Being a Challenger Is for Life, Not Just for April

There’s an old adage: a dog is for life, not just for Christmas. Well, the same could be said for challenger behaviour. Just swap the tinsel for TikToks and the chew toys for cheeky billboards.

Last week’s April Fool’s Day saw the usual rush of brands letting their hair down. Some, like Walkers’ colour swap prank were brilliant — timely, insightful and on-brand. Others…. Less so.

But here’s the thing: why save all that creative spark for one day a year?

Because being a challenger isn’t an outfit you wear on special occasions. It’s a mindset. And the most interesting brands know that.

So let’s examine three common misconceptions about challenger brands that might be stopping your brand from being relevant in more than just the month of April…

Misconception 1: Being a Challenger is Anarchic

For many, the words "challenger brand" conjures up images of BrewDog-style 'willing to be sued’ risk-taking or Paddy Power’s boundary-pushing antics. And sure, that’s one version of it. But acting like a challenger doesn’t have to mean courting controversy.

You can challenge conventions without being confrontational.

Look at Yorkshire Tea. They’re not picking fights—they’re just consistently, unapologetically themselves, whether that’s defending proper brews on Twitter or releasing cringey (but catchy) music videos about taking your tea bags on holiday. Or Curry’s-owned iD Mobile, who have used football’s transfer deadline day as an opportunity to playfully hero those who have switched to their network.

Misconception 2: Challenger Brands Are “Born That Way”

Some brands are challengers to their core, in the way that they were built, go to market or operate —Tony’s Chocolonely, Dollar Shave Club, OLIO, Timpson. They were built in a fundamentally different way. But you don’t need a rebellious origin story to act like a challenger.

Specsavers has been trading on British wit and creative confidence for years, despite arguably selling a very similar proposition to other highstreet retailers. They punch above their weight not because their lenses are made with recycled materials, or because they are solving a planetary concern, but because their ideas are consistently sharp, witty and culturally relevant. Or look at how established beer brand Asahi launched their training kit partnership with Manchester City, utilising AR technology to redefine the meaning of a training kit.

These are everyday brands making unexpected moves. That’s challenger thinking.

Misconception 3: If It’s Not Viral, It Doesn’t Count

Sure, the gravitational centre of challenger behaviour must be consumer social media platforms, right?. The likes of Liquid Death, Skittles, Duolingo and Oreo have mastered the art of social-first weirdness. But the idea that challenger behaviour only lives on TikTok is... well, limiting.

Surreal’s move to LinkedIn was a stroke of genius. Who knew breakfast cereal could deliver punchlines in PowerPoint land? Meanwhile, Oatly is proving that smart partnerships—like theircollab with online oddball media platform ‘Sylvanian Drama’—can generate more buzz than a thousand meme templates. Or take Everlast’s long-form content series ‘Coached’ which tackled misconceptions and barriers for budding female boxers, showing that achieving buzz and column inches can be achieved with longer form attention, as well as the short-lived doses of virality served up in TikTok, Instagram and X.

You don’t need a war room and a trending hashtag to act like a challenger. You just need an idea—and a clear sense of how it could connect with people.

In summary - YOU can do it too.

Being a challenger isn’t just about being loud, brash, or irreverent (though that can work, too). It’s about acting differently—consistently—in service of your brand’s truth. It’s not a costume for April 1st. It’s a habit. A way of showing up in the world that makes people stop, smile, and maybe, just maybe, choose you over the bigger, louder players. At Trouble Maker we run Challenger Mapping and “So What?” workshops with our clients to find their challenger opportunities - taking the time to work through this process strategically and systematically is hugely valuable.

So by all means, enjoy April. Let the hair down. Post the prank. But come May... keep going.