What is your brand fighting against?

When I work with new clients, one of the first exercises I ask them to do is deceptively simple: answer the question, What is your brand fighting against?

It only takes a few minutes, but the impact is huge. It helps you cut through the clutter of ICPs, value props, and product specs, and forces you to see your brand from a fresh perspective.

Why “the fight” matters

Think about it: every great brand has an enemy. That enemy isn’t necessarily a competitor - it’s a force, an idea, or a behavior standing in the way of progress. When you identify that, your marketing becomes a lot clearer.

A few examples

Nike

Nike’s tagline, “Just Do It,” isn’t just about shoes. Nike fights against hesitation, procrastination, and self-doubt. Their mission is about courage and action. Look at their ads through that lens, and everything clicks.

Apple

Going back to the famous 1984 spot, Apple has always fought against conformity. They’ve also fought against complexity. Their entire brand is built around empowering individuals to be creative by making technology that “just works.”

Slack

Slack is on a mission to kill email. That’s their fight. They stand against disorder and bloated inboxes. Their enemy isn’t another chat app, it’s the inefficiency of email itself.

HubSpot

HubSpot fights against overly complex business tools. Their entire pitch is centered on user-friendliness and accessibility. Contrast that with Salesforce, which fights a different fight: non-robust tools. Salesforce is sprawling and powerful, but also requires specialists. Both have their place because they’re fighting different battles.

Liquid Death

Sure, they’re technically fighting thirst - but so is every water company. What makes them stand out is that they’ve identified a more unique enemy: boring. Everything about the brand, from their cans to their commercials, pushes back against dullness.

How to do it for your brand

Here’s the trick: don’t stop at the obvious. If you’re in cybersecurity, you can’t just say “we fight viruses.” Everyone says that. Dig deeper. Maybe your fight is against reactive virus detection.

Your fight doesn’t even need to be directly tied to your product. Liquid Death doesn’t “fight” hydration. They fight boring. That’s way more interesting, and more memorable.

What are you fighting against?

When you define what your brand is fighting against, everything else falls into place: your campaigns, your messaging, even your tone of voice. It’s a shortcut to clarity.

So ask yourself: What are we fighting against that no one else is? The answer could change how you see your brand, and how your customers see you.

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