Harnessing the challenger mindset: A blueprint for defying the status quo

In the competitive world of marketing, embracing a challenger mindset is key to driving growth, disrupting conventions, and rewriting category dynamics. While No. 2 and No. 3 brands are often considered challenger brands, Adam Morgan’s philosophy highlights that challenger thinking isn’t limited by size or ranking—it’s about ambition, innovation, and breaking norms.

Prof. Byron Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk, the leading voices from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, emphasise evidence-based principles that complement this mindset. Sharp advocates for brands to focus on "mental and physical availability as the cornerstones of sustainable growth", while Romaniuk reinforces the importance of "distinctive brand assets to enhance mental availability and build stronger connections with consumers".

The evolving definition of challenger thinking

Morgan’s philosophy has expanded the definition of challenger thinking. It’s no longer just about "who you’re challenging" but "what you’re challenging". This includes questioning category norms, consumer behaviours, and even entrenched cultural standards.

Sharp’s research aligns with Morgan’s view, emphasising the need for brands to focus on increasing market share through "scale, reach, and relevance". Sharp argues that growth comes from attracting new buyers rather than solely retaining existing ones—an insight particularly vital for challenger brands trying to expand their footprint.

Introducing the challenger mindset model

The five pillars of challenger thinking

1. Redefine competition: Challenger Brands must rethink their competitive landscape using data-driven insights. Sharp’s Duplication of Purchase Law underscores that "brands share buyers in proportion to their market share," debunking the myth that consumer segmentation restricts competition. This shift allows brands to identify broader opportunities. Morgan's thought process: Challenger brands should seek "to redefine their ambition by reshaping categories, not just competing within them."

2. Redefine communication through CEPs (Category Entry Points): Jenni Romaniuk highlights the importance of Category Entry Points (CEPs), describing them as the critical mental cues that connect consumers to brands. Challenger brands should focus on creating distinctive narratives at these points to increase mental availability. Dove’s Real Beauty campaign disrupted beauty norms, aligning its communication strategy with self-confident CEPs. Romaniuk's Insight: "Distinctive brand assets are essential to owning CEPs and lodging your brand in consumer memory."

3. Redefine execution: Avoid the cost of dullness: Both Romaniuk and Sharp emphasise the risk of dull campaigns, with Sharp noting that "Boring advertising dilutes brand recall and increases inefficiency."

Mondelez Dairy Milk’s festive personalised retailer campaigns are an example of bold execution, creating new consumer connections while breaking category conventions. Morgan's thought process: "Effective challenger thinking calls for provocation—campaigns that are memorable, daring, and distinctive."

4. Redefine products through ingredients: Sharp highlights the importance of product differentiation in expanding physical availability, while Romaniuk reinforces that "innovation should connect product uniqueness to mental triggers that resonate with buyers".

Sebamed redefined the soap category by introducing pH balance, and Fogg reshaped deodorant marketing by challenging gas-based formulas. Morgan's thought process: "Challengers focus on overlooked features to create unique differentiation that drives disruption."

5. Redefine pricing: Break consumer inertia: Sharp views pricing as a tool for broadening accessibility, while Morgan argues it should reflect a brand’s "intent to democratise consumption and challenge perceptions".

Reliance’s Campa Cola pricing strategy disrupted the cola market, offering affordability that redefined category expectations. Sharp's insight: "Pricing should be designed to attract lighter users and increase frequency of consumption."

The importance of challenger thinking today

Thinking bigger than your resources is especially critical as brands navigate disruptive trends and fleeting consumer attention spans. Sharp and Romaniuk complement this perspective with evidence-based insights that highlight the importance of mental and physical availability in sustaining growth.

McKinsey reports that the lifespan of S&P 500 companies has dropped to just 20 years, emphasising the need for adaptation and challenger thinking. Romaniuk’s insight into CEPs and distinctive brand assets further underscores the urgency for brands to align their strategies with how consumers perceive and access them.

Actionable recommendations: The challenger mindset model in practice

For smaller challenger brands

• Competition: Leverage consumer overlap insights to broaden competitive targeting.
• Communication: Identify distinctive CEPs to resonate across the category.
• Execution: Embrace bold and provocative campaigns that defy conventions.
• Products: Innovate with unique features that challenge norms and drive differentiation.
• Pricing: Redefine pricing strategies to break inertia and create accessibility.

