The era of good marketing is over.
Marketing has to be exceptional.
Not only does it have to be authentic, it must be personalized, in real-time and tell an impactful story.
Today’s best marketers are now world-builders, crafting stories that transport consumers to a place where their brand makes consumers the hero of the story.
Some of the best storytellers of the last decade are those at challenger brands. Challenger brands like Wendy’s have taken it upon themselves to tell thoughtful and poignant stories, changing the way the consumer thinks about their brand and their category as a whole.
The lasting effect of this direct-to-consumer era is that it is easier than ever for brands big and small to forge strong connections with any person, via any channel.
One trend that is continuing strong in this new decade is the influence of direct-to-consumer and challenger brands and how their approach to storytelling marketing is blazing a trail that many are following.
As DTC Marketer and Opal Advisor Eric Toda shared in this recent article for Adweek, challenger brands have unique opportunities in front of them, if only they are prepared to seize them.
It’s clear that what is resonating in the industry and among Opal’s exceptional customers is that telling a consistent story to consumers, no matter the channel or experience, is the most important objective of marketers.
– Eric Toda, DTC Marketer and Opal Advisor
“Successful DTC marketers are the ones who are able to stay laser focused on telling a consistent story”
In order to tell great, authentic stories, marketers must do the hard work of creating cross-functional alignment within their organization. As Toda explains in Adweek, that effort requires making work more visible, collaborating across teams, moving fast and investing in a tech stack that supports your people.
The amount of great work that happens in challenger brands, from brand marketing to merchandising teams to retail and logistics, can only happen when collaboration is an intentional focus. It’s this connection between teams and a focus on authentic storytelling across all channels that can turn any company, direct-to-consumer or not, into a real challenger brand.
The era of DTC and challenger brands is fascinating to explore so stay tuned to the Opal Storylines Blog for more insights on challenger brands and to hear from various thought leaders in the coming weeks and months.