New Balance.

Your brand can stand for two things at once

That’s where the challenger brand opportunity is

When determining brand positioning, a typical step is narrowing the brand’s focus. What is the one thing our brand stands for?

This focus helps align marketing efforts and build consistent brand identity. Volvo is known for safety. Coca-Cola means Happiness. Nike? Athletic performance. Walmart? Affordability.

Singular focus works well when you are the category leader or creator. But as a challenger brand hoping to compete with established leaders, owning a blend of multiple associations may be smarter.

Take sportswear.

Instead of competing directly with Nike on athletic performance, New Balance is experiencing a surge via a strategy that combines two ideas: sports-meets-culture.

Their ‘Runners Aren’t Normal’ campaign features multi-hyphenate celebrities and calls out talent’s athleticism and their personalities — celebrating their sport and their lives outside of it. Product collaborations with Kith and Salehe Bembury, plus hiring Aime Leon Dore’s Teddy Santis as Creative Director demonstrate a brand with a foothold in both culture and athletics with releases of style-forward and technically powerful products. For example, the KAWHI IV was created to…