Trust before scale: How challenger brands are winning market share

In today's dynamic market landscape, challenger brands face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. These newcomers must navigate cluttered marketplaces, establish trust, and create distinctive identities while competing against well-entrenched incumbents. The evolution of digital ecosystems and changing consumer behaviours have transformed how these brands can approach market entry and growth, creating both new possibilities and complexities.

At the recently concluded afaqs! Challenger Brands conference, industry leaders gathered to discuss the critical strategies and considerations for challenger brands in their journey towards market establishment and growth. Panelists from various categories brought diverse expertise to the discussion, which was moderated by Venkata Susmita Biswas, executive editor at afaqs!. The panel included Ankit Kasliwal, head of marketing at Titan Company; Pranesh Urs, head of marketing at Ather Energy; Sanchayeeta Verma, CEO of Carat India; and Varun Mohan, head of growth and revenue at MiQ India.

Sanchayeeta Verma, CEO of Carat India, emphasised the dual aspects of brand building: mental availability and physical availability. "For challenger brands, I would not call it a problem—this is also a time of opportunities," she noted. "Today, because of the digital ecosystem and the retail media space, a brand can very quickly tackle the physical availability part. However, what ultimately matters is trust building. Am I creating those deep memory structures? Am I building the kind of connection with the consumer that ensures they return repeatedly?"

Verma illustrated how challenger brands typically evolve their marketing approach, starting with bottom-of-funnel activities before expanding their reach. "You start with digital performance, but branding becomes important. In this new age, how do you connect with consumers while incorporating all the brilliant basics of media? Are you giving the right weights? Are you maintaining proper frequency and continuity?"

Pranesh Urs, head of marketing at Ather, brought a strategic perspective to the discussion, cautioning against jumping straight into media spending decisions. "For any challenger brands, it would not be fair to start a discussion in terms of media spends, because that's the easiest thing to do," he stated. "As challenger brand marketers, what we need to really look at is the business strategy, brand strategy, and how the marketing strategy evolves from there."

Urs emphasised the importance of brand positioning and consumer perception: "People don't buy products for quality; they buy products or brands assuming that will not go wrong. Therefore, you need to build that trust." He also highlighted that the worst scenario for a challenger brand isn't negative feedback but consumer indifference. "I'm okay if people say it's very good or very bad. The challenge happens when consumers are indifferent to your communication."

Representing the startup division of Titan Company, Ankit Kasliwal shared insights from his experience with Taneira and the company's perfume business. He stressed the importance of maintaining brand integrity even when operating in low-entry barrier categories. "Trust always comes at a trade-off for something, and that's the trade-off that you should be willing to make as a business," he explained. Kasliwal shared how his team deliberately avoided using the term 'luxury' for their perfumes, despite it being a popular marketing approach in the category, choosing instead to focus on authentic category building and consumer education.

Varun Mohan, head of growth and revenue at MiQ India, addressed the evolution of marketing channels and consumer behaviour. "You should never jump into a device or platform thinking 'this is what I want to do,'" he advised. "First, as a brand, you need to understand who your potential audience is and what kind of consumption patterns they have. Based on that, it should be a reverse engineering of how to reach or which platform to be consumed."

Media strategies

The discussion then turned to addressing media spending strategies. Verma introduced the concept of "algorithmic availability" as a crucial third dimension alongside mental and physical availability. "It's not about how much you spend, but how you are spending and what it is doing to your business," she explained. "We really are in an algorithmic era. Whether it's the way consumers are consuming content or how brands are able to meet them on various platforms, you really need to bring that equation into account."

The panellists examined the changing dynamics of media expenditure, highlighting the need of flexibility in brand initiatives. A significant transition noted was from conventional to digital media, accompanied by a warning over the potential oversaturation of digital platforms, which may hinder the acquisition of new customers. Retail media has become a crucial domain, particularly for consumer products, with rapid commerce platforms serving as pivotal for sales and promotion. Nevertheless, several companies are re-entering physical retail via exclusive brand locations to manage client experience, although with increased administrative costs.

Omnichannel experiences were emphasised as essential, with firms integrating online and physical methods to customise communication and enhance sales. Challenger businesses must customise their media mix according to their product category and target demographic. Some may allocate their full budget to digital, while others might get advantages from a balanced approach between television and digital, particularly in conventional or mass-market sectors.

The progression of Above-the-Line (ATL) expenditure was discussed, highlighting Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising in premium locations such as airports as a favoured approach for targeting rich customers. The escalating expenses of digital media, once seen as a cost-effective option, now rival conventional ATL channels, confounding budgetary considerations.

The panel emphasised that media expenditure necessitates a versatile, multi-platform strategy. Brands must continually assess customer behaviour, platform saturation, and return on investment, maintaining a balanced approach across digital, conventional, and new channels such as retail media. An omnichannel strategy, which combines online and physical interactions, is more vital for fostering development in the current competitive environment.

The panel consensus highlighted that successful challenger brands must focus on building trust through consistent messaging and authentic positioning, rather than simply competing on spending power. The experts emphasised the importance of understanding consumer behaviour patterns, choosing appropriate channels based on business objectives, and maintaining a long-term perspective on brand building.

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