Everybody Loves an Underdog

Not every client that walks through the door is the one that sleeps well at night knowing they’re safe and secure on the top rung. Ninety-nine percent of all clients are so-called underdogs; those who are second bananas, runners-up, silver medalists. But what makes these brands so attractive is that they’re battlers, willing to take the fight to places category leaders wouldn’t dream of going.

Most of the clients that come to us are “challenger” brands. And in doing this for so many years, what we’ve found – and imparted – in working with these underdogs is now a playbook that all #2, 3 and 4 brands can use to make their mark. Here is what these brands need to do:

• Focus more on execution than strategy
• Trust your gut, and if you’re better than #1, then say so
• Your budgets are small, so make your creative louder and larger
• Look at your DNA; get at the core of what makes you special

And in guiding this journey, there are some canons of creativity that we instilled in clients:

• Being comparative is a quick, smart way to be seen and heard. Mentioning the bigger competitor automatically puts you in the conversation
• Budgets are small, so the louder the creative, the more people and the press will talk
• Your execution can become your strategy
• Never discount “short-term hits.” Making an impact once a month may be more effective than the drip-drip of a static year-long campaign

Here are just a few underdogs that came to us amidst their battles against larger, deeper-pocketed competitors, and a look at how we helped give their competitors so many restless nights: 

Empire Kosher Chicken

We showed the so-called “tough man” at Perdue, and chicken lovers everywhere, that our premium offerings had to answer to a much, much higher authority.

Mass market distribution was dominated by Perdue and Tyson, so making any headway required a singular focus on the main attribute it had going for it: the fact that it is kosher. That means more inspections, and more inspections means it is a healthier, better-tasting product. Using this to our advantage, we developed a campaign that challenged the core of Perdue’s positioning: its tag line. It took chutzpah, but Empire benefited tremendously by going after its larger competitor.

eCampus.com

You didn’t need to have a major in rocket science to know that the campus bookstore was not exactly user-friendly, and textbook retailers had little pity for cash-strapped college students. Employing ads that were funny, honest and at times outlandish, eCampus.com spoke directly to students (and their parents) without shying away from confronting the competition.
 
Battling the monopolistic bookstore required eCampus.com to differentiate itself and spur trial. And with budgets limited, it paid to produce creative that had talk value in the press and on campus.

For Eyes

Outspent and outflanked by larger national eyewear chains, For Eyes had a clear vision of how best to distance itself from competitors. Humor helped convey the simple truth that glasses could be attractive and functional without robbing you blind.
 
Battling constant promotional activity from its larger competitors, For Eyes turned to humor in appealing to consumers’ desire for finding a great deal – and not over-paying for eyeglasses. One campaign after the other used humor to consistently communicate the store’s low-price positioning while seamlessly blending promotional/tactical messaging in key markets.

Mount Sinai

Reeling from bad press and a crisis that severely damaged its reputation, Mount Sinai turned to us to stop the bleeding and repair the damage quickly. What followed were touching, emotional and award-winning ads that helped repair the hospital’s reputation and place it back in the conversation as one of the accomplished and reputable New York hospitals.
 
What was needed was one campaign, all built around hope. No pictures of doctors. No smiling people. No fancy machinery. And no complicated medical terminology or over-promises. We developed a long-standing campaign with just truthful expression of critical care and breakthroughs. Here, Mount Sinai disregarded current perceptions and challenges, and went right to the core of what made it what it is for over 100 years.
 

Duane Reade

This New York retail institution had repeatedly shot itself in the foot with its surly service, uninspiring stores and meh selection. It also found itself being overshadowed by the national chains that had taken advantage of the pharmacy’s malaise.
 
Duane Reade had to break from its past and recapture its “New York voice.” Employing an “execution-as-strategy” mindset with quick-hit ads and short-term hits, the chain was able to thrive in one of the tougher categories.
 

Canon Business Solutions

Canon Business SolutionsWhen your competitor owns the word “copy,” as in “make a Xerox of this,” you know you are a clear number two. Canon re-positioned itself as a provider of digitally networked office solutions to best take advantage of a swiftly changing market. 
 
Canon wasn’t afraid to roll out a black-and-white TV campaign that used 1950s-era industrial films that were redubbed to take playful stabs at the inadequacy of “The Boss,” and the spineless and often ludicrous actions of company executives to help sell its digital solutions.
 
Just a few examples of how some number twos undertook an underdog playbook to make waves, headlines and names for themselves in an effort to unseat category leaders. They all took chances with their creative, discovered the core of what they were as a brand and went to market with a nimbleness and confidence that surely kept their competitors up at night.