Key Takeaways
- Both brand rivalries and brand collaborations can drive real ROI, but neither works just for the sake of doing it.
- Pepsi's blind taste-test "Pepsi Challenge" and Avis's "We Try Harder" campaign both turned a competitive disadvantage into a winning comparative strategy.
- Uber x Spotify and Casper x West Elm show that collaborations succeed when two brands share compatible values and audiences, not just complementary products.
- The common thread in every successful example is self-awareness: each brand knew exactly who it was before deciding how to compete or partner.
- Choosing between a rivalry-driven or collaboration-driven strategy should come from a clear read of your brand identity and your consumers' needs.
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In the noisy, competitive, oversaturated marketing landscape, are companies better off waging war with the competition? Or is a better strategy to go high and develop friendly partnerships with non-competitive companies?
In a world where attention is at a premium, companies might consider one of these potentially high-profile approaches in an effort to change consumer habits, inform purchasing decisions, and ultimately gain recognition, favorability, and market share. But which one actually works? Below we break down the data and explore whether brand wars or brand collaborations reap better rewards.
This Means War
The world of marketing and advertising is fiercely competitive, for emerging and well-established brands alike. In many cases, "competitive" is a nice way to describe how some brands go after their rivals. But the truth is, comparative advertising strategies can be successful in winning over consumers. Whether brands want to playfully poke fun at their competition ("I'm a Mac, I'm a PC") or come out with the claws ("Genesis does what Nintendon't"), brand wars have become a common phenomenon in the modern marketing landscape.
Coke vs. Pepsi
The most legendary example of an all-out brand war is undoubtedly between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. The epic throw-down known as the Cola Wars has raged since the early 1900s, when the two companies began aggressively vying for market share. Slogans like "Americans' Preferred Taste" and "Taste That Beats the Others Cold" made clear that there were no holds barred when it came to taking jabs at the competition. For decades, Coke enjoyed a tight grip on market share as the classic, original cola with a loyal fanbase and a strong distribution system. Pepsi trailed as the scrappy underdog with an edge and something to prove, but struggled to get through to Coke's loyal legion.
Enter one of the most brilliant marketing coups of all time: the Pepsi Challenge. In 1974, activations at malls across America invited people to participate in a blind taste-test of Coke vs. Pepsi. The results were tremendous. To the underdog's delight, most consumers actually preferred the taste of Pepsi. Wasting no time to broadcast the news, Pepsi built campaigns that "proved" theirs was the superior product. Pepsi watched their market share climb while Coke's flattened. And while the war has raged on to the modern day, there's no doubt that in this case, the battle was won. Pepsi clearly benefited from taking Coke head-on.
Q: What made the Pepsi Challenge such an effective brand-war tactic?
A: It replaced brand loyalty with a direct, verifiable claim. A blind taste test let Pepsi prove a preference with real consumer data, then build an entire campaign around that proof rather than just asserting superiority.
Avis vs. Hertz
If there's anything history has shown us, it's that brands of all categories and sizes have shown a willingness to take up marketing arms. In the 1960s, car rental giant Hertz had held a stronghold on its industry for years. Its closest competitor at the time was Avis, who, even as the biggest rival, was trailing far behind.
In search of a new marketing campaign, Robert C. Townsend, Avis's president, sat with the company's marketing agency to determine the brand's differentiators and elevate their brand equity. When asked typical questions like "Do you have cheaper rates, better cars, more locations?" Townsend answered no. But after some thought, he famously said, "but we do try harder."
From that meeting came the brand's infamous tagline: "When you're only No. 2, you try harder. Or else." By embracing the reality of the place they were in, Avis positioned itself as the David to Hertz's Goliath. The campaign was an instant success, and after a decade of losses, the company went from an annual loss of $3.2M to $1.2M in profit. The "We Try Harder" tagline became iconic and one of the first case studies to prove the value of brand authenticity. It also showed that comparative marketing strategies can result in real, measurable benefits, in this case, millions of them.
Saddle Up, Partner
As much as we love a healthy (albeit ruthless) rivalry, there's a lot to be said for the immense potential and sheer ingenuity when two brands come together and play nice. There are dozens of famous pairings: Bonne Bell and Dr Pepper, Taco Bell and Doritos, GoPro and Red Bull. When brands form collaborations, they can share resources, tap into each other's existing audiences, and streamline efforts while driving meaningful, efficient campaigns around shared value.
