In 1999, a small school from Spokane, Washington went on a run during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Gonzaga University—a school that had only once before made the tournament field and never won a game—won two, making the “Sweet 16.”
In the sports world, they call this a “Cinderella Run,” and Gonzaga was not unique. Plenty had done it before. What was unique about Gonzaga, though, is what happened after.
While plenty of schools capture attention by pulling off a series of upsets in the tournament, most return to normal (and, really, obscurity). You ever really hear about them again.
But during that run? They’re magical and even casual sports fans are rooting for that small team they never heard of before.
Gonzaga is different.
Since that 1999 run, Gonzaga has made every tournament and come tantalizing close—twice—to winning the whole thing. They’ve been the top-ranked team in the tournament multiple times. And, when they lose now, it’s considered an upset.
They have shed their Cinderella status. They’re no longer underdogs.
We bring this up today, because last night, a new team, Saint Peter’s University, continued an historic Cinderella run in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and it had us thinking about why we gravitate to these events—not just in sports, but everywhere.
We’ve written plenty in this space about the challenges that face small brands (the Cinderellas of CPG, if you will), but the flip side of that is there can be an emotional advantage.
Nearly universally, the underdog story—the story of the Cinderella run—is a story that onlookers find themselves wrapped up in. We get emotionally invested in an outcome that otherwise means nothing to us.
For brands, embracing this role is something of an advantage early, especially when you’re attracting customers who are already heavy category buyers. That emotional connection is hard to beat. So, brands can ride that emotional wave and pair it with a customer who is already a heavy buyer of the category. It’s not easy, but it is a simple recipe for growth.
Nantucket Nectars did this famously: Tom and Tom, “the Juice Guys,” started their business with a blender and a peach, and started selling it off a boat in the Nantucket Harbor.
Doesn’t get more humble and underdog than that.
During their growth years, Nantucket Nectars used radio commercials featuring Tom and Tom, reinforcing that underdog story and keeping those humble beginnings are part of the brand story.
At some point, the success becomes sustained enough that, perhaps, the advantage goes away. Sort of like Gonzaga. (And sort of like Nantucket Nectars?)
That’s a hard place to get to, no doubt, and that’s why so few end up there. Perhaps that’s part of the appeal, too.
this really resonates; nothing turns me off more than Yet Another OverProduced VC Backed Millenial CPG.
you know the ones. the branding is slick....to a fault. the packaging is really well done, but safe (so they can stop going DTC and get into Whole Foods as soon as they get their A round).
Beverage--looking at you, every single """Social Alternative To Alcohol"""--is especially phony feeling these days.
gimme the dudes who didnt have an MBA pedigree and a $500k friends and family round....if the product is hittin, i'll happily spread the word for those folks way more than i ever would Yet Another VC CPG.