Frequently asked questions
The questions brand teams ask most when a rival, or the store brand, shows up with a new look.
Not automatically. Only about 38% of redesigns lift sales (Designalytics), and reactive ones briefed against a competitor are a common way to land in the 62% that don’t. First name whether their move actually won a shelf job you depend on. Many competitor redesigns are lateral and don’t require a response.
Ask two questions: is their move winning a shelf job you rely on (findability, a distinctive asset, or a premium you can show), and can you answer reversibly and at low cost if you’re wrong? If yes and yes, respond, but prove the fix physically first. If the move is lateral or threatens a job you weren’t winning, hold or watch.
Speed is the reason to react, and a comp is faster and lower-cost than a full redesign. A production-matched comp of a targeted response, placed next to the competitor’s actual new pack, tells you in days whether the threat is real and whether your fix beats it, at a fraction of tooling cost, before you commit.
Same discipline, higher stakes, because that competitor controls your shelf. Name the job their private-label redesign won, prove your answer in the hand before the line review, and don’t fund a panic redesign. Private label is growing faster than national brands and moving upmarket, so the read has to be accurate.