Branding is a powerful tool for business growth, offering companies the chance to shape perceptions, build customer loyalty, and stand out in a crowded marketplace. Over the years, one particular branding approach has gained significant attention. With its bold, often unconventional strategies, “disruptive branding” aims to shake up industries, challenge norms, and create waves of excitement around a product or service. But it’s important to remember that disruptive branding isn’t always the golden ticket to success. Sometimes, practical branding—a strategy rooted in steady, reliable growth—can prove to be the more effective and sustainable approach.
In this blog, we’ll explore the world of disruptive branding, give examples of successful disruptors, and then shift the focus to why practical branding might be the smarter choice for most businesses. While the desire to be new and bold is tempting, consumers are ultimately looking for something that works—something that improves their lives, not just shocks them with novelty. In some cases, the brands that play it safe and opt for a more practical approach can outperform their disruptive counterparts.
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Before we dive into the case for practical branding, let’s first break down what disruptive branding actually means. The term was introduced by Clayton Christensen in his 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma, where it referred to innovations that create new markets and value networks. When it comes to branding, entrepreneurs are often asked, "What makes your business different? What sets you apart?" This has led to the unspoken belief that being different is the key to success. As a result, disruptive branding has become a strategy where brands intentionally break the mold—challenging the status quo and offering something radically different from what’s already out there.
Disruptive brands usually focus on underserved or overlooked markets, offering innovative products or services that spark excitement and curiosity. They’re bold, quirky, and unconventional, throwing traditional branding rules out the window. But the big question is: Is disruption always the right approach?
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Over the years, several brands have made waves by using disruption to their advantage. Here are a few examples that highlight how disruptive branding can shake up entire industries:
Netflix: Netflix transformed the entertainment landscape by shifting from DVD rentals to a streaming platform that revolutionized how we watch movies and TV shows. The brand disrupted the traditional cable and rental models by providing on-demand, ad-free content at a fixed monthly price, sparking a shift in consumer behavior that has since become the new standard for entertainment.
Casper: Casper disrupted the mattress industry by introducing a direct-to-consumer model that offered high-quality mattresses online, delivered right to your door. This simple yet innovative approach eliminated the traditional showroom experience and made buying a mattress more convenient and less stressful, all while offering a sleep product that was both affordable and luxurious.
Dollar Shave Club: In an industry dominated by big-name brands like Gillette, Dollar Shave Club disrupted the shaving market by offering a subscription-based model for razors. The brand’s humorous and edgy marketing campaign (featuring a viral video) garnered massive attention and successfully captured a market segment looking for more affordable, convenient alternatives.
These examples showcase how disruptive branding can succeed by introducing something fresh and exciting that appeals to an untapped or underserved market. However, just because a brand is disruptive doesn’t guarantee its long-term success.
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While disruptive branding may grab attention in the short term, practical branding often leads to more sustainable success. Why? Because consumers are not just looking for novelty—they’re looking for solutions to their problems, improved experiences, and reliability. The goal of practical branding is to create a brand that resonates with customers on a deeper level by focusing on their needs, providing consistent value, and building trust over time.
Practical branding doesn’t mean being boring or uninspired. Rather, it means prioritizing stability, consistency, and genuine value over the flashy, unpredictable nature of disruption. It involves understanding the customer’s journey and delivering a product or service that meets their expectations, solving a problem or fulfilling a need in a way that feels natural and trustworthy.
Practical brands focus on:
Let’s explore why practical branding is often the better choice over disruptive branding, especially for companies looking for long-term success.
The main flaw in disruptive branding is the assumption that customers care about something being new. The reality is that people are less concerned with novelty and more focused on value. Consumers today are bombarded with options. When faced with choices, they’ll gravitate toward brands that meet their needs and offer a sense of reliability. Newness can only go so far—if the product or service doesn’t actually improve their lives, the brand won’t gain lasting traction.
Take the case of Juicero, a brand that was hyped as a game-changing innovation in the juice industry. The product was a high-tech juicer that used proprietary juice packs to make fresh juice at home. While it was disruptive, it quickly became clear that it was an overpriced product with a limited appeal—and the novelty wore off fast. Juicero shut down in 2017 after failing to deliver on its promise of convenience and value. Despite its disruptive marketing, consumers weren’t willing to pay for a product that didn’t solve a significant problem.
