Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace

THOUGHTS
&
INSPIRATION

Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
CHALLENGER BRANDS: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM CRUELLA? (PART 2)
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace
A challenger brand must always stay hungry and create opportunities to stand out.

PCW Juan Carlos Mallet

A lot has happened since we published "What can we learn from Cruella? (part 1)". At Palmer, Cooper & Wallace, we have received some incredible messages and phone calls. We have closed a couple of deals with "challenger" brands to help them go after the leader with powerful propositions. With all of this additional inspiration, we dared to write a complementary part using other learnings that any challenger brand can start using to make a difference. Find the continued list from part one below: 8. Hunger: A challenger brand must always stay "hungry" and create opportunities to stand out. Cruella reads the context and the competition finding opportunities to generate a HIGH IMPACT in the film, stand out and differentiate. 9. Resilience: This characteristic links directly to the "hunger," still it is the engine that pushes forward; it is the voice that keeps telling you: "focus, don't stop now, keep going, you can do it"; it’s the passion of the one that falls and keeps standing up not just once but a 1,000 times. Resilience is a crucial characteristic that Cruella shows throughout the whole film. She sorts out tremendous obstacles starting from when she was a child and then managing to land the jobs she desired, finally becoming an icon, showing us that you can conquer any challenge with focus, talent, and hard work. 10. Fearless self-confidence: We live in an age where we constantly receive millions of stimuli per hour. Challenger brands should always be able to push us out of our comfort zone. They need to make us question ourselves if we are making the right decision by choosing the brand we always do or if it's time to venture ourselves into a new brand (seduction power at its finest). Cruella's undoubtful self-confidence makes people start noticing that a challenger is here to stay. 11. Unleash the power of emotions: Cruella is extreme. She plays in the edges of love and hate. She leverages the power of mystery, intrigue, and euphoria, and these emotions work wonders on her target customers since they are congruent with her "soul, personality, and body," driving differentiation and clear purpose. In addition to all that we can learn from Cruella as a brand/character, there are several points that I believe are relevant about the film and that can also help us build a strong "challenger brand strategy." I. Leverage your communication on relevant values of your era: In this film, we can find at least three strong values from our time, which work beautifully in conquering us as customers: I.A Empathy and inclusion: A fundamental value where we all should be accepting and learn from others, starting from ourselves. Joker (2019) is solid proof of how people can empathize even with iconic, timeless villains when they listen to their side of their story. The same happened with Cruella. And it is the "story never told" of the apparent protagonists which makes us stand in the shoes of the misfits. Additionally, Cruella embraces her "differences": leveraging her bicolor hair as her key differentiation element. The film also shows us people from different races and genders bonding and making the story way stronger. I.B Female empowerment: The film tells the story of two women with strong character, bright leaders, that admire and support each other to grow, until... other elements come in to play. It is undoubtedly clear that in this universe, they play the leading roles. The new generations have been quite vocal in pushing for gender and race equality rights, which is used throughout the film. I.C Animal Conscience: yes, dogs have always been the "(wo)man's best friend," but what about "stray dogs"? This is quite a new value, in which a part of the society is changing their habit of "buying" dogs into "adopting." The "101 Dalmatians" film from 1996 caused an overselling of this breed which ended in a high rate of abandonments, quite a problem. Now, in turn, the film shows us a couple of stray heroes, "Wink & Buddy," the last one being a confirmed case of adoption from the street. The film then creates an "animal conscience," showing us that if the dogs' are aggressive, it is the fault of their owner who treated them and trained them in that way. In return, if they find love, they become faithful, loving. I love the idea of more people adopting; I proudly share that in my family, we have adopted "Cuca," a very thankful and loving stray dog that has filled our lives with happiness! II. Show the world that you have "Big and Powerful Friends: The film is visually masterful thanks to references of Chanel, Dior, and Balenciaga, which brings an additional glamour touch. In addition to this, the film has a terrifically well-curated soundtrack filled with 70's nostalgia and proven hits. Disney shows us that it has powerful friends such as The Rolling Stones, The Bee Gees, and Nancy Sinatra (amongst others). As I am writing this article, the film's soundtrack has already been a massive success. Last but not least, allow me to share an example from the “brand's world” where we can see some of the points made earlier: Let's review the case of HBO Max and Disney+, who have entered as challenger brands into Netflix's territory. We can see two fearless iconic brands generating solid emotions with their audience (each one with a clearly defined "Soul," "Personality," and "Body"). They are not only coming to join the challenge, but they are also here to win, leveraging strong values while showing the world their friends' power: with Disney leveraging "Mickey Mouse," "Darth Vader," "The Avengers," all the way up to "Cruella." At the same time, HBO Max uses "The Justice League," "Game of Thrones," and even "Bugs Bunny." Let's heat some popcorn and enjoy this extraordinary battle! Finally, I want to thank everyone that has shared and added their comments to part 1 of this article. Still, I want to make a special shout out to Doly Mallet, Rigoberto Chavez, Connie Ansaldi, Sarah Clayton, Flor Aprile, Felipe Davila, and Dieter Davila, for their valuable points and/or additional support to drive the reach of these words. I also want to thank Walt Disney Studios for producing high-quality content which we can use to learn! Do you own or manage a challenger brand and want to create an impact like Cruella? At Palmer, Cooper, & Wallace, we believe that successful brands are born with a clear soul, have a defined personality, evoke emotions, appeal to the senses, and are able to challenge the status quo.

