“I coulda been a contender!” It’s the famed cry of boxer Terry Malloy (as portrayed by Marlon Brando) in the movie On the Waterfront. Malloy’s anguish stems from a life of wrong choices and bad advice.
Similarly in the marketplace, there are many aspiring contenders—aka “pursuit brands”—trying to defeat a category leader. They bring to the fight what they believe is a great one-two punch: a superb product and outstanding service. Pursuit brands have good reason to be optimistic. The field is far from static, and leading brands can easily slip if new audiences perceive them as stodgy. Recalls and new product failures can also take their toll. The marketplace is ever changing. The consumer’s penchant for the next, best thing can send a market leader packing without warning. Unfortunately, though, many challengers will meet the same unfulfilled fate as Malloy.
Pursuit brands typically have fewer resources to build and sustain awareness than the reigning champ. But despite this obvious disparity, many pursuit brands market themselves in a “me too” fashion, imitating the messaging, advertising and marketing tactics of the big guys. Instead of differentiating themselves, they try to convince consumers they’re the same. The flaw in this strategy is evident. In a hotly contested competitive environment, consumers are inclined to choose products with a greater share of voice, thereby relegating smaller companies with good products and services to “also-ran” status.
What causes some companies to advance and others to stagnate? The single greatest contributor to success is a change in the advertising mindset. This often begins with a leap of faith. It may be a struggle for many executives, but they need to acknowledge that not every consumer previously targeted is a potential customer. It’s more critical to develop an emotional connection with core users, who believe every brand has an essential truth and possess a fierce loyalty to that truth. These customers are the “true believers,” and it’s important to focus marketing on that segment—sometimes exclusively.
It also may be time to discard long-standing, revered imagery and messaging. Luckily, all of this doesn’t necessarily require a larger investment of dollars. Instead, the most significant investment must be in a new way of thinking. It’s what generates those precious “A-ha!” moments, which can, in turn, lead to initiatives that strike a well-placed blow to the category leader’s solar plexus. Here’s how the process can work:Step back for a clearer view. Tunnel vision is a byproduct of familiarity. Intimacy with your own product can obscure your view of what’s truly distinctive about it. You must bring the situation into focus. Through focus groups, interviews and observations, probe what differentiates your product in the minds of your customers. Use this knowledge to develop an advertising campaign that plays to that distinction.
Take giant leaps. Incremental thinking results in small changes. Pursuit brands need bold actions—and clients who are comfortable with them. Apple used this approach when it stopped seeing IBM as the competition and instead focused on Microsoft. The result: creation of an entirely new niche for Apple products—and true believers who are legendary in their passion for the brand.
(Warning: bold changes may not test well in focus groups, which best measure the predictable and familiar. Creativity overload can cause a negative reaction in focus groups so don’t always view these opinions as gospel.)
View the market situation in new ways. A 360-degree perspective helped pursuit brand Dell take on the PC market leader. When Dell changed its self-perception, it gained significant market share by transitioning from a “box maker” to a packager of customized solutions for home and business.
Applying this thinking to St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston helped revolutionize the way it’s perceived in the medical and local community. The hospital was renowned as a leader in heart surgery (the very first heart transplants in the United States were performed there). But by allowing this message to exclusively define it over the years, St. Luke’s had lost control of its inner truth and, ultimately, its brand.
Research revealed that patients found their care at the hospital to be one of the features they valued most highly. Ultimately, that brand truth—exceptional care—became the genesis of a new campaign that reached out to new audiences. Because all patients (and potential patients) value a high level of care, the messaging is designed to resonate with a broad audience.
Incorporate the brand truth in every touch point. Your brand truth should permeate your corporate culture, from what entry-level employees say to what upper management thinks.
Use the Internet. The Internet provides an ideal way for pursuit brands to level the playing field. Pursuers should invest in websites that are at least equal to the competition’s in terms of design, features and ease of use. Concerns about how one matches up to a competitors’ market penetration, locations, square footage, merchandising and design become less relevant when you’re welcoming consumers online.
This tactic becomes especially valuable when you see statistics that reveal 47 percent of women shoppers visit a retailer’s website before visiting the store and 43 percent of women will purchase products online. Be assured, these numbers will continue to grow.
The Internet also provides an ideal meeting point for a brand’s true believers. Pursuers should cultivate that loyalty with special offers, previews and perhaps even a bulletin board that lets customers communicate with each other.
Contend with a well-devised strategy. Several years ago, Enterprise Rent-A-Car was an upstart pursuit brand that likely tapped many of these concepts. It’s “We’ll pick you up” promise certainly broke new ground. This brand truth resonated so well with core users that Enterprise is now North America’s largest rental car firm, relegating Hertz and Avis to its rear view mirror.
Not all pursuit brands will achieve a knockout like Enterprise. But those that enter the ring with a well-devised strategy—one that differentiates them from the competition and makes them more relevant to consumers—can and will contend for the prize of increased sales and burgeoning customer loyalty.
Alan Epstein is a partner and executive vice president of Adamson Advertising in St. Louis, MO.
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