I was asked recently to do a competitive review for a client of mine. One of the competitors I reviewed was comparatively new to the market. As such, the company positioned as a challenger brand.
Challenger brands recognize that they don’t have the years of experience or the volume of successes of their competitors (like my client did). So they adopt an approach that challenges.
This is not a new positioning tactic. I’ve seen it many times before. And yet, I’m still struck by how shortsighted it can be if not approached correctly.
Challenger brands too often believe that, in order to lift themselves up, they have to disparage their competitors. In this case, the challenger attempted to sow seeds of doubt about its more experienced competitors (which included my client) by portraying them as staid and even out-of-touch.
Fear and anxiety suck as branding tactics
There is a real danger when you choose to spin your story in a way that makes it sound like your competitors are behind the times and even incompetent (this really happened).
Even though you trumpet your solution as the way to avoid the purported trap of your competitors, you have done it by creating fear and anxiety for your prospects.
