing souvenirs and commemorative products made to mark the royal jubilees of the past, as well as the newly released keepsakes launched to commemorate this year’s Diamond Jubilee.

And with all the excitement this summer and the wave of patriotism sweeping the country, we wish The Queen a happy anniversary, Team GB all the best at the Olympics, England every success at Euro 2012 and hope that this might be Andy Murray's year to win Wimbledon!

Here's to all things British.

For futher examples of celebration packs click on our Flickr stream on the right of this post.

First class fashion

Royal Mail are releasing a special issue of first class stamps on May 15th - the ‘Great British Fashion’ stamps collection. 

Britain is world famous for the creative vision of its fashion designers, its refined Savile Row tailoring, its shoemakers and milliners, and its fine wool fabrics and yarn.

Since 1945, fashion has grown to become a major national industry. Today it employs about a million people and contributes some £21 billion to the UK economy.

This colourful collection highlights some of the iconic Britsh styles of recent years from the 1940s elegance of Hardy Amies, through to the genius of the late Alexander McQueen. Other designers and boutiques represented include Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith and Zandra Rhodes. 

The stamps were designed by Johnson Banks.

Row 1 - Hardy Amies, Norman Hartnell, Granny Takes A Trip, Ossie Clarke by Celia Birtwell, Tommy Nutter.
Row 2 - Jean Muir, Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen

Olympic Torch gets gold

Fittingly the 2012 Olympic torch,has been awarded Design Museum’s ‘Design of the year’. Our congratulations go out to the London based pair of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby who were given the challenging brief to design the torch. Simple, functional and elegant each torch is perforated with 8,000 holes representing everyone of the torchbearers who will carry the Olympic flame around the UK.

Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic said the torch was "a triumph of symbolism and beauty". He added that it "demonstrates how design can celebrate traditional qualities in a modern manner".

Food and dining trends for 2012

The New Year is a time to learn from the past and look forward to the future…so we bring you six trends in the world of food that we think will prosper over the course of this year.

 

Scandimania

A Scandinavian invasion - following the success of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Franchise and the TV series The Killing, high streets are expected to reflect a Scandinavian feel. It all began with flatpack furniture and meatballs, but our taste for Scandinavian style has evolved, and IKEA is soon to be a distant memory amidst all the new influences hitting our high streets.

The number of Scandinavian and Baltic products being sold in the West End has increased fourfold in the last year. John Lewis Oxford Street added 38 new Scandinavian brands to their food hall in January 2011 alone. 

Mustard and Dill Herring

Replenish, Reuse, Recycle

We love this ingenious example of sustainable packaging from the US. Launched early last year, the Replenish team tackled the issue of sustainability by focusing on the benefit for the consumer. Why should we pay extra for the plastic and water (with associated transport costs) in our household cleaners each time we run out?

What they designed is beautiful. A refillable, spray bottle that is easy and clean to use. The integrated dosage cup allows the consumer to measure out exact dilution quantities without coming into contact with the liquid and one small refill cartridge is enough to fill the spray 4 times over. Simply measure, refill (using your own tap) and reuse. 

You get the feeling that these guys are committed too. They are driven by the goal of eliminating 1 billion bottles from landfills, 1 billion miles of our roads and 1 billion pounds of chemicals out of the environment.  A sizable challenge indeed.

From -  Team Replenish on Vimeo.

Shouldn't the global brand owners such as Unilever, SC Johnson and Reckitt Benckiser be sitting up and taking note? Sure it's an investment and a change in business model but there is definitely an appetite for it amongst consumers. Refills are gaining traction already in other segments in the UK market. Just take a look in the laundry and coffee ailses...so why not household cleaners?

 

Brand Britain: Part 2

As we found in our last blog, the language of Britishness is difficult to pin down.  In comparison to benchmarks of national branding such as Brazil, Bahamas and Spain, our current representations fall short.
 


Interestingly each of these countries uses abstract colours and shapes to express national character, rather than using a flag or icon.  This week we consider how British character could be expressed in the same way, with reference to brands that have taken evocative stances on Britishness.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, these brands can also be grouped in terms of three prominent national characteristics.

1)   Authentic and earthy.  Graphics are colourful, deep, rich and busy but above all honest.

 

2)   Smart and bold.  As could be expected from these quintessentially British brands, their message is simple, clean, candid, and to-the-point.

 

3)   Eccentric and self-deprecating.  While being arguably the most sophisticated, these designs use humour to avoid taking themselves too seriously.

All these brands seem to capture Britishness in a more evocative way than David Cameron's recently unveiled 'GREAT...' campaign or the Olympics logo.

What agency wouldn't love the chance to do our country justice?

 

 

A yearning for days gone by?

 

We love the latest John Lewis ad taking a nostalgic look at everyday life through the decades.

 

 

Following a respite for most of this year, nostalgia appears to be back again. Should we be worried about this trend? The last time nostalgia prevailed we were in the middle of the biggest recession since the Great Depression.

This September, Tesco invited us to look to the past with its experiential Vintage Supermarket Store at the Goodwood Revival meeting. It’s amazing to see how much some of our favourite brands have changed – but also how much has stayed the same.

McDonald's have been at it too in September introducing the 1955 burger to their menu in the UK supported by a nostalgic ad campaign referencing the brands beginnings in 1955.

 

With John Lewis and McDonald's both airing their ads in one X-Factor ad break the other week the nation appears to be overwhelmed with nostalgia.

Is this an acute sign of our times or perhaps a predictor of a impending double dip recession?

We hope not, but as McDonald's, Tesco and John Lewis are all currently fuelling this trend, you could be forgiven for feeling a little wary.

 

 

The collective clean-up

The power of social media is already mobilising forces for good, down the road from the Bloom office. Here are the scenes taken a short while ago outside Clapham Junction.