The great brand brawl

IIPM set to beat economic slowdown

Attack advertisement is the latest muse for the corporates but the success boils down to consumer satisfaction and avoidance of the regulatory scanner

Ouch! That must have hurt. It surely does, when the opponent hits you ‘below the belt’. And the blows are getting increasingly fast and furious. The trend is invariably visible with a number of global marketers openly declaring war by taking a direct pick on their arch rivals through attack advertisements or in polite terms comparative advertisements.

This ‘Smack Down’ of brands has become an all-out battle amongst some of the world’s top brands. From the Pepsi challenge to the endless knockout rounds between Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Starbucks, McDonalds vs. Starbucks, Dominos vs. Subway, Mac Guy vs. PC Guy (Apple vs Microsoft) et al, the strategy has found a number of followers. This current marketing strategy is far from the traditional concept of promotion and marketing where companies highlight the benefits that a consumer would derive from usage of their products or services. The concept of attack advertisement rather has the players using the negative mechanism and splashes out the misgivings of their competitor’s goods and services, thus trying to convince the target audience of their relative superiority.

The Dunkin’ Donuts attack commercial against Starbucks is an apt epitome of the aforesaid statement; the former tells the consumers that more ‘hard-working’ people prefer their coffee than the high-priced ‘elitist’ coffee of the latter. “Our marketing approach evolves based on what resonates with customers and is not driven by another company’s advertising campaign. We believe what truly differentiates us from our competitors is the daily, human connection between customers and store partners,” avers unscathed Wendy Pang, Communication Manager, Starbucks Coffee, to 4Ps B&M, taking the entire fiasco as a pinch of salt. The coffee brewer has become the punching bag for Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonalds of late. It’s always easier to point out some of the failings of a competitor but clearly it’s always about establishing a point of difference. “It’s going to come more from those sectors which are being impacted by the economical downturn such as auto, electronics and parts of FMCG; nevertheless, the downturn is not the main driver of the concept but because it is persuasive, the players are using attack advertisements,” explain Stephen Byrne Director, DIFFUSION Global brand strategist and commentator.

Attack or comparative advertising does work to an extent, as it definitely draws a number of eyeballs. But then everything finally boils down to meeting the promises made and the quality of products or services delivered, leading to consumer satisfaction. “The Mac vs. PC guy has been very successful for Apple; look at the evidence from new Apple computer sales into corporate markets to see how it’s changed how people think, but more of it is due to the quality product and the after sales service deliverance,” supports Byrne.

However, the tendency to mislead consumers generally creeps into this kind of strategy. So companies should be wary of the fact that watchdogs like courts and consumer protection bodies are looking very closely at the way advertisers and brand owners use this advertising. For the punch they deliver definitely hurts, no matter which side of the belt it lands!

Ratan Lal Bhagat

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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