Playbook: Challenger Brand Growth & Competitor Conquesting

Goal: find efficient entry points, win selective conquesting battles, and build momentum without lighting budget on fire.

Inputs (before conquesting)

Define your edge

Conquesting only works when you have a clear reason to switch: - Price advantage - Better ratings/reviews - Key feature differentiation - Better pack size/value

Competitive map

Identify top 2–3 direct competitors + flagship SKUs
Identify the category terms where they dominate

Toolkit: - Campaign Brief

Recommended approach (phased)

Step 1: Find “gap” keywords (cheap learning)

Run Sponsored Products (Auto) with low budget / conservative bids
Primary goal is the Search Term Report, not sales

Why: it’s cheaper to own uncontested terms than fight the most expensive ones.

Step 2: Selective conquesting on competitor terms

Build Sponsored Products (Manual) campaigns on competitor brand/SKU names
Only do this if the edge is obvious on the PDP (price/reviews/value prop)

Measurement focus: - CTR and CVR first; if CVR is weak, you are paying to lose

Step 3: Own competitor PDPs (most direct conquest)

Create a dedicated Sponsored Products campaign targeting only Buy Box + Carousel placements
Split by competitor so budgets don’t blur across targets

Reference: - Tactics & Ops

Step 4: Expand reach with Display prospecting

Use Onsite Display to reach shoppers likely to switch
Targeting starting points:
“Brand Prospects” for competitor brands
“Brand Switchers” for category shoppers without strong loyalty

Audience notes: - Start with Audience Selection - Use personas for prospecting scale: Persona Audiences

Budget + bid posture

Start small and earn the right to scale.
Separate budgets by competitor and by placement intent (search vs PDP conquest) so you can turn knobs cleanly.
Use budgeting guardrails in:
Budget & KPIs

Suggested tests

PDP conquest: Buy Box-only vs Buy Box + Carousel
Audience: Persona prospecting vs brand prospects/switchers

Template: - Experiment Plan

Common failure modes

Spending on competitor terms without differentiation → weak CVR, high CPC
Conquesting on search but losing on PDP (pricing/reviews/buy box instability)

Start here: - Performance Triage