Case study: How can a new product challenge existing brands and the status quo of the category? quo?

Dabur Herb’l Charcoal toothpaste

While the toothpaste category is full of white toothpastes, how can a black toothpaste make its mark with limited mental and physical availability? Dabur introduced a new premium toothpaste aimed at Gen Z and Millennials by developing strong memory structures around consumer engagement points (CEPs). The brand promise is to give whiter teeth for perceived hygiene, boosting confidence and healthy oral care.

Approach:

Step 1: Identify prime prospects 

POME (Point of Market Entry): 18-25 Y: Consumers, particularly Gen Z, who are socially active and entering the whitening category, are experiencing changes in their social environments and view yellow teeth as a sign of poor personal hygiene, similar to other grooming needs. 

POHC (Point of Habit Change): 25–35 Y: Millennials, who have used their teeth and developed consumption habits that impact their dental health, are looking to rejuvenate themselves and desire to look and feel younger.

Step 2: Generate all CEPs relevant for these prime prospects.

Step 3: From all CEPs, find which is the strongest fit for the brand, choose the attentive medium, and create a campaign to harvest existing demand and build future demand. The strength of CEPs fitment to the brand is done by the 3C model suggested by Prof. Jenni Romaniuk.

3C: Common, Credible, Competitive

Illustration: CEP generation & selection

Results: FY 22-24

With the compound effect of CEPs (Creative Attentive Media), the new brand created its new identity and raced to 2.5% MS in Y1 in launched channels. As per Kantar, in Y1+Y2, the brand reached 2 lakh households. The market leader in the whitening category, launched in 2014, is available in 3.3 lakh households. 300 million impressions and 120 million views across DVC, influencers, and Meta.

For large challenger brands

• Mental availability: Build distinctive brand assets to amplify consumer recognition.
• Physical availability: Expand accessibility across diverse consumption occasions.
• Creativity: Design campaigns that create tension with the category norms.
• Adaptation: Constantly challenge category drivers to remain relevant.

Case Study: Changing the category narrative: Procter & Gamble – Ariel

How has a premium laundry brand encouraged men to share the load since 2015? It is one of the longest-running social media campaigns which challenge gender inequality at home and is distinct and brave in the category which has focused on functional efficacy.

Approach: Generate CEPs which highlight gender inequality and build a campaign which influences a deep-rooted consumer behaviour around laundry.

Category Entry Points (CEPs) framework for the #ShareTheLoad campaign 

Insights using the CEP framework

Ariel being consistent around the Share the Load Campaign leverages various category entries to refresh memory structures around inequality. 

• Situational triggers: Each campaign ties into a real-life moment—doing laundry, parenting, bedtime routines, emotional disconnect—making the brand relevant in those contexts. 
• Emotional resonance: The campaigns tap into deep emotional truths (guilt, fatigue, love, fairness), which strengthens brand recall. 
• Cultural relevance: The evolving themes reflect shifting societal norms, making the brand a part of the cultural conversation. 

Results

The long campaign reduced the percentage of men who believe that laundry is solely a women’s job from 79% in 2015 to 25% in 2024, resulting in 566 million views across various mediums and attracting 48 million new users.

Conclusion

The challenger mindset is not bound by size or rank—it is fuelled by ambition, provocation, and bold execution. Morgan’s philosophy of constructive provocation, combined with Sharp and Romaniuk’s evidence-based insights, provides a robust framework for brands to thrive amidst disruption.

Takeaways for marketers

• Mental availability: Brands should own their Customer Engagement Points (CEPs) by utilising distinctive brand assets.
• Physical availability: Expand reach across consumption occasions and channels.
• Creativity: Create campaigns that disrupt norms and resonate deeply.
• Innovation: Leverage product differentiation to drive growth.
• Pricing: Use strategic pricing as a disruptive tool for accessibility.

By adopting the challenger mindset and integrating insights from Morgan, Sharp, and Romaniuk, brands can challenge conventions, thrive within constraints, and carve out sustainable pathways to growth.