How to Make Advertising More Effective When You're a Challenger Brand

As a challenger brand, you need every edge you can get. The big shots have money, prestige, power – every advantage under the sun. This makes things very difficult for challenger brands. And yet, it’s never been easier for a challenger brand to produce effective, attention-grabbing advertising. All it takes is some technical know-how, a little creativity and an enduring dedication to the voice of the customer.

Consider Your Audience

It’s the last of those points that are most important for a challenger brand. More established businesses might have huge advertising budgets at their disposal, but they may also have several layers that separate the decision makers from the actual customers that buy their products. That means there’s a very good chance that their advertisements – and even their overall business strategies – are being executed with a distorted view of what their customers want.

Smaller businesses that actively seek out the input of their customer base don’t have these problems. In other words, your status as a challenger brand gives you the unique opportunity to get to know your customers well and to fully understand the reasons why they choose to patronize your company instead of a bigger brand. That understanding is the basis of compelling challenger brand advertising – the type of advertising that generates an audience, and the type of advertising that leads consumers to be proud of the challenger brands they support.

Embrace Technology (For The Right Reasons)

Technology has made the world a smaller place. For retailers, it has given small businesses the ability to compete on a global level. And for marketers, technology enables challenger brands to put together some truly innovative advertising that’s just as exciting as the big-budget marketing campaigns of larger companies.

One problem with technology is that it becomes very tempting for businesses to go overboard with fancy gimmicks, not realizing that they’re losing their message in the process. Think of a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster that has tons of explosions and special effects, but very little plot. That’s not the way for a challenger brand to appeal to the hearts of its customers.

Instead, you want to use technology merely as a tool to tell the best possible story to those that are most likely to be motivated by that story. Increasingly, video advertising is taking over the world; as it becomes easier to create, edit and share video content, the playing field becomes more level for challenger brands. Today, it’s very practical for a challenger brand to create viral videos – as long as they focus on the right subject matter.

Tell Stories

In today’s marketing landscape, the importance of authenticity is at an all-time high. People don’t just want to buy products. They want to feel like they’re supporting something important. There’s a large group of people that would rather buy a pair of TOMS shoes than a pair of Nikes because it’s their way of making a difference. Your business can benefit from the same type of advertising.

Your brand story is a powerful tale that’s unique solely to your business. Nobody can replicate or steal your origin story. Tell it! Show your audience who you are and why they should care. Speak about the causes and issues that matter to you as a marketer, a business owner, and a conscientious citizen.

When the world feels like you care about the same issues like them, they’re much more likely to support your company.

You don’t just have to tell stories about your business and the charities you support. The stories of your customers are just as important. At the end of the day, people don’t care about the technical specifications of your product. They simply want to know that it will solve their problems. If you can provide on-the-fence consumers with actual examples of people that are suffering from the same problems and show how your product helped those people, you’re in a great position to create some new customers. You’ll also increase brand loyalty among your current audience. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Make Your Business Seem Important

This might seem like an obvious point to make, but it’s one worth reinforcing. You might not have the resources of the big guns in your industry – but prospective consumers don’t have to know that. Newcomers will only take you as seriously as you take yourself. That is to say, if you produce advertising with the shoddy production values of a lo-fi public access TV ad, that’s how customers will perceive your business.

On the other hand, if you use technology to its fullest potential, and if you hone in on exactly what your audience appreciates about your business, you stand a great chance at creating highly effective advertising as a challenger brand. Telling your story, as well as the stories of those causes and people that matter to you, will show your human side and encourage consumers to truly appreciate what makes your company special. This combination of careful market research, authenticity and technology is the secret formula that can help any challenger brand stand out in any marketing space.

There’s never been a better time for you to show the world what your challenger brand is all about. If you need help sending your message to your target audience, contact us today.

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As a full service branding, advertising and interactive agency, we help Challenger Brands take on their industry gorillas and win.

Gumas is an award-winning, full-service advertising agency generally recognized as the country’s foremost experts on Challenger Brand Marketing®. We are dedicated to helping you take on your industry gorillas to quickly generate the greatest results from your marketing investment.

From research, strategy development, award-winning creative design, web development, digital media (including search, social media and everything in between); our goal is to create a marketing strategy specifically designed to help build your unique Challenger Brand. All the marketing support you need under one roof.

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