7 principles for standing up and standing out

Challenger brands.

The underdogs, the brands with big ambitions, but tiny budgets.

Going head to head with the incumbents will result in a massive flop, there is no way that playing the same game with less than resource will result in a win.

Instead you need to find new ways to break through, create a stir and and meet the consumer where they are at both emotionally and physically.

NICE Drinks, the canned wine company, describes this as ‘Big Budget Energy’. Think much bigger than you are and don’t let budget be the limiting factor, instead use this as a fuel to spark creativity.

In my career, I have worked on some massive campaigns for huge global brands which have had millions of pounds behind them, but the work that I am most proud of has been done on a much more restrictive budgets- a tiny fraction of it.

When you don’t have the luxury of a big media spend to push the message out you need to make sure that you bake the creativity into the campaign idea. Create something that will cause a stir and get people excited about the brand.

We have 7 rules that we apply to our creative thinking, we use these to help ensure that help the brands we work with become memorable.

 1- It starts with a strategy.

Tactical ideas will only get you so far. To deliver significant brand growth, you need a solid brand strategy, which is translated into a creative platform that you stick to it- Persil has been using the same creative platform for 17 years.

Brands are built on consistency and repetition. I know, it’s not sexy. But this is essential for ensuring that people understand exactly what you do and who you do it for and why. The job to be done is how continue to bring these to life in lots of different ways.

 2. Impact not output

Reframe your brief, so instead of focusing on what you want to deliver, think about the impact that you want to create as opposed to the format it is in.

I love the approach that the Gut Stuff brand have taken. They have launched a book and now are the hosts of a channel 4 TV show all about POO and understanding the microbiomes of the gut- both of which are getting the brand known and establishing a sense of trust and credibility with the founders.

3. GAF (Give a fu*k factor)

Build your brand around the customer vs trying to force yourselves on them. Really understand what it is that they care about and is of interest to them, and create content that adds value to them. This could be entertaining, informing, or supportive, what you do depends on your brand and your customer.

4. Punch above your weight

Think about the pr-ability and inherent sharability of the idea at it’s conception. How can you create something that people inherently want to pass on and tell people about- is this shock, delight, sheer bonkersness.

5. Unexpected

Surprise and delight- create moments that add the magic touch to the brand. This could be on the package, within the unboxing experience, etc

Innocent caused a stir back in the early noughties when they wrote hilarious things on their packaging. Over 20 years later, these continue to be picked up. I personally think that packaging is one of the most underutilised components of any brand, and there is a plethora of amazing things that you can do.

6. Create a reason to get involved

Think about how you can bring people into the brand experience so that they share what you are doing on their behalf. Tony’s Chocolonely have used this strategy within their Impactful Encounters which is travelling roadshow all about the story of Tony’s- an impact company that happens to make chocolate.

They know that simply telling people about slavery within the chocolate industry is not going to get people to sit up and take action, instead they bring people into the brand. Get them to have an emotional connection, understand the mission at it’s core and in return they will go on to tell other people about it. It is the same thinking behind the shape of the products- the unequal squares and their genius advent calendar that had a day missing.

7. Be Bold

Frankly, it is far more dangerous to play it safe, than do something that makes you stand out.

Wallpaper is real. On average we receive over 10,000 marketing messages every single day and this excludes the stuff that we want to see. So if you want any chance of actually being the first thing that your target customer thinks of or searches for when they need/want/desire the thing that you sell, you have do so something different.

I feel 2023 is the year of Big Budget Energy, so if you are interested in thinking, acting and playing like a challenger brand, let’s chat.