The underdog effect and social media

Beware, an underdog may bite: literature review and brand management framework in the context of underdog brands

“…The results show that underdog brands are described as smaller, less powerful and with fewer resources (Hoch and Deighton 1989;McGinnis and Gentry 2009;Sidali and Hemmerling 2014;Sidali et al 2015;Anonymous 2014;Laybats and Tredinnick 2015); lesser known (Gnepa 1993); with less chance of success than the top dog (Baik and Shogren 1992;Wolburg 2003), but determined to succeed (Wolburg 2003;Paharia et al 2011) despite the disadvantage (McGinnis and Gentry 2009;Keinan et al 2010). In addition, underdog brands typically refer to their humble origins (Keinan et al 2010;Kim et al 2008).…”

“…Dimensions of underdogs and underdog brands Ceci and Kain (1982) Non-dominant brands Hoch and Deighton (1989) Weaker brands in terms of market share Smaller, less powerful brands with fewer resources Baik and Shogren (1992) Brands with a minor chance of success Gnepa (1993) Low market-share brands Lesser-known brands Wolburg (2003) Underdog brands are "small regional brands that struggle to compete against industry giants" and "fight to stay alive" (p.340) Parsons (2005) In a political context, the subjugated Vandello et al (2007) Disadvantaged individuals or groups who are expected to lose An underdog brand is a competitor with low likelihood of success Kim et al (2008) An underdog is a "loveable loser" (p. 2) Underdogs are people, animals or inanimate objects encountering difficulty competing against a better resourced opponent An underdog achieves success from modest origins McGinnis and Gentry (2009) A "non market-dominant entity" (p. 191) Brands that succeed despite disadvantage Mom-and-pop stores competing against huge discount stores All brands, excluding the limited number of market leaders or top dogs Keinan et al (2010) Underdogs are scrappy A brand referring to its humble beginnings A brand that highlights its small size compared to the top dog A brand that is small and new A brand competing against "powerhouses" (p. 32) A brand with a small marketing budget Paharia et al (2011) Underdog brands are of humble origins, had fewer resources and eventually succeeded due to their attributes of determination (a struggle) and passion Staton et al (2012) A weak brand Sidali and Hemmerling (2014) and Sidali et al (2015) Local unknown small-scale traditional specialties producers from humble beginnings and who struggle against stronger competitors Anonymous (2014) A small brand Fishman (2014) Has more limited budget than major competitors Laybats and Tredinnick (2015) Smaller organisation Jun et al (2015) Disadvantaged, but persistent Kao (2015) Grows from a modest beginning. It struggles to overcome the odds to succeed with determination against wellresourced opposition Angell et al (2016) Small company with less status than top dog McGinnis et al (2017) "Small locally owned businesses" (p. 563) trying to survive against dominant competitors with concentrated power in a globalised world McGinnis et al (2019) "Overcoming obstacles" (p. 419) and "the working man's voice" (p. 429) of segmentation (To...…”

“…The biographies should include the brand's humble beginnings, the disadvantages that the brand had to contend with as well as references to the passion and determination required (Paharia et al 2011;Staton et al 2012;Sidali and Hemmerling 2014;Sidali et al 2015;Angell et al 2016;McGinnis et al 2017). In addition to underdog biographies, social media (Laybats and Tredinnick 2015) and traditional advertising (Jun et al 2015) can also be used to 'Position' the underdog.…”

Gelenekselden Dijitale Medya ve Demokrasi: Süreçler- Sorunlar- Etkiler

“…Bunun iyi bir örneği olarak Britanya'da 2015-2020 yılları arasında İş Partisi lideri olarak görev yapmış olan Jeremy Corbryn gösterilmektedir. Giyim tarzındaki pejmürdelikle alternatif siyaseti birleştirerek saldırılması zor bir imaj yarattığı (Laybats & Tredinnick, 2017) iddia edilmektedir. Ancak underdog özelliğinin sadece bir pazarlama stratejisi olması durumunda, yine dijital medya olanaklarının kazandırdığı alternatif bilgi kaynakları ile ortaya çıkacak bir resim ya da görüntü ile bu stratejinin tamamen tersine oy kaybettiren bir etkiye dönüşmesi de söz konusu olabilir.…”