Every agency says it helps challenger brands. Bob Froese has spent three decades proving most of them can’t. As Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Toronto-based Bob’s Your Uncle, Froese helped launch Mike’s Hard Lemonade across North America, scaled Popeyes from 20 restaurants into a national force and repositioned Gardein in the middle of the plant-based wars. The common thread: none of those wins came from better creative. They came from irreversible strategic choices that cost each brand something significant—and gave them something bigger in return.
In a conversation with Stephanie Crockett, President and CEO of Mower, Froese unpacked the playbook—and dismantled some of the industry’s most comfortable assumptions about what challenger branding means.
Challenger brand energy is the wrong idea
Froese’s first point landed hard: the industry has commoditized the challenger brand label into something it was never meant to be. “It’s not about energy, it’s not about chaos, and it’s not about passion,” he says. “Category leaders are created by brands that make irreversible strategic choices. Creative execution makes those choices visible. It doesn’t create them.”
The best challenger brands Froese has worked with weren’t loud. They were calm, deliberate and willing to make decisions that scared everyone in the room.
Three moves that change categories
Froese breaks category transformation into three strategic moves: redefine the enemy—shift who consumers are choosing against. Claim an asymmetric truth—something competitors can’t copy without breaking themselves. And make a costly choice—give up something big to win something bigger.
That last one is where brands stall. “They have so many attributes, they believe they will appeal to so many people,” Froese says. “To become a leader, you have to shed some of that. You have to deliberately give something up.”
The campaigns that proved it
Mike’s Hard Lemonade launched with a 70% female skew—and walked away from it. The early creative contained zero product shots. No pour. No bottle. Just a personality-driven campaign designed to feel nothing like beer at a time when beer dominated the category. “We knew every major spirit and beer brand in the world was going to come after them,” Froese says. “We fought tooth and nail to do something forever iconic.” Hundreds of competitors entered with identical products. None unseated Mike’s.
Popeyes didn’t fight on better chicken. It fought on culture—unapologetic flavor and Louisiana soul—claiming a product truth no other QSR brand could touch. Gardein chose the opposite lane from every plant-based competitor shouting about why meat was the enemy. Its asymmetric truth: eat less meat, not no meat. The campaign targeted flexitarians through a flirtatious “date a vegetable” concept and gave up vegans and vegetarians entirely.
How to know you’re ready
Not every brand is a challenger brand—and Froese says the biggest lie agencies tell is letting clients believe they are when they’re not. The real signals: a plateau in growth (not a collapse), and a gap between product truth and brand truth. He draws a sharp line between brands that need better creative and brands that need transformation. “If the problem is confusion about what the brand stands for, creativity can be a great fix. If the problem is relevance, something more transformational is needed.”
What are you prepared to give up?
Crockett asked Froese the closing question: if a CMO is deciding between better creative and category transformation, what’s the one question that reveals the path? Froese didn’t hesitate. “What are you prepared to give up?” Then he added: “Ask that question and say nothing else.”
It’s the question that separates brands playing at challenger status from brands building something that lasts. And it’s the question most agencies are afraid to ask—because the answer might mean less work, not more.
Learn more
Bob’s Your Uncle
Bob Froese LinkedIn
Bob’s Your Uncle LinkedIn
Mower
Stephanie Crockett LinkedIn
Contact: bo*@*******cy.com
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