How challenger brands use video

by Natalia Lopez

We, humans, love an underdog story.

In marketing, challenger brands represent the industry underdogs, and consumers can’t get enough.

Challenge brands emerge from nowhere, disrupt the status quo and confront established industry leaders. Then, in the real fairy-tale endings, they revolutionise their niche and succeed even when the odds are stacked against them.

Industries, including hospitality, men’s grooming, bottled water, travel and media, have all birthed game-changing challenger brands.

In this article, we explore how challenger brands are increasingly turning to video in their mission to shake things up and steal back a piece of the market share from their rivals.

Famous challenger brands

Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, Dollar Shave Club and Amazon are five of the most significant challenger brands to have emerged in the 21st century.

Their impact on their respective industries has been significant.

Netflix made streaming mainstream and turned the TV industry on its head. Airbnb took on the hotel industry and created a new way for travellers to find local accommodation. Uber changed the way we ordered taxis forever. Dollar Shave Club’s direct-to-consumer model for men’s razors loosened Gillette's grip on the industry, and Amazon removed the novelty from internet shopping and made e-commerce the norm.

USPs aside, some of the most successful disruptors have leveraged the unrivalled power of video marketing on their incredible journeys to success.

Disrupting with video

Video marketing has become the go-to format for most new and existing brands. With an unbeatable ability to quickly generate brand awareness and inspire consumer loyalty, video has become an indispensable tool in the arsenal of most marketers.

Video content's intrinsic “shareability” has proven that audiences can’t get enough of the format. Through its ability to relay large amounts of information quickly, video has become the go-to method for brands to advertise their products and services.

Men’s grooming industry disruptor Dollar Shave Club reportedly spent $4,500 on their first video to advertise their monthly disposable razor subscription service.

Shot in 2012 over a single day, it took the internet by storm and went viral in 72 hours, generating 12,000 orders within 48 hours and crashing the company's servers.

In 2016, less than half a decade after it was founded, Dollar Shave Club was acquired for $1 billion by Unilever.

The unique ability of video to reach and resonate with so many people and be shared between them at incredible speed is only part of its benefits. Generating brand loyalty and garnering attention are how video birth and launch brands.

A viral video victory for canned water

One of the most current and successful video marketing campaigns by a challenger brand belongs to the canned water company Liquid Death.

Dubbed by its founder Mike Cessario as an “entertainment machine” first and water brand second, Liquid Death has gone from a $1,500 viral Facebook video for a non-existent product to a disruptor canned water producer with a $700 million valuation in under six years.

Leveraging the proven power of the Von Restorff effect (also known as the isolation and the bizarreness effect), Liquid Water lodged itself into an audience’s memory by sticking out from the crowd.

If you don’t quite understand this concept, just watch one of the brand's viral videos below.

Lessons learned

So, what can we learn from successful challenger brands about how to use video?

Here’s a quick summary:

• Videos are the best way to harness and use the “Von Restorff” effect: As emotional creatures, people are drawn to things that capture their attention, and video is more effective at doing that than static images and text. Creating content that people remember can quickly help companies build brand awareness. Video sharing on social media is the 21st-century equivalent of word-of-mouth advertising and can help brands become household names in record time.

• Brands can use videos to entertain first and highlight a product or service second: Dollar Shave Club and Liquid Death capitalise on humour’s ability to keep people engaged and build a loyal customer base. If audiences find your brand entertaining, they are more likely to subscribe to your social media channels and remember what you’re selling. Delivering entertainment also adds intrinsic value to your brand; just look at the likes of Red Bull and their impressive rise to the top.

• Videos have the best ROI: Out of any form of marketing, videos deliver brands the best ROI and one that was unbelievable a few years ago. The results are even more impressive when you consider that most viral videos are typically homemade or made on a budget. Whilst there are no hard and fast rules for predicting what will go viral, you’re more likely to increase your chances with video than with any other visual format.

Wrapping Up

So there you have it, a rundown of how challenger brands can use video to build brand awareness, generate leads and build a loyal audience.

Best of all, challenger brands prove that video can help you do everything on a shoestring budget.