Do you have a challenge that you want to share with us?


Shoot us an email

You may also like:
Leader vs Challenger: How To Win The Battle
Leader vs Challenger: How To Win The Battle

There are many new brands, possibly younger, or more attractive, or with more entertaining topics to discuss, and they are coming after “your partner” – your current client.

Read more

Is There Anything More Valuable Than LOVE?
Is There Anything More Valuable Than LOVE?

Love is the most fascinating subject in the world: There is love at first sight, there is eternal love, there are people who pay for love, but also, the “ghost” of infidelities that generates the rush of adventure, which is quite similar to love.

Read more

The secret of seduction… is your brand unleashing its power?
The secret of seduction… is your brand unleashing its power?

We all aspire for passion, not only in our love lives but also in our job, the things we do, what we wear, and the stuff we buy. There is nothing better than the adrenaline rush of falling in love!

Read more

The World Needs More Brands Like Darth Vader
The World Needs More Brands Like Darth Vader

What makes Vader so iconic that it has been engraved in the collective unconscious of more than one generation?

Read more

What can we learn from Cruella?
What can we learn from Cruella?

Cruella is a brand that does not pay for media; Cruella is the news!

Read more

The fascinating world of Cult Brands
The fascinating world of Cult Brands

In a world with thousands of “similar” brands, just a few stand out, generating deep connections, trust, and influencing people.

Read more

 BE LIKE ELVIS: A TRULY ICONIC BRAND
BE LIKE ELVIS: A TRULY ICONIC BRAND

Elvis was a master at utilizing memorable elements; the way he did his hair, the suits he wore, his moves, and his makeup. This way, he was able to break traditional stereotypes while he shocked the world and built his personal brand in an iconic way.

Read more

A ROOKIE CAN CHANGE THE GAME
A ROOKIE CAN CHANGE THE GAME

"Learn as much as possible from the subject, be creative, experiment, and break some rules, because a rookie can change the game. Just Do It!"

Read more

Unleashing the Force: 10 Yoda Principles for Challenger Brands
Unleashing the Force: 10 Yoda Principles for Challenger Brands

This journey through Yoda's teachings is not just a tribute to an iconic character, but also a practical guide for those of us who bear the responsibility of shaping the future of the brands we manage and wish to do so with wisdom and power. May the Force be with us all!

Read more

THE LESSON FROM Club de Fútbol América ON CREATING A BRAND THAT YOU LOVE OR HATE
THE LESSON FROM Club de Fútbol América ON CREATING A BRAND THAT YOU LOVE OR HATE

In the world of marketing, few brands manage to evoke emotions as intense and polarized as Club de Fútbol América. This team, which has left an indelible mark on Mexican soccer, offers valuable lessons on how to build a brand that is not only recognized but also provokes strong passions, whether of love or hate.

Read more

Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace Palmer, Cooper y Wallace