Marketing Rivalries

Marketing rivalries

Gale-force winds of competition has been lashing in every industry. Brands find it tough, and challenging to take on opponents, whose ambitions, strategies, weaknesses, and even strengths resemble their own. But even after such difficulties, Coke duels Pepsi, Procter & Gamble takes on Unilever, Caterpillar clashes with Komatsu, Amazon spars with eBay, Tweedledum fights Tweedledee.

There was a time when Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant to prove the danger of a competitor’s technology. Who can forget Nike desperate for an advantage over surging Reebok, signed a college hoops player named Michael Jordon and the rest that followed is they say is history.

Rivalries make great stories and become portraits of brilliance, nobility, mendacity, victory and failure. Of course the consumer reigns supreme here and he is the king whose attention is vied upon. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates ended up selling only a few competing products, yet contended for 35 years to impose radically different visions of computing.

Global economy that can’t function without air travel, is faster and better because Airbus and Boeing have been at loggerheads every day for the past 40 years.

What comes across most strongly in these stories is conflicts that sheer human intensity to outdo each other. Coke and Pepsi have been fighting it out for years, ironically for the same type of sugar-water. Their rivalry is legendary and has divided stadiums, supermarkets, superstars and sportspersons.

In the recent times the quick serve restaurants industry, no two brands have waged war over customer loyalty as publicly as McDonalds and Burger king. They have been battling over our stomach since donkey’s years for territory and franchises. To belittle McDonalds, Burger king launched an advertisement which showed Ronald (McDonalds’ mascot) buying his burger from Burger king.

Known to all, is the