Picking a fight
I started highlighting my favourite parts of Rework. One highlight after the other, 70% of the book was glowing in yellow :D
One chapter stood out for me- pick a fight. It’s been employed countless times with variations(will write about those).
I came across an unknown example (for me) from the the 2000s. The times when Dunkin Doughnut positioned itself against Starbucks.
They ran prime-time television ads mocking Starbucks for using ‘Fritalian’ terms.
They followed it up with Dunkin beating Starbucks in a blind taste test. In fact, they went on to create DunkinBeatStarbucks.com (defunt)
What’s special about this timeless strategy?
- Having an enemy (competitor or an entire industry) gives you a strong story to tell.
- People always get stoked by conflict. They take sides.
This tactic will fall flat if
your side is not relatable/doesn’t trigger an adverse reaction.
your competitor/problem is not big.
you choose to persist with this positioning.
So
Be the Goliath. Who’s your David?