Why this idea means business : We explore how to be a good underdog brand. Learn the key characteristics of a good underdog. Read this to help build a better underdog story.
How much is this idea worth?
Idea : To switch customers away from the market leader by using the principles of what makes a good underdog. Based on our standard business case assumptions, the value of this idea is :-
- Source of business – More customers
- Skill area – Marketing
- Commercial hypothesis :-
- # customers = 1,000
- Spend/month = $100
- Est. new customers = +40 (+4%)
- Est. sales increase = +$4k (monthly) | +$48k (annual)
They say everyone loves an underdog. But is that really true? Underdogs are usually those in a minority with little status or power. But arguably most extremist view groups fit this description. And nobody loves an underdog if they’re racist, sexist, homophobic or jingoistic. Except maybe US Republican voters. Or the electorate of Farrer.
No, there’s more to being a good underdog than being in a minority. Because what people really love is an underdog story.
Luke battles Darth Vader. Harry defeats Voldemort. Katniss triumphs in The Hunger Games.
We don’t love these characters because they start as underdogs. We love them because of their actions to clear the hurdles they face. Their struggle against overwhelming odds for the right reason hooks us in. What they think, how they feel and what they do draws us into their stories.
How does underdog thinking apply to marketing?
For marketers, challenger brands are the most obvious underdog connection.
They’re underdogs because they position themselves as the brave little battler taking on the big market leader. But remember, size isn’t the be-all and end-all of being an underdog. A good underdog brand battles for the right reason. And it inspires us, its audience, as it does so.
How does it do this?
A helpful starting point is the “good underdog” model from Will Storr’s A Story is a Deal. This suggests 3 qualities make an underdog “good” :-
- The obstacles that stand in the way of their goals seem more powerful than themselves.
- They are deserving of success.
- They are optimistic.
A good underdog brand faces powerful obstacles
The word underdog comes from the dubious world of 19th-century dogfighting.
But even though that’s thankfully almost unheard of these days, the idea of being in a fight is still key to being an underdog. You’re not an underdog if you’re not battling against someone or something.
That overdog antagonist, villain, or enemy, whoever or whatever it is, is much bigger and more powerful than you are.
There are no underdogs in a battle of equals. This is David vs Goliath. Rosa Parks vs the Jim Crow laws. Daniel LaRusso vs the Cobra Kai.
For an underdog brand, this is about taking on the market leader and all their advantages. Their higher levels of awareness and consideration. The fact they get more shelf space and support from retailers. And all those customers already buying them out of ingrained familiarity and habit.
Turn obstacles into opportunities
However, a good underdog brand doesn’t view these as obstacles. It sees them as opportunities.
A good underdog brand usually benefits from doing the opposite of what works for the market leader.
For example, they’ll look at the market leader’s past advertising. They’ll know that because that advertising worked before, the market leader is unlikely to change it. So, a good underdog brand deliberately positions itself differently against it.
Aldi’s Good Different campaign in Australia is a good example. This highlighted the retailer’s different pricing and ranging approach versus the fresh food focus of market leader Woolworths.
A good underdog brand also looks for new channels to sell through if the market leader has traditional bricks-and-clicks retailers sewn up.
For example, a good underdog brand is more likely to sell direct-to-consumer. Some local examples we’ve seen recently include Salad Servers and Senza Wellness, which run online shops to offer a wider range of their products than you can buy at the supermarket.
A good underdog brand is also more likely to push the boundaries with innovation. It has less baggage. Less interest in maintaining the status quo. So, it’s more open to working on breakthrough ideas. This is how Netflix smashed Blockbuster. How the iPhone usurped Nokia as the mobile phone of choice. And how Vinomofo has taken on more established drinks retailers.
A good underdog is deserving of success
In historical terms, a good underdog is usually defined by the justness of their cause.
The Suffragettes. The Civil Rights Movement. Che Guevara. You want them to win because their victory changes the world for the better.
They deserve their success.
However, it’s harder to argue for an equivalent deserving case in marketing.
Most brand fights are over market share. And customers don’t really care about that. That’s why a good underdog brand usually finds a more moral reason to drive its goals. Something more meaningful and remarkable than just the bottom line.
For example, Who Gives a Crap donates half its profits to water-based charities. v2 Food champions a move to a more plant-based food ecosystem, moving away from our reliance on meat. Fairphone make sustainable, repairable and recyclable phones when its bigger rivals don’t.
All well and good. But how exactly do you, as an underdog brand, find this moral high ground?
Work on your purpose and values
Market leaders’ customers usually buy out of habit. That brand is what they’ve always bought, and they see no need to change.
But a good underdog brand works out a way to persuade them to change. They usually do that by first aiming to win over their hearts, before even thinking about trying to win over their heads.
That means building emotionally compelling stories into their purpose and values.
They’ll show how choosing their offer over the market leader’s benefits more people, or reduces waste or does something else with a positive impact. The goal is to work out what matters to customers that the market leader doesn’t do, and then focus your efforts on delivering that.
A good underdog brand doesn’t focus on getting bigger. But it knows that it will get bigger if it convinces customers that buying it will make their world better.
A good underdog brand is optimistic
Let’s face it, being an underdog brand isn’t easy. The market leader seems to have all the aces in the deck. Bigger budgets. More people. Better connections. That can feel overwhelming.
But none of that matters if they waste their time on doing the wrong things. Which is often the case. It’s much harder when you’re bigger to make sure you still do the right things.
So a good underdog stays positive. They believe in what they’re doing, and customers can tell.
Yes, they’ll challenge the market leader, but they don’t just point out flaws. They offer a better alternative. They’re constructive. Collaborative. They imagine better. You can spot a good underdog brand because they ask, what if we did things differently?
It’s also about resilience. A good underdog has thick skin. Some ideas won’t work. But others will. So you keep going. Customers might take time to get your message. But they will in the end. They might take time to notice your online presence. But once a few do, and realise how good your offer is, word will spread. And new customers will seek you out.
That’s when your positivity starts to pay off.
Staying positive
A few closing thoughts on how to keep that positive frame of mind.
You may well have your own ideas on this, but here are a few things we’ve found that work for us, and underdog brands we’ve worked with.
First, track your progress. Record the small things you do every day to live your purpose and values and connect with customers. A good underdog brand is built on solid marketing habits.
Then, make sure you learn from all that you do. It’s good when ideas work, but you get more long-term value by learning from your mistakes. A good underdog brand finds joy in building its knowledge and expertise.
And lastly, remind yourself that no brand starts as a market leader. Every brand is an underdog when it starts. It’s the ones who choose to do the right things and stay focused on what customers want that triumph in the end. That’s ultimately what makes a good underdog brand.
Conclusion - What makes a brand a good underdog?
So there we have it. A good underdog brand faces powerful obstacles. It’s deserving of its success. And above all, it stays positive.
One final thought before we go. Once an underdog brand succeeds, then it suddenly becomes top dog and everything changes.
You’re no longer the underdog. You’re now the market leader, and you’ll have a whole new bunch of underdogs coming after you.
For more on this, check out our challenger brands and how to be a challenger in e-Commerce articles. Or get in touch. Always happy to share ideas on how to be a good underdog brand.
Photo credits
Entering the ring : Photo by Attentie Attentie on Unsplash
Hurdles : Photo by Jeremy Chen on Unsplash
Leaf growing : Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
Heart Button : Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Happy woman : Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
