How disruptors can become global brands

In the final part of our six-part series in partnership with Salesforce, Marketing Week asks leaders at six fast-growing brands how they plan to go from disruptor to global powerhouse.

Launching a brand is one thing but maintaining growth and taking it to the next level requires bold thinking, unbridled focus on innovation and strategic partnerships, according to executives from six of Marketing Week’s 100 Disruptive Brands, which is published in partnership with Salesforce.

In order to succeed, brands need to be confident in their position, says James Kirkham, chief strategy officer at Copa90, who is hugely ambitious when it comes to the expansion of the business.

“We make no apologies about the intent of the business. We want to be the most influential sports media brand on the planet, which perhaps feels incredibly grandiose and I’m sure a few people will probably look quizzically at us, but we genuinely believe we’ve got a chance at doing that.”

He says Copa90 wants to do for football what MTV did for music in the 1980s.

“[MTV] appeared on the scene in 1981 and disrupted music completely in that time to the point where people wore [clothing with] MTV emblazoned across their chests. It influenced language and vernacular where you had spin-off brands and spin-off shows. That is what we want to do for football,” he adds.

READ MORE: From disruption to domination – The three lessons for long-term success

Product innovation is another aspect disruptors are locked on. Initially, coffee brand Pact focused predominantly on performance marketing to fuel growth but founder Stephen Rapoport says the brand is now focusing on product.

“We’re doubling down on our digital product – that is user experience, the level of control and customisation our customers have within the service – and also our product line so you should see Pact releasing new and very innovative coffee products.”

While Pact is focusing on product to fuel growth, as a software firm, Evrything – a connected home business which provides data management for products – needs to partner with hardware businesses to boost expansion.

For Eren Ozagir, founder and CEO of Push Doctor, fundraising is crucial when it comes to growth.

He says: “Over the course of our journey so far we have been quite definitive in the steps we want to take. We’re moving from our Series A position now. We are scaling at the moment and with that comes lots of operational and growth challenges but those are all really exciting things for entrepreneurs that like to get their hands dirty.

“Our next few steps after this scale will be more fundraising, which is an important part of our scaling opportunity and our brand in terms of the ability to place the product in people’s hands and have them talk about it.”

For more tips on global expansion, check out the video above, where executives at Unmade, ClearScore and Salesforce also share their views.

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