Uber and Spotify: Soundtrack for Your Ride
In 2014, these two well-established companies were already disrupting their respective markets when they announced an integration that let passengers listen to their own music when taking an Uber. Spotify premium subscribers could connect their accounts to the Uber app and customize their audio experience before their car even arrived. During the ride, passengers-turned-DJs maintained control wirelessly via either platform until reaching their destination.
Successful? Wildly, and for a handful of reasons. The services offered are different but highly compatible, and foundationally, both companies are modern, technology-based, and innovative. They achieved success by leveraging those commonalities and providing a personalized, on-demand user experience for their customers. Spotify saw a significant spike in new paid subscriptions shortly after the partnership, while Uber provided added value, a personalized experience, without reinventing the wheel.
Q: Why does a brand collaboration like Uber x Spotify work so well?
A: Both brands were modern, tech-based, and innovative, which made their products feel naturally complementary rather than forced. The integration also gave each brand's existing users a genuinely new benefit instead of just cross-promotion.
Casper & West Elm: Test a Casper Mattress
Casper, the original D2C bed-in-a-box company, disrupted the multi-billion-dollar mattress industry starting in 2014. Millennials quickly embraced the brand thanks to the convenience, affordability, and perceived quality it offered. Add in a 100-day, full-refund trial period, and the brand became irresistible. Reported earnings in year one landed around $100M.
But even though consumers were loving Casper's products sight unseen, the company knew there was value in try-before-you-buy. In 2016, Casper and West Elm launched a year-long exclusive partnership that gave customers the opportunity to test and purchase Casper's mattress at any of West Elm's 70-plus locations nationwide.
Both brands quickly learned the value of the pairing. The millennial-leaning home furnishings brand was selling everything but mattresses, so providing an improved, holistic retail experience for new and existing customers was an easy call. Meanwhile, Casper was able to give consumers an effective way to test their product without compromising value or investing in a brick-and-mortar of their own. This strategy became a blueprint for success both brands have continued to build on.
Which Strategy Wins?
In the end, both fiery conflict and friendly collaboration can give brands the fuel they need to gain market share, build brand equity, and increase sales. But brand wars or collabs simply for the sake of doing so guarantee nothing. In each success listed above, the brands that came out on top consistently demonstrated self-awareness. They knew who they were. They embraced it. Sometimes they took a disadvantage and flipped it into an underdog story. Other times they understood the limitations of their product or service and, rather than try to evolve in a way that was out of their lane, sought out a partner that could elevate their value proposition for them.
These companies, with a deep understanding of both their brand identity and their consumers' needs, delivered campaigns that drove impressive results. Knowing your brand is the first step to success, whether you're a lover or a fighter. Want help figuring out which strategy fits your brand? Contact us.
People Also Ask
Do brand rivalries actually increase sales?
They can. Pepsi's blind taste-test campaign and Avis's "We Try Harder" positioning both used direct comparison with a competitor to drive measurable gains in market share and profit.
What makes a brand collaboration successful?
Shared values and compatible audiences matter more than simply complementary products. Uber and Spotify succeeded because both brands were modern and tech-forward, not just because a ride and music happen to pair well.
Should a brand pick rivalry or collaboration as a strategy?
Neither approach works by default. The brands that win are the ones with clear self-awareness about their identity and their customers' needs, then choose the tactic that authentically fits that identity.
What's an example of a brand turning a weakness into a winning campaign?
Avis openly admitted it was the No. 2 rental car company and built the tagline "We try harder" around that fact, turning a competitive disadvantage into one of advertising's most iconic underdog campaigns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a brand war in marketing?
A brand war is a comparative marketing strategy where a company directly contrasts itself against a competitor, like Coke vs. Pepsi or Avis vs. Hertz, to win over consumers.
What is a brand collaboration?
A brand collaboration is a partnership between two non-competing companies, like Uber and Spotify or Casper and West Elm, that share resources and audiences to create a combined offering or campaign.
Which drives more ROI: brand wars or collaborations?
Both can drive strong ROI when executed with self-awareness. The deciding factor isn't the tactic itself, it's whether the strategy authentically fits the brand's identity and its customers' needs.
What's the biggest risk of running a comparative brand war campaign?
Comparing yourself to a competitor without a genuine, provable differentiator can come across as desperate rather than confident. The successful examples all backed the comparison with real proof or a clear, honest positioning.
Who can help decide between a rivalry or collaboration strategy for my brand?
A Little Bird helps brands build marketing strategies rooted in genuine brand identity, whether that means a competitive campaign or a co-branded partnership. Contact us to talk it through.