Nobody buys boring

Marketing is a game of attention. Often the hardest part is just getting noticed and considered, which is why leading with the same tired old messaging rarely works. Stuff like new features, a slightly better price, a free trial, or a money-back guarantee— none of these attributes are story-worthy. Buyers aren't going to tell themselves a story about these things. Plus, they're certainly not going to think they're remarkable enough to share with others. Now, the category incumbent can get away with that kind of stuff, but you're not them. For a business to dominate a category means they're telling a story that's working. In order to grow, you can't tell the same story to the same people, even if you shout it louder, with more emojis, or by making TikTok videos. You can't win by trying to tell the incumbent story better than they can. Instead, you have to tell a different story. One that appeals to underserved communities. One that's not your average bland compromised story of get more revenue, save time, we also have those features. Challenger brands cannot take the safe somewhere in the middle road with their messaging. They benefit from being extremist in their storytelling, but being in the middle with their product. Being boring doesn't lead to growth. A good challenger story takes risks and brings controversy, telling a story that no one else can tell.