I recall an anecdote from back in the days of Yellow Pages (YP) advertising. There was a pizza restaurant in New York City who ran a full-page ad encouraging customers to tear the adjacent full-page ad of their competitor out of the YP and bring it into the restaurant for a discount off their pizza purchase. An ingenious if insidious competitive move that not only advertised their promotion but removed their competitor’s ad from thousands of books around the city.
This tactic only lasted for one season. The Yellow Pages outlawed it almost immediately.
An early version of competitive conquesting, I’m sure.
In advertising and marketing, competitive conquesting is a strategy where a business targets its competitor’s customers by bidding on their branded keywords or appearing near their content in search results or other media. The goal is to intercept competitor customers at key decision points including search, shopping, or location-based moments to divert attention or sales to their own offering.
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A hypothetical example from retail would be:
- A new sushi place opens in downtown Keene and gets early buzz on Google Maps and Yelp.
- A nearby competing restaurant buys geo-targeted mobile ads that display when someone is near or inside the competitor’s location and promotes a “first roll free” offer in those ads.
- Additionally, the restaurant uses keywords like the competitor’s name on Google Ads.
The result is the competitor pulls foot traffic and search interest away from the new sushi place and into their own.
Channels often used for conquesting include Google Search Ads targeting competitor names; Display or mobile ads geofenced around competitor locations; and social media ads targeting competitor brand interests.
Here are some of the key tactics in competitive conquesting:
Targeting Competitors’ Customers: Instead of focusing solely on attracting customers who are already searching for the business’s own brand, conquesting targets those actively searching for or considering competitors.
Bidding on Competitor Keywords: This involves using a competitor’s brand name or related terms as keywords in online advertising campaigns.
Appearing Near Competitor Content: This involves placing ads adjacent to content about the competitor or targeting competitor product pages in online marketplaces like Amazon.
Stealing Market Share: The ultimate aim is to divert potential customers from competitors to the business engaging in the conquesting.
Why would a business use conquesting?
- Increased Visibility: Conquesting can help a business reach a wider audience, particularly those who may not be aware of their brand.
- High Intent Customers: Customers searching for competitor brands are often closer to making a purchase, indicating a higher level of intent.
- Cost-Effectiveness: While it can be expensive, conquesting can be cost effective if done strategically, as it targets users who are already interested in the product category.
There are also several important risk factors to consider:
Conquesting can raise competitive spirits. Competitor brands may also engage in conquesting in response, leading to potentially increased competition and higher costs. As well, if not implemented carefully, conquesting can confuse users who mistake the business’s ads for the competitors.
Competitive conquesting can have ethical consequences as well. Whether conquesting is considered ethical depends largely on the tactics employed. Potentially unethical aspects include:
Deception or Misleading Practices: While legally allowed to bid on competitor keywords in some contexts, using misleading or deceptive ad copy or landing pages can be considered unethical. Examples include using headlines that suggest you are the competitor.
Targeting Vulnerable Audiences: Targeting competitor’s customers through social media or display ads can be effective, but marketers must avoid exploitive or manipulative tactics, especially when targeting vulnerable groups.
Crossing The Line with Trademarks: While bidding on competitor brand names is generally allowed, using competitor’s trademarks within your ad copy can lead to legal action and policy violations on ad platforms like Google Ads.
Fostering a Bidding War: Aggressively bidding on competitor keywords can lead to increased costs for all parties involved and may not always yield the desired result.
It’s always considered best practice to communicate transparently and honestly by clearly stating you are an alternative to the competitor; focus on fair competition in demonstrating the value of your products and services; respect consumer autonomy that empowers consumers to make informed choices through honest information sharing; and complying with platform policies and regulations.
Competitive conquesting is an effective marketing tactic that allows business to capture market share by targeting customers actively considering a competitor. By intercepting buyer intent-through paid search, targeted display ads, or competitive content-brands can increase visibility, shift consumer choice, and position themselves as a stronger alternative at critical decision-making moments.
When executed well, conquesting not only boosts immediate conversions but also builds long-term brand awareness among high-intent audiences.
To learn more about competitive conquesting tactics and how they can help your local business, we encourage you to give us a call at 603-352-5896 or email Advertising@SentinelDigitalSolutions.com.
We are experts in multimedia marketing and can help you build a compelling campaign that engages your audience and drives sales.
We’re here to help you succeed.
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