Have you read our recent whitepaper on Microcultures? Check it out here

Don't challenge the market, change it.

We are a marketing consultancy for challengers.
We believe incumbent best practices lead to average results.
We use a challenger marketing playbook that delivers outsized impact.

We work with brands who want to punch above their weight.

Reebok
Q2
Bud
Nascar
Omnipresent
Old Mutual
Unilever
RTGS Global
Avery Dennison
Clair
Kinetica
Robinsons Land Corp
Autobooks
Green Aware
Attest
Boyne Valley Group
WPA Insurance
Brillo
Wamo
Matches Fashion
Jumeirah
Activision
Texas Roadhouse
Reebok
Q2
Bud
Nascar
Omnipresent
Old Mutual
Unilever
RTGS Global
Avery Dennison
Clair
Kinetica
Robinsons Land Corp
Autobooks
Green Aware
Attest
Boyne Valley Group
WPA Insurance
Brillo
Wamo
Matches Fashion
Jumeirah
Activision
Texas Roadhouse
Reebok
Q2
Bud
Nascar
Omnipresent
Old Mutual
Unilever
RTGS Global
Avery Dennison
Clair
Kinetica
Robinsons Land Corp
Autobooks
Green Aware
Attest
Boyne Valley Group
WPA Insurance
Brillo
Wamo
Matches Fashion
Jumeirah
Activision
Texas Roadhouse
Reebok
Q2
Bud
Nascar
Omnipresent
Old Mutual
Unilever
RTGS Global
Avery Dennison
Clair
Kinetica
Robinsons Land Corp
Autobooks
Green Aware
Attest
Boyne Valley Group
WPA Insurance
Brillo
Wamo
Matches Fashion
Jumeirah
Activision
Texas Roadhouse
Reebok
Q2
Bud
Nascar
Omnipresent
Old Mutual
Unilever
RTGS Global
Avery Dennison
Clair
Kinetica
Robinsons Land Corp
Autobooks
Green Aware
Attest
Boyne Valley Group
WPA Insurance
Brillo
Wamo
Matches Fashion
Jumeirah
Activision
Texas Roadhouse
Reebok
Q2
Bud
Nascar
Omnipresent
Old Mutual
Unilever
RTGS Global
Avery Dennison
Clair
Kinetica
Robinsons Land Corp
Autobooks
Green Aware
Attest
Boyne Valley Group
WPA Insurance
Brillo
Wamo
Matches Fashion
Jumeirah
Activision
Texas Roadhouse

We build brands that break through in a crowded market.

Our BrandOS framework creates the foundation for challenger growth by developing a brand that's relevant, authentic, and differentiated in the market.

We develop the strategies and systems to drive effective and efficient growth.

Our Go-to-Market planning process combines strong marketing fundamentals with challenger principles and practices to build a powerful growth machine.

We utilize cutting-edge technology to deliver best-in-class performance.

AI exploded onto the marketing landscape in 2023. But success in paid media has relied on mastery of machine learning & AI for years. Today’s performance imperative is to train, bound, and deploy machine learning in many different contexts with your highly curated data - with a strong strategic approach underpinning your tactical choices.

We design strategies and roadmaps for leading data management and martech adoption.

The risks and opportunities with first-party data are as big as they have ever been. There’s a huge opportunity to develop a competitive advantage in data and martech, but you need the right strategy, tech stack, and skill set within your team. The fastest growing area of our consulting practice helps businesses understand where the gaps are in their current data and martech capabilities and develop a roadmap to become best-in-class.

We develop campaigns and experiences that stand out and earn attention.

Our in-house team combines the creativity of a creative agency with the practicality of a production company to drive efficiency and accountability from strategy to execution. To us, this is the new “traditional agency” model.

Recent work

We worked with leading insurance company in Africa, Old Mutual, to develop a greenfield product by developing the brand positioning, architecture and name based on audience research and value proposition.

Developing a greenfield challenger brand for a leading incumbent

Brand Development

We worked with the CEO, COO, and Head of Marketing at RTGS.Global to develop a brand positioning and architecture that would clearly communicate the functional and emotional benefit of the proposition. As a challenger in the wholesale, cross-border settlement space, we needed to build trust as well as excitement.

Building a simple, clear brand position for a complex product

Brand Development

We worked with the CMO of Autobooks to support annual planning for owned, paid, and earned channels leading up to Series C funding. We also trained the team on paid media planning and execution that led to a significant increase in conversion rates.

Building a company and community around a B2B brand

Go-to-Market Strategy

Testimonials

What our partners say about working with us...
A shape from the Rival logo

"This is the testimonial content. It looks like this. You won't see it here but it is pulling from the CMS and will show on the published site."

Name Surname
Name Surname

"In an industry where brand is king, Rival helped us clearly define our brand strategy to challenge the sportswear industry. Rival was able to cut through the complexity of our business to help us transform our brand and culture for sustainable future growth."

Connor Altier
Global Brand Strategy Lead, Reebok

“Rival has a super power…their ability to draw relevant, differentiated insights out of research and then develop unique messaging that resonates and cuts through is second to none.”

Matt Webster
VP Marketing, Activision (Call of Duty Franchise)

“Working with Rival has fundamentally changed the way I think about brand. The work they’ve done has given us the foundation for how we want to grow and build this bank.”

Royden Volans
COO, Old Mutual

“Rival is impressive top to bottom. The full team was invested and engaged in the success of the project. The acumen and expertise they provide is unmatched. Not only are they on the cutting edge of media world and brand strategy, but they are also a joy to work with."

Jonny Ola
Managing Director, Q2 Innovation Studio

“Rival are head and shoulders above every other agency we’ve ever worked with.”

Justin Brady
CEO (USA), Duckfeet

The latest ideas and insights on challenger marketing.

Visit our Content Hub to view all our resources and research.

Podcasts

Cerulean Episode 2 - Deep Dive: Posh Pet Parents

Cerulean Episode 2 - Deep Dive: Posh Pet Parents

Read More
Podcasts

Cerulean Episode 3 - Deep Dive: Dark Academia & Spicy Lit

Cerulean Episode 3 - Deep Dive: Dark Academia & Spicy Lit

Read More
Articles

Moving from Monoculture to Microcultures: Why Brands Are Falling Behind

Moving from Monoculture to Microcultures: Why Brands Are Falling Behind

Read More

Breakthrough ideas and insights from challenger brands, straight to your inbox

Join over 5,300 marketing leaders from Google, F1, Monzo, and more. ideas and insights from challenger brands, straight to your inbox

face of a womanface of a manface of a womanface of a womanface of a manface of a womanface of a womanface of a manface of a womanface of a woman
By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.