Corporate marketing leaders, listen up.
You think you want to become a challenger brand?
I don’t blame you. A challenger is defined as having ambition that far outstrips resources. There’s no more suitable moment to adopt the challenger mentality than a cost-of-living crisis, especially as recent research shows that financial insecurity especially benefits brands operating in categories of necessity, like food and personal care, when cash-strapped customers will be focusing on the relative pricing benefits of challengers.
But becoming a challenger isn’t easy
Here’s the truth.
Having been a marketing leader in both blue chips and start-up challenger brands, I know that most corporates are simply not prepared to go far enough to truly realise the potential. They think becoming a challenger is as simple as directing the team to adopt challenger-like behaviours (such as disruption) and tactics (such as innovation).
Shifting from corporate to challenger has to start with leadership
You’ll be wasting your money if you think you can train your team to adopt challenger behaviours and then sit back and watch them get deployed. If you truly want to behave like a challenger then the journey starts with you and your leadership.
4 leadership traits that are not fit for a true challenger brand
If the following list sounds like you (and you aren’t ready to adapt your leadership style), you will not be able to take your brand from corporate to challenger:
- You spend more time picking holes in a plan than executing it and iterating
- You expect people to go outside their remit to achieve growth but aren’t prepared to disproportionately reward them when they do
- You are a slave to a laborious process
- You aren’t prepared to take quick decisions on minimal data when the stakes are high
From corporate to challenger, we’re here to help
Are you a corporate leader who is prepared to adapt to a challenger-ready leadership style to accelerate your brand growth?
If that sounds like you, we’d love to chat. Get in touch today.
