{"id":7370,"date":"2026-03-19T12:47:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bprworld.com\/?p=7370"},"modified":"2026-03-19T12:47:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:47:57","slug":"how-to-attack-the-market-when-youre-new-or-newly-reborn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/news\/how-to-attack-the-market-when-youre-new-or-newly-reborn\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Attack the Market When You\u2019re New (or Newly Reborn)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Kidd, BPR<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Launching a new radio station or radically reinventing an existing one is not a gentle exercise. You\u2019re not entering the market to be \u201cnoticed\u201d. You\u2019re entering to\u00a0disrupt habits. And habits, as we know, are far more stubborn than opinions.<\/p>\n

Most failed launches make the same mistake: they behave like they\u2019re asking for permission.<\/p>\n

Successful launches behave like they\u2019re\u00a0taking territory.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t Sell the Station. Sell the Problem You Solve.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Listeners don\u2019t wake up thinking, \u201cI need a new radio station.\u201d They wake up thinking, \u201cI\u2019m bored of this,\u201d \u201cNothing here fits me,\u201d or \u201cWhy does this all sound the same?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Your job is not to describe your format.
    \nYour job is to\u00a0frame the enemy: what\u2019s wrong, tired, predictable or broken in the current market and position yourself as the solution.<\/p>\n

    Every great launch is a protest movement before it\u2019s a product.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Choose a Very Clear Line in the Sand<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      If you\u2019re for everyone, you\u2019re for no one.
      \nNew or reborn stations must\u00a0polarise\u00a0a little. That doesn\u2019t mean being silly or offensive \u2014 it means being\u00a0distinct.<\/p>\n

      What do you do that no one else does?<\/p>\n

      What do you\u00a0not\u00a0do that everyone else does?<\/p>\n

      What kind of listener will love you \u2014 and which ones definitely won\u2019t?<\/p>\n

      Remember the early 90s and what Guy Zapoleon referred to as the Doldrums in his brilliant music cycles theory? \u201cNo Rap, No Hard Rock\u201d drew a line in the sand for Soft AC\u2019s in that era of Urban and Alt Rock\u2026..successfully.<\/p>\n

      Clarity beats cleverness every time.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Win One Beachhead Before You Invade the Continent<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Don\u2019t try to win the whole market at once. Pick a\u00a0winnable, identifiable audience segment\u00a0and obsess over them.<\/p>\n

        If you can become\u00a0essential\u00a0to 10\u201315% of the market, growth becomes much easier. If you try to be vaguely liked by 100%, you\u2019ll be passionately loved by nobody.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Over-Market It (Then Over-Market It Again)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Most stations dramatically under-invest in telling their story \u2014 especially after launch.<\/p>\n

          You should assume:<\/p>\n

          Nobody is paying attention<\/em><\/p>\n

          Nobody understands what you are<\/em><\/p>\n

          Nobody remembers your name<\/em><\/p>\n

          Fame is built through\u00a0repetition, not explanation.<\/em><\/p>\n

          And remember: internal boredom with your message is a sign it\u2019s\u00a0just\u00a0starting to cut through!<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Sound Like You Mean It<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Nothing kills a new format faster than\u00a0being tentative.<\/p>\n

            Your on-air product should sound like: \u201cWe\u2019re here. We\u2019re confident. And we\u2019re not going away.\u201d<\/p>\n

            Listeners can smell uncertainty.<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Measure Traction, Not Just Ratings<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              In the early phase, use internal strategic studies to determine:<\/p>\n

              Time Spent Listening growth<\/p>\n

              Passion and advocacy<\/p>\n

              Who is\u00a0switching\u00a0to you, not just how many<\/p>\n

              Improvements in key perceptions such as Best Music.<\/p>\n

              Key principles of playing the attack according to Ries and Trout include:<\/p>\n

               <\/p>\n

                \n
              1. The Core Strategy: Attack the Leader’s Strength<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Unlike military warfare where you might attack a weak point, in marketing, Ries and Trout argue that the main attack should be directed at the leader’s strength, but specifically where that strength is actually a vulnerability (the “weakness in the strength”).<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Find the Weakness:<\/strong>\u00a0Analyze the leader’s position to find a gap.<\/li>\n
                • Don’t Imitate:<\/strong>\u00a0Do not try to be “just like” the leader.<\/li>\n
                • Example:<\/strong> Avis did not try to be a better Hertz. Instead, they used “We try harder” to exploit the fact that the market leader (Hertz) had become complacent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                   <\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Key Tactics for the Attack<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                      \n
                    • Repositioning the Leader:<\/strong>\u00a0Change the perception of the leader in the consumer’s mind. A classic example is Scope positioning Listerine as having “medicine breath”.<\/li>\n
                    • Focus on a Single Feature:<\/strong>\u00a0Narrow the focus to one specific attribute that the leader lacks.<\/li>\n
                    • The “Against” Position:<\/strong>\u00a0Establish a position that is directly opposite to that of the leader.<\/li>\n
                    • Speed and Focus:<\/strong>\u00a0Because the attacker usually has fewer resources than the leader, they must concentrate their forces on a narrow front to break through.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                       <\/p>\n

                      Summary of Tactic:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

                      Ries and Trout highlight that successful attackers often win by using the leader’s own strength against them, forcing the leader to change or lose market share.<\/p>\n

                      In short:
                      \nSuccessful launches don\u2019t politely join the market.
                      \nThey\u00a0pick a fight, define a cause and recruit fans.<\/p>\n

                      Everything else is just a frequency change.<\/p>\n

                       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      By David Kidd, BPR Launching a new radio station or radically reinventing an existing one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","category-featured"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bprworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-andrew-2312369-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7370"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7374,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7370\/revisions\/7374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}