It's not easy being Pepsi when there's Coke, Avis when there's Hertz and everyone else when there's Google. But advertisers have turned a brand's challenger status to its advantage...And so can PR professionals.
Yes, representing number two and especially number three in a given category is tough. You are too big for startup status and too small for the top dog position. You have fewer resources at your disposal and a smaller share of the media's attention.
Over the years, I have worked for challenger brands. With MCI and EarthLink, I did not represent the market leader and rarely called the shots with national reporters. Challenger PR poses an interesting set of, well, challenges. But with challenges come opportunities. I keep thinking of the book, The Art of War. Sometimes in battle, the weaker opponent can use its position to gain a strategic advantage.
Rather than a sign of weakness, I view my experience as a badge of honor. The idea of positioning oneself as a challenger PR expert came to me by way of a former EarthLink colleague, Jerry Grasso. And like any good PR pro, I will gladly attribute, but freely appropriate.
Challenger PR Rules of Engagement
Whether it's beverages or e-commerce, challenger PR follows a common set of rules.
You rarely get stand-alone coverage about your company or client's company in the national press. You are generally a foil to the larger player, an alternative to the market leader. Your role is to validate the leader's position or reveal its weaknesses. Conversely, you also don't get the benefit enjoyed by a start-up whose size makes an interesting angle or whose product or service creates a whole new category.
But fortunately, the race is not always to the swiftest or the battle to the strongest. The key is to play off their strength to make your company stand out. As part of a communication strategy, challenger PR involves:
• creating a rapid response team that combs the morning headlines about the competition and offers reporters a fresh perspective to extend the story.
• pitching features that deliberately include your top competitor to help reporters convince their editors of an article's merit.
• managing expectations of clients and bosses so they understand that success is generally about inclusion not necessarily an exclusive.
• using social media to engage customers.
I know big companies use social media, but it poses an interesting challenge for them. Remember market leaders have more resources, but generally take fewer risks; the stakes are too high. Market leaders are bigger and therefore less nimble. They are more centralized and therefore less open. And because they are the leader, they have less incentive to change. The status quo is fine with them.
Here's what was said in a Shel Israel and Robert Scoble podcast last year:
17:15 "Microsoft & Sun use blogs to their advantage. Google & Apple not so much. What gives? MSFT satisfaction levels up; new product ideas; Might take years to see impact of blogs; Companies that are winning maybe don't need to change."
And social media is about change.
Social media is not about convincing gatekeepers, it's about creative story telling. By leveling the playing field, social media gives you the freedom to tell your story in the way you want and when you want. Social media allows you to circumvent traditional channels to share your story directly with customers. It gives you a forum to experiment with a new medium whose rules are a work in progress.
In analyzing challenger brand culture, Adam Morgan cites Hans Snook in his book, The Pirate Inside. He writes: "The role of the challenger is not to unseat the Market Leader, [sic] it is to reframe the category. Meaning we need to get the consumer to see the category on our new, redefined terms, rather than the way they have always seen it."
Social media can help companies to redefine their category. As John Moore said, "Blogging can make big companies small and small companies big." A word of caution, however: all the reframing is for naught if you lack a compelling story and a useful product.
Brady Bunch Wisdom
I am reminded of the wisdom of The Brady Bunch television series and Jan Brady's lament: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia." Stuck in the middle between Cindy's curls and Marcia's good looks and numerous accomplishments, a number two or three is neither a start-up nor the market leader. But as Jan Brady learned in another episode, wearing a black wig to stand out just makes you look silly.
Gimmicks and tricks are not the answer; an effective challenger PR strategy involves taking risks and engaging customers in open conversations that capture a company's passion.
Let me get back to you.
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