Competitive & Executive Profiling Mission Portfolio: Upstart CPG Competition

Situation

A consumer packaged goods company approached Aurora GPS for help understanding an upstart new competitor. It had detailed profiles gleaned from publicly available data on its long-standing competition, but as a private company comprised of industry outsiders, this new competitor was an enigma. The client wanted to know if they should be concerned, and if so, in what areas.

Method

In a series of human intelligence gathering interviews paired with advanced psychological profiling techniques, Aurora GPS was able to craft profiles of both the company itself (its funding sources, major strategic initiatives, and hidden weaknesses) as well as the key executives leading the charge. The client was indeed right to be concerned. Without the devotion and financial commitments to established sales channel partners, the new competitor planned an end-around established players directly to the end consumer online.

Results

The new competitor was successful in taking market share, but not from the client. Using the information, it quickly acted to shore up its position with direct to consumer advertising, building loyalty in advance of the new company’s entry.