Competitive Intelligence Case Study

Beating a Competitor’s Marketing Plans

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Our client needed to understand a competitor’s marketing spend and strategy

In the cutthroat world of regional media, our client, a prominent media company, found themselves in a challenging position. Despite their best efforts, they were steadily losing market share to a key competitor. The competitor's advertising campaigns seemed to strike a chord with the target audience, leaving our client struggling to understand how they could regain their foothold in the industry. Determined to unlock the secrets behind their competitor's success, our client turned to Aqute to deliver competitive intelligence, map the competitive landscape and extract competitor insights with which our client could make informed decisions.

Piecing together the puzzle

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Aqute started an extensive process of corporate intelligence across a range of primary competitive intel sources. Aqute was able to gather invaluable competitor insights about the competitor's marketing spend across multiple channels. These discussions allowed Aqute to unravel the decision-making processes behind the competitor's campaigns and ascertain the specific allocation of marketing budget - competitor intelligence that our client used to make strategic decisions about their own spend allocation.

This competitive analysis went beyond mere numbers, with Aqute providing deeper understanding of the competitor's messaging strategies on each channel. By exploring the motivations behind their messaging choices, Aqute was able to extract key insights into the competitor's selling proposition and unveil the channels that resonated most with their target audience, including a review of customer needs. This competitive insight, including customer insights, became a vital tool for our client as they sought to bridge the gap and regain their competitive advantage.

Recognizing the growing influence of digital platforms, Aqute delved into the key competitor's social media. Analyzing the evolution of their messaging on social channels over the previous two years showed how the competitor responded to market trends. This competitor intelligence research provided a wealth of information on how the competitor's messaging had evolved over time, potentially impacting their engagement with advertisers.

Aqute deciphered the competitor's approach to content creation, examining the impact of various content formats such as videos, interactive posts, and thought leadership articles. By studying audience responses to different types of content, Aqute delivered valuable insight into the competitor's digital marketing strategies. This comprehensive understanding of the competitor's social media presence armed our client with the actionable insights needed to adapt and enhance their own digital marketing endeavors, ensuring they stayed ahead in an ever-evolving landscape.

Competitive intelligence services delivered

360-degree research

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The client understood that unraveling a competitor's marketing strategy required a panoramic view. Complementing the internal research, Aqute sought out the perspectives of media agencies and publishers who had collaborated closely with the competitor. By fostering collaborative conversations with over twenty publishers, Aqute gained access to a wealth of information on the competitor's pricing strategy, typical budgets allocated to specific channels and customer satisfaction among advertisers.

The insights gleaned from these conversations provided a holistic perspective on the competitor's overall marketing strategy. Aqute used this information to build a comprehensive model, uncovering hidden patterns and shedding light on the competitor's spending habits. Armed with a nuanced understanding of their rival's marketing approach, our client was poised to create a sophisticated strategy that would help them reclaim their market share.

Reclaiming market share through strategic reallocation

Equipped with Aqute's competitive intelligence research, our client seized the opportunity to strategically reallocate their marketing spend. They wasted no time in putting Aqute's insights into action, reviewing and fine-tuning their marketing mix across various channels. Recognizing the need to defend against the competitor's own advertising campaigns to its business customers, our client adopted a proactive stance. They strategically booked advertising placements on the channels where the rival had the most significant impact, ensuring their own visibility and limiting the competitor's potential reach, and tuning their campaigns to market trends.

Armed with the insights gained through Aqute's market research, our client explored new marketing channels where the competitor was notably absent. By expanding their reach into uncharted territory, our client aimed to capture the attention of potential customers who had not yet been exposed to the competitor's offerings. This strategic expansion allowed our client to leverage their unique value proposition and differentiate themselves from the competition.

Through a combination of channel optimization and strategic reallocation, our client successfully positioned themselves against their rival in a more targeted and compelling manner. Insights from the business intelligence that Aqute delivered, empowered our client to make calculated decisions about their marketing channels, ensuring that their messaging reached the right audience at the right time. As a direct result, our client witnessed a resurgence in their market share, solidifying their position as a dominant player in the industry.

By partnering with Aqute for a comprehensive competitive intelligence analysis, our client gained deep insights into their competitor's service offering, pricing strategy and marketing plans. Through engaging conversations, in-depth social media analysis, and collaborations with media agencies and publishers, Aqute provided our client with the market intelligence needed to decipher their rival's strategy. Armed with this knowledge, our client was able to make informed decisions, adapt their marketing approaches, and regain a competitive edge. In this competitive intelligence case study, Aqute's commitment to unraveling the complexities of competitive intelligence allowed our client to chart a successful path forward, ensuring their sustained growth and relevance in the market.