EFFECTIVE COUNTER ATTACK STRATEGY
EFFECTIVE COUNTER ATTACK STRATEGY
Tuesday, 04 July 2006 05:32
The competition has just launched a new brand that’s causing ripples in the market. Your CEO is beginning to wonder whether you are worth the cheque he signs every month and clients have started asking whether you’re offering the new brand. What do you do? Quietly add the brand to your portfolio and let your customers know it’s available or allow your ad agency to convince you that you can also ‘make noise’ about the brand?
No matter what the scenario, an effective counter strategy must not run independently of the total brand strategy. You cannot afford to send inconsistent messages to your consumers just because you feel the need to ‘retaliate’. Me-too strategies are dangerous for companies that want to be identified with leadership or strength.
The decision of whether or not to retaliate depends on a couple of issues. Firstly, will retaliating hurt your brand? Of course you will already have defined what your brand is and what it is not. What values do you hope to communicate to your clients? How strong is your brand compared to the competition? Therein lays the answer to whether or not you should allow the pressure to direct you. Market dynamics will also affect the decision. Consider a case where the industry is moving in a certain direction. If your competitor launches the brand before you do, there is need for you to communicate to your customers. The tricky bit is that it must be done very subtly so that your customers do not mistake you to be following the competition.
If you must follow the competition, you cannot afford to copy the competition in any way. There is a need to be original and creative. Beware of Ad agencies that trigger you to use elements or words that the competition is using in their campaign. Remember your aim is to stand out and you must therefore not create a situation where consumers cannot differentiate you from your competition.
The best counter attack strategy is one that is offensive, not defensive. You must lead in research and development. Something is terribly wrong with your R&D if you never lead in launches and only know of new brands when your competition begins to make noise. The similar Ads that have been in the media lately make it difficult to assume that this doesn’t happen. Your business development team must be on top of things and the finance department must know how fatal failing to be on time can be. Finance Directors are known to frustrate efforts by the marketing team and approve budgets just when the competition takes the stage.
Speaking of timing, it is important to note that if you must retaliate, do it after the excitement of your competitor’s launch has faded. You do not want your customers to sense your anxiety. Waiting for too long on the other hand, makes your customers think you are slow in responding to market trends. Questions like, ‘why weren’t you saying this earlier on?’ or ‘are you saying it because they are saying it?’ will trigger your clients to know there’s a leader you are following. Striking a balance between immediately and too late is the key.
In an offensive attack, the timing is also very important. If your competition launches the brand before you do, take your time. Look for loop-holes and use these to perfect your campaign. A strong brand is a strong brand is a strong brand. Communicating otherwise is dangerous. Failing to communicate is equally disastrous. Silence though better than a foolish miscalculated reaction cannot usually match the effect of a tactful deliberate action.
© Brandscape
Nyambura is a freelance writer on branding and other issues affecting economic development in Africa and can be contacted on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
