Dogecoin. Player 456 in Squid Game. Unseeded Emma Raducanu. That boat from the Suez Canal. All stories where we quickly and passionately root for the underdog. A "dark horse" character makes for a good story, but how do they succeed in the marketplace? We partnered with Sympler to explore the meaning of "underdog" to Gen Z consumers to find insights on how brands can leverage social media to speak Zoomer. Sympler is a qualitative research startup. I like to describe it as online focus groups. They slide into peoples' DMs to get intimate responses at the scale of Facebook bots.
We wanted to know:
What is the appeal of the underdog?
What type of language do consumers use when discussing the underdog?
How should an underdog brand behave?
Far and away those researched saw underdogs in a highly favorable light. They saw the underdogs as harder workers, and had more delight in their success. But most significant, however, was that each survey participant saw an underdog in themselves.
Regardless of gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any of the other multitude of factors that differentiate us, each person saw themselves as up against the odds.
But when Zoomers shop, are they looking to see that aspect of themselves in a brand?
We interviewed members of Gen Z like Patrick K and Abby C.
"We see ourselves as the underdog. There's always going to be someone on top and its always beyond our grasp due to economics, race, birth parents, opportunity etc." - Patrick K
"A lot of people feel like they themselves are underdogs so when they root for an underdog they're really kind of rooting for themselves and they want to see that's it's possible for an underdog to succeed" - Abby C
From there we went even deeper with people like Ben F, on what it means to be an underdog. Here's how the conversation went:
Q: Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. How are you an underdog?
Ben F.: When I played football I was undersized for my position. But my competitive spirt won me the starting job
Q: The world seems to get excited about the underdog. What do you think the appeal is?
Ben F: The underdog represents the little guy. It represents the average Joe stickin it to the man
Q: Send me a gif, meme, or image that shows what "understated" looks like.
Ben F: The gif shows Nate Robinson, a basketball player dunking. The reason why it represents understated to me is because Nate Robinson is only 5'9. And it's impressive that he's in the NBA let alone dunking.
Universal Appeal
There's a universal appeal to the underdog. No one is at the top of every hierarchy. There's a sense that the underdog's victory is more exciting because they've worked harder to achieve it, and it's unexpected.
We exercised this theory and explored it through the lens of Saucony, whose deep roots in workmanship and high quality products set excellent groundwork for selling to Gen Z. Not traditionally seen as a top dog like Nike or Adidas, Saucony is a natural underdog. When interviewed, Gen Z's agreed heavily with this sentiment, one saying "Saucony isn't huge like Adidas or Nike but they consistently put out good shoes. They might not be the front runner, but you know no matter what place they're finishing in they're finishing strong".
Underdog identity is bigger than athletics
The idea of using underdog status as a marketing tool isn't only limited to companies in specific verticals or whom are facing major incumbents. Large industry players like Nike and Apple strategically use underdogs or black sheep to propel their brand forward. In Apple's famous "1984" commercial for their Macintosh Computer, the heroine single handedly takes on her oppressive society, barely outrunning guards to physically break her peers from their trance. The advertisement received global accolades, and $3.5 Million worth of Macintoshes were sold immediately after "1984" ran. In Nike's iconic 1997 "Failure" ad for their Air Jordan brand, Michael Jordan recounts a lengthy list of his failures, ending with "I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed". Despite their massive stature, an underdog persona allows these companies to get closer to (and ultimately sell to) their customers because, in the words of a Zoomer, "it is easier to see oneself as an underdog in our own stories so they are just more relatable and appealing...".
For a smaller DTC brand or company, the underdog identity can come naturally. Often facing steep competition, DTC companies fight the odds at every turn. One person interviewed, when asked why underdogs make people excited, said "I think the appeal is that someone who isn't necessarily the best or the first choice is able to take over the odds. It is something a lot of people can relate to, they want to believe they are also an underdog of their story and will be able to turn it around for themselves, they project this desire onto the underdog character".
And while no customer wants to hop on a sinking ship, a company's artful display of both triumphs and hardships conveys a sense of authenticity that can't be bought and builds brand trust - an incredibly valuable asset that can serve as long term moat to drive loyalty.
Tapping into underdog mentality
It can be very useful to reverse engineer your customer base by understand how they truly view themselves. We found many underdog types through our research.
Societal Underdogs: their identity makes them an underdog:
"I'm small and also female, so no one expects the quiet girl in the back to have all the ideas." - Aika W.
"I am wiccan, and I am apart of the LGBTQ+ community. I live in a very religious area which makes it harder to be myself, and be safe." - Rilee D
Outcast Underdogs: they struggle to fit in.
"I feel that I am an underdog in the way that I have always been an unconventional personality, I was always the "weird" kid. But since i've been doing what i've been doing, I've been able to find people and a community that finds my oddity a strength rather than a weakness." - Ilana B
Working-class Underdogs: overworked underdogs trying to get by.
"I'm an older person in world where employers typically want younger workers" - Paul M
"People like me don't get into the work I'm trying to do very often. I don't come from a super connected family or have a legacy of scholars or skilled laborers in my family." - Omar E
Student Underdogs: young and hard working, embrace failure.
"I am an underdog for a few different reasons. Even if I am below my classmates as a letter grade for a class I work hard to get to the top. If I have an idea, I get out and persuade people and show them what I know, versus most people would just wait until their idea was known. " - Nick S
The Underdog Rules:
Build Up Others
Inspire Collective Efforts
Service über alles
Therein lies the opportunity for brands. In today's love affair with social media, where many feel the need to post lavish vacations and fancy cars, it's easy for businesses to believe that a flashy, "All I Do Is Win" attitude will take them far. But customers want authenticity and genuineness; no one likes or sees themselves in a braggart. When everyone sees themselves in the underdog, positioning your brand as one helps you relate to your customer.