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While disruptive branding can sometimes pay off, there are many instances where brands that tried to shake up the market ended up faltering. Here are some examples of disruptive brands that failed, showing the risks of chasing novelty at the expense of practicality:
Quibi: Quibi, the short-form video streaming platform launched in 2020, was a textbook example of a disruptive brand that didn’t succeed. The platform’s pitch was that it would revolutionize how people consume video content by offering bite-sized content designed specifically for mobile viewing (think TikTok meets Netflix). Despite a huge amount of marketing and funding, Quibi failed to attract a loyal audience, and it shut down just six months after launch. Consumers didn’t care about the novelty of the platform—what they wanted was something that felt useful, easy to engage with, and built for their needs.
Google Glass: Google Glass was a groundbreaking product when it was first announced, offering augmented reality through wearable glasses. Despite its potential to disrupt the tech industry, the product failed to gain consumer adoption. The main issues were related to privacy concerns, a lack of practical functionality, and the product’s high price tag. Google Glass was ahead of its time, but it didn’t offer the practical value consumers were looking for, leading to its eventual discontinuation.
New Coke: In one of the most famous examples of a failed disruption, Coca-Cola attempted to reformulate its signature drink in 1985, creating “New Coke.” The idea was to update the taste and appeal to younger consumers, but it backfired. Loyal customers rejected the new formula, and Coca-Cola quickly brought back the original version, rebranding it as “Coca-Cola Classic.” In this case, the disruption was not needed—consumers wanted the familiar taste, not a new, experimental version.
These examples highlight that disruptive branding can fail when the brand strays too far from consumer expectations and doesn’t offer a practical solution to their needs. In contrast, brands that play it safe and stick to practical solutions often enjoy long-term success.
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Disruptive branding can grab attention and create buzz, but it isn’t always the key to long-term success. While novelty may capture interest, what keeps consumers loyal is practical value—reliability, consistency, and a genuine solution to their needs.
Consumers today care more about what works than what’s new. Practical branding builds trust and loyalty by focusing on delivering real value and meeting expectations over time. Successful brands don’t need to disrupt—they need to offer solutions, evolve authentically, and stay consistent in their messaging.
Disruptive brands often overpromise and underdeliver, leaving consumers questioning whether their products truly solve problems. Examples like Quibi and Google Glass show that even innovative ideas can fail if they don't meet practical needs.
For lasting success, brands should focus on practicality, consistently delivering value and resonating with their audience. Practical branding isn’t just safe—it’s often the smarter, more innovative approach.
We have full documentation for this accordion component here. You can use it to edit this component —or to build your own accessible accordion from scratch.
We have full documentation for this accordion component here. You can use it to edit this component —or to build your own accessible accordion from scratch.
We have full documentation for this accordion component here. You can use it to edit this component —or to build your own accessible accordion from scratch.
We have full documentation for this accordion component here. You can use it to edit this component —or to build your own accessible accordion from scratch.
We have full documentation for this accordion component here. You can use it to edit this component —or to build your own accessible accordion from scratch.
While disruptive branding may grab attention in the short term, practical branding often leads to more sustainable success. Why? Because consumers are not just looking for novelty—they’re looking for solutions to their problems, improved experiences, and reliability. The goal of practical branding is to create a brand that resonates with customers on a deeper level by focusing on their needs, providing consistent value, and building trust over time.
Practical branding doesn’t mean being boring or uninspired. Rather, it means prioritizing stability, consistency, and genuine value over the flashy, unpredictable nature of disruption. It involves understanding the customer’s journey and delivering a product or service that meets their expectations, solving a problem or fulfilling a need in a way that feels natural and trustworthy.
Practical brands focus on:
Let’s explore why practical branding is often the better choice over disruptive branding, especially for companies looking for long-term success.
The main flaw in disruptive branding is the assumption that customers care about something being new. The reality is that people are less concerned with novelty and more focused on value. Consumers today are bombarded with options. When faced with choices, they’ll gravitate toward brands that meet their needs and offer a sense of reliability. Newness can only go so far—if the product or service doesn’t actually improve their lives, the brand won’t gain lasting traction.
Take the case of Juicero, a brand that was hyped as a game-changing innovation in the juice industry. The product was a high-tech juicer that used proprietary juice packs to make fresh juice at home. While it was disruptive, it quickly became clear that it was an overpriced product with a limited appeal—and the novelty wore off fast. Juicero shut down in 2017 after failing to deliver on its promise of convenience and value. Despite its disruptive marketing, consumers weren’t willing to pay for a product that didn’t solve a significant problem.
We have full documentation for this accordion component here. You can use it to edit this component —or to build your own accessible accordion from scratch.
