Inspiration for ambitious Challengers

Challengers are not defined by a state of market. Simply being 2nd, 3rd or 23rd in a category does not make a brand or business a Challenger.

Conversely, being the category leader doesn’t mean having to fall into the trap of thinking and acting like an incumbent. 

Instead, Challengers are defined by their mindset. A mindset intent on  achieving ambitions bigger and bolder than conventional wisdom would say is possible with their available resources, and willing to break with the status quo in order to do it.  

Being a Challenger is less about who you’re challenging, and more about what. Few modern Challengers are making an explicit declaration of rivalry with a direct competitor.  

Rather, most are challenging an aspect of the status quo that is holding them and their consumers back. From a mission to transform some quality of the category or even wider society, or to an internal rallying cry for cultural change.  

Understanding that central challenge – both what they want and what is getting in the way - gives each of these Challengers real strategic clarity on their positioning, their consumer mindset, their culture, and on their communications. 

The status quo can manifest in many different ways. Externally, it is often as a category sea of sameness – codes, convention and tropes that limit creativity and make it hard for any individual brand to stand out and therefore tends to benefit the incumbents with the deepest pockets and greatest existing reach.  

Internally, it is often a sense of the ‘way we do things around here’ – path dependent ways of working that were once best practice but that have failed to keep track with a changing competitive environment. 

By selectively challenging these external and internal assumptions and expectations, Challengers can stand out, find new and creative solutions, and define more agile internal cultures.  

And have more fun at the same time. 

Whether a small brand taking on the category incumbents, or a market leader seeking to re-establish themselves as a thought leader, that defining characteristic of ambitions outstripping conventionally available resources forces Challengers to think differently about constraints.  

Rather than view them as an incumbent mindset often will – as obstacles to be neutralized,  Challengers see constraints as catalysts for bold thinking, creativity and innovation.   

This mindset involves making strategic sacrifices, allowing Challengers to overcommit and concentrate their efforts on what truly matters. By doing more with less, they maximise efficiency and effectiveness, turning creative ideas into fame driving actions.  

Challengers understand that good strategy is social. You can have the most effective plan in the world, but it will remain words on a page until people put it into practice.  

And for people to effectively and consistently implement a strategy, they need both an understanding of why it matters, and a sense of responsibility for their role in it making it happen. 

Challengers understand a successful strategy can’t just be imposed from the top down and inside out. Driving real progress needs to be everyone’s business. Culture and strategy traveling hand in hand.