Having worked for nearly 25 years on brands that have described themselves as multinationals, local incumbents, up-and-comers, start-ups and everything in between, I feel confident when I say, if you want to employ a successful challenger brand strategy then you better be ready to fire your Raygun.
On the final weekend of the 2024 Olympics, a 36-year-old Australian woman named Rachel Gunn walked onto the world’s biggest stage to compete in, of all things, the Breakdance B-Boy for Women category. She was as unlikely a contestant as any to have competed in the games; right up there with the infamous Eric ‘The Eel’ and Eddie ‘The Eagle’.
Gunn had no chance of challenging for a medal and knew it. She lacked the resources for training, the support of an engaged community or the competitive heritage of her competitors from the US. So, she did the next best thing; she stole the conversation and won the whole damn Olympics.
And don’t be naive in thinking she didn’t know what she was doing. She is a Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Macquarie. I have watched her qualifying rounds, where she was not nearly as bad – in fact, she had to beat all comers in her region to qualify. This was entirely intentional. To get a score of zero for three consecutive rounds in an interpretative dance competition means you have to be deliberate in the same way that you would need to be to earn a perfect 10.
Gavin Whitfield, creative director at Leagas Delaney SA.
The parallels between her performance and those of so-called challenger brands are obvious. She was up against the ‘big girls’ and she knew it. She could have put up a brave fight and faded into the bottom half. Or she could take a big swing. Unlike many who claim the challenger status, she didn’t put the words in a deck and then try and beat the competition at their own game. No, she did the complete opposite; she threw out the book and gave us something to remember her by.
Now, agree or disagree on the merits of her motives, but you can’t argue with the fact that she managed to achieve what all challenger brands are after, consideration. The whole world is talking about her and her ‘sport’.
Now, did everyone get it? No. But, in a year from now the name Raygun is going to be on t-shirts and sneakers and she’s going to be doing public appearances and endorsing products – hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up playing the villain, in the Napoleon Dynamite vs. Raygun movie. Remind me who won her event again?
So, what can we learn from this? If you’re talking seriously about considering taking a challenger brand positioning, then understand what or who you’re challenging and then make sure you don’t follow their playbook. Go out there and shoot your shot.
- Gavin Whitfield is group chief creative officer at Leagas Delaney in South Africa and an internationally awarded creative copywriter.