“Picking an enemy”: The risks and rewards of combative brand positioning

In recent years, we’ve seen some fantastic brand-building campaigns come out of the financial services sector. HSBC’s Global Citizen campaign fronted by Richard Ayoade is one that particularly stands out in my memory. It cleverly tapped into the zeitgeist by reminding us during the time of “Broken Britain” just how connected we all are.
Another campaign that successfully captured my attention is a range of fantastic out-of-home ads from specialist insurer Hiscox. With typos, duplicated designs and a splash of mud, they take a tongue-in-cheek approach to traditional billboard and DOOH media, injecting a note of humour into an often sober subject.
A more personal example is the award-winning “A Good Place” campaign from Skipton Building Society, which Trinity McQueen had a hand in shaping. In this campaign. Skipton Building Society shared relatable and authentic human stories around people’s savings goals, highlighting how the bank was supporting them to make these dreams a reality. The story of a mum helping her son to start his own mobile coffee van business was particularly heartwarming.
But these campaigns are the exception, not the rule.
Standing out as a brand in this sector is incredibly hard – insurance, pensions, mortgages and savings are all relatively dry categories. By contrast, sectors like food, fashion and travel start with an advantage, as they speak to pleasure and the pursuits of our leisure time. That said, the pain points experienced by customers within financial services and the impacts these products can have mean that it’s still a highly-emotive category, making it fertile ground for creative executions.
When it comes to groundbreaking FS campaigns, no bank is currently doing it better than Monzo, which recently pushed out its first TV ad in five years. “Money never felt like Monzo” harnesses the power of impactful comparisons, placing the stressful feelings associated with money management in direct juxtaposition with the happy, empowered feelings you get by banking with Monzo. It’s both creatively brilliant and aesthetically striking — with a message which clearly conveys that banking with Monzo is not only easy, but pleasant and almost effortless. This is a terrific example of a brand that has utterly nailed its positioning, and is executing it perfectly.
In “picking an enemy” Monzo has solidified its brand positioning and made it memorable.
The agency behind the campaign — Uncommon Creative Studio — has used the strategy of “picking an enemy” in this ad, and Monzo goes up against it beautifully. In this instance, the enemy is the unnamed banks that make money management a painful and inconvenient hassle.
While it doesn’t single out a specific competitor, the subtext is the problem of the sector at large. This sets Monzo apart from and above other FS providers. The brand is put on a pedestal it has the credentials to support, as Monzo undeniably makes banking easy.
How does this strategy work?
Brands have been “picking an enemy” for years — but in my opinion, it’s still an underrated approach that could be deployed to great effect far more often. In simple terms, there are two ways to position a brand:
- Say “this is what we stand for”
- Pick an enemy that doesn’t have your brand’s characteristics, and say “we stand against them”.
That enemy might be a direct competitor, a group of competitors or even an idea (remember when Netflix’s CEO said their biggest competitor was sleep), but these don’t have to be mutually exclusive, brands can do both.
For an archetypal example of this strategy, look at Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad back in 2006, featuring a man dressed in stiff, corporate clothing to represent Microsoft, and a man in modern jeans and trainers playing Mac. Secure in the knowledge of superior products, Apple had nothing to fear from a direct comparison, and this ad became the stuff of legends — it’s still on the syllabus for marketing MBA classes today.
Why is this strategy so effective?
Put simply, human beings are known to think comparatively – that’s how our brains are wired. When a new band arrives in the music industry, we inevitably point out their closest neighbouring artists, and the genres they fall into. Making a comparison with a competitor and showcasing what you don’t do is a very effective means of solidifying your brand positioning.
It may be clever, but it can also be risky.
This is particularly true in a highly-regulated industry like FS. Earlier this year, Nationwide aired a TV ad featuring Dominic West as a sneering bank manager, who made fun of customers while plotting to close branches. In pointing the finger at banks like Santander, Natwest and Lloyds TSB, Nationwide prompted outrage and retaliation. In fact, Nationwide had closed more banks than Santander in the year leading up to the campaign. This ad was extremely well executed: it had a great concept, great casting, and utilised a strong strategy. Nationwide went out on a limb with combative brand positioning, but disastrously, it didn’t have the business model to back up the bold claims made in the ad. Long story short — it was banned by Watchdog in April.
So, what should brands keep in mind when they’re “picking an enemy”?
Ultimately, this strategy worked for Monzo because it offers a small range of products with a single point of difference: ease. Monzo can legitimately position itself as the nemesis of hassle, where Nationwide couldn’t rightfully claim that it wasn’t closing branches.
If you’re thinking of adopting this strategy, be sure to choose your enemy wisely, and when you get down to demonstrating your key point of difference — make sure it’s a credible one.
To find out more about how Trinity McQueen can help with brand positioning, get in touch with me via l.morris@trinitymcqueen.com