WHAT IS RIVAL 50?
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We're standing on the precipice of the most disruptive era of marketing as we know it. Competing in an age of overwhelming noise where consumers are exposed to roughly between 4,000 and 10,000 ads per day, but still struggle to recall the brands they interact with daily.
In a landscape this loud, marketing that has an impact can feel like a pipe dream. With the same players dominating every ranking and the same strategies recycled year after yearâŚwhere do you even start?
Thatâs why we created the Rival 50.
Each year, we spotlight 50 global brands rewriting the rules of modern marketing. Brands proving that progress isnât reserved for the biggest players, but for the boldest thinkers. And this yearâs Rival 50 marks a new historic milestone. In collaboration with Imperial College Business School, London, Rival conducted one of the most comprehensive analyses of challenger behavior to date. Four years in the making and over 10,000 hours of conversations with challenger brands, we have created the worldâs first data-driven framework for identifying the brands brave enough to challenge convention.
This report helps marketers navigate a world where differentiation is fleeting and creativity remains the last unfair advantage. The Rival 50 unpacks the behaviors, strategies, and cultural cues shaping how brands grow today.
After all, the future wonât be led by the biggest brands.
It will be built by the boldest ones.
Wait...What is a Challenger Brand?
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At Rival, we define a challenger brand as a brand whose marketing strategy and tactics successfully challenge the conventions of their category in a way that engineers an outsized impact on their growth.
ok...How do IÂ use this report?
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The Rival 50 is built specifically to serve as a playbook for CMOs, marketing leaders, brand builders and founders who are building blue chips or the next-generation of challenger brands.
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Whilst this is a brand index, the hope is that you can utilise the key takeaways and insights and apply it as a strategic lens to your marketing function and what you're building.
How We built the rival 50
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The Rival 50 began with a global call for nominations â inviting CMOs, founders, and marketers to spotlight brands redefining what it means to challenge convention, move culture, and punch above their weight.
Partnering with Imperial College Business School, we applied a rigorous, data-led evaluation across three pillars: Differentiation, Relevance, and Talkability. Each brand was analyzed using social, digital, and media data â and assessed by a panel of experts including Fernando Machado, Dean AragĂłn, and Kristen Cavallo.
Our scoring model blends analytical rigor with creative judgment. The result: a data-led Challenger Index combining analytical rigor and creative judgment to define how todayâs most progressive brands challenge the norms of modern marketing.
Meet the judges
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Dean AragĂłn
(CEO of Shell Brands)
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Dean AragĂłn, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Shell Brands International and one of the most experienced global marketing leaders. With career that spans more than three decades building successful B2B and B2C brands from Tokyo to London, he is one of the most reputable marketers of our time. AragĂłn is also the current Chair of the Board for the Association of National Advertisers.
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Kristen Cavallo
(Former CEO of MullenLowe Group)
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Kristen Cavallo is a globally respected leader in branding and advertising, known for her bold ideas, transformative leadership, and commitment to equity and creativity. As Global CEO of both MullenLowe Group and The Martin Agency, Kristen guided teams across the world to develop work that was not only memorable but profoundly effective, earning recognition on every major industry stage. After three decades as a strategist and C-suite leader, Kristen transitioned from the advertising industry to the non-profit world, taking on the role of Executive Director of The Branch Museum of Design. There, she continues to champion the power of design and creativity as forces for social good.
Fernando Machado (Former CMO of Burger King)
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Fernando Machado is a globally recognized marketer known for his bold creativity, strategic vision, and passion for building brands that make an impact. As former Global Chief Marketing Officer at Restaurant Brands International (RBI), he oversaw some of the worldâs most iconic restaurant brands, namely, Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons.
Under Fernandoâs leadership, Burger King became a global creative powerhouseâearning Client of the Year at D&AD, Creative Marketer of the Year at Cannes Lions, and Advertiser of the Year at the Clio Awards. He led some of the industryâs most talked-about campaigns, including âProud Whopper,â âMcWhopper,â âWhopper Detour,â and the iconic âMoldy Whopper.â Each exemplified his belief that courageous ideas can build brands and shift culture.
Before joining RBI, Fernando spent 18 years at Unilever, rising from intern to senior leader across multiple global brands. At Dove, he helped create the groundbreaking âReal Beauty Sketchesâ campaign, which won the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and became one of the most celebrated examples of purpose-driven marketing.
A note from Rival's CEO
Rivalâs mission from day one has been to document the playbook of successful challenger brands. To uncover what enables the Davids taking on the Goliaths to punch above their weight, to seem bigger and grow faster than their competitors, and ultimately to do more with less (budget, resource, etc) in their approach to and investments in marketing.
The Rival 50 is an idea many years in the making. How can we take everything weâve learned, every brand weâve discovered, every conversation weâve had, and identify the few things that really seem to matter most in driving growth? What are the red threads that apply across categories, markets, and audiences that are the true pillars of bringing a successful challenger brand? Can we distill those pillars down into a formula for what drives challenger growth in a way that anyone can take and apply to their own business?
Our hope, with the Rival 50 and with everything we do in our research, content, and events, is that this can add value to CMOs and growth leaders.
Thank you for your time in reading this report, and your support in furthering our mission. Weâd love to hear any feedback or suggestions you have for what can make the Rival 50 more valuable to you going forward. And if youâre interested in joining our mission, please join our community of 350+ challenger marketers sharing ideas, insights, learnings, and resources over on Rival Amp.
Eric Fulwiler
Co-Founder & CEO, Rival
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