Cutting Through the Noise: How Challenger Brands Can Win in Conservative Industries

Launching a new brand is never easy, but launching one in a traditional, slow-moving industry is even more challenging. That’s a whole different challenge.

Conservative markets tend to move cautiously. They rely on long-standing relationships, proven suppliers and familiar solutions. For emerging brands with limited recognition and lean budgets, earning attention isn’t just difficult; it can feel impossible.

And right now, the stakes are even higher. A poll by The Institute of Customer Service revealed that 81% of customers saw trust as a very important factor in deciding whether or not to use an organisation and 95% said they’re likely or very likely to stay loyal to a business they trust.

That means brands can no longer rely on clever branding or short-term campaigns to make their mark. To gain traction, especially in risk-averse industries, you need more than noise. You need focus, credibility and a message worth listening to.

In this blog, we’ll explore how challenger brands can break through in conservative sectors by doing exactly that. Instead of trying to do everything, they lead with one clear message, anchor it in substance and use it to build trust from day one.

You’ll hear from a marketing leader who’s done it first-hand, launching a niche, technical product in a traditional market and building a year’s worth of inbound leads through message clarity and earned attention alone.

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Start with a Message That Matters

When asked “What strategies or tools have you found most effective in overcoming marketing challenges?”, Jim Gilroy, Marketing Director at Salinity Solutions, didn’t start with platforms, tools or KPIs. He started with a message and, more importantly, the power of having just one.

Back in 2021, Jim and his team were launching a start-up to commercialise a breakthrough water treatment technology. It had game-changing potential but zero brand recognition. Their marketing budget? Minimal. Their target audience? Conservative, technical and typically cautious when it came to adopting new solutions.

Rather than trying to compete on noise, Jim focused on cut-through. The team identified a single, compelling figure, a 50% reduction in energy use compared to traditional systems and made it the headline of their entire brand story.

Jim said, “In 2021, we founded a start-up to commercialise a new water treatment technology, developed by the University of Birmingham. My role was to make our company and the new technology as famous as possible, as fast as possible. We knew we had a potential game-changer, though we were mindful that the industry is conservative and adopts innovation slowly, but it’s a relatively small club, so news might travel fast.

As we didn’t have much budget, we decided that PR would give us the most bang for our buck, reaching the water trade with key targeted messages. We had identified that the technology is capable of reducing energy consumption by 50% compared to our nearest rival. Energy consumption was not necessarily a consideration for all customers, but it piqued audience attention. We used the figure across brand communications, sales literature and the PR campaign.”

That clarity paid off. In an industry where buyers are trained to ask “What’s the proof?”, leading with a strong, verifiable statistic helped Salinity Solutions build instant credibility. It wasn’t a gimmick or a stretch; it was a factual performance benefit that mattered to their audience.

In markets where trust is hard-won and attention is limited, a focused message, not a flashy one, is often what makes all the difference.

Cut-Through Comes From Consistency

Continuing his response to the question “What strategies or tools have you found most effective in overcoming marketing challenges?”, Jim explained that the real power of Salinity Solutions’ campaign wasn’t just in the message itself, it was in how consistently they delivered it.

Rather than diluting their impact with competing narratives or feature-heavy positioning, the team remained laser-focused on the 50% energy saving claim. That one stat became the anchor across every format, from press releases and sales literature to event messaging and digital assets.

This deliberate repetition was a strategy. In conservative industries, where audiences often need time and reassurance to engage with something new, consistency breeds confidence. Each time a potential customer encountered the brand, they saw the same clear benefit, reinforced, not reworded.

Jim said, “Because the PR campaign was so single-minded, it generated a lot of media exposure at a time when energy is a hot topic. In total, we achieved 60 press articles, which had the effect of driving inbound sales enquiries for the following 12 months.”

The result wasn’t just buzz. It was business.

That singular message, targeted at the right publications, at the right time, earned Salinity Solutions a full pipeline of inbound interest. So much so that two years later, they hadn’t needed to do traditional outreach.

“Two years later, we still haven’t had to carry out any outbound sales activity, as we were still dealing with all of the inbound enquiries generated by the initial PR campaign,” Jim added.

For early-stage brands trying to earn trust in risk-averse sectors, it’s not about saying more, it’s about saying one thing well and saying it often enough to stick.

Credibility Beats Noise, Use Data to Prove Your Value

When asked “What strategies do you use to stand out in a competitive market and connect with your audience?”, Jim’s answer cut straight to the point: in risk-averse industries, trust is currency and nothing earns trust faster than verifiable data.

For Salinity Solutions, this meant placing performance statistics at the heart of every communication. Their flagship claim, a 50% reduction in energy use, wasn’t just a line in a press release. It was backed by technical evidence, repeatedly reinforced and consistently positioned as the brand’s core differentiator.

This wasn’t about bombarding prospects with data sheets or whitepapers. It was about strategic proof, using stats to show, not just tell, why the product mattered.

He said, “We use statistics wherever possible to validate our story. We aim to communicate regularly, but we only communicate when we have something worth saying.”

In a world of constant content churn, Jim’s team took a more restrained approach: show up when it counts, with something that matters. Not only does this prevent message fatigue, it adds weight to every interaction, especially when that interaction includes hard proof.

For challenger brands, especially those in technical or industrial sectors, credibility isn’t optional. It’s the foundation. And in Salinity’s case, statistics weren’t a backup; they were the story.

Measure What Matters to Your Growth Stage

When asked how he’s found tracking the company’s marketing efforts to be, Jim made it clear that effective measurement doesn’t need to be complicated; it just needs to be focused.

For Salinity Solutions, building brand awareness in a specialist market wasn’t about dissecting every digital interaction. It was about understanding whether their story was spreading and if it was resonating with the right people.

To keep things lean and relevant, Jim’s team focused on a few core metrics tied directly to their primary campaign goal: visibility and credibility in the water industry.

Jim had this to say, “We have measured our performance using a media tracking tool to monitor coverage, audience reach and impact.”

This kind of tracking aligned perfectly with their stage of growth. Rather than getting lost in vanity metrics or funnel benchmarks that didn’t reflect their buying cycle, they kept their focus on earned media outcomes and how those outcomes translated to inbound interest.

In conservative sectors where decisions take time and buying cycles are long, measuring momentum matters more than immediate conversions. Salinity’s approach shows that smart measurement isn’t about complexity; it’s about clarity. Track the signals that reflect real traction and tune out the rest.

Choose Metrics That Show Momentum

In response to the question “What top five metrics do you use when reviewing your marketing performance?”, Jim offered a refreshingly grounded list, one that reflects a realistic view of growth-stage marketing.

Instead of chasing complex attribution models or obsessing over MQL formulas, Jim’s focus is on what truly signals traction in a conservative B2B market: visibility, resonance and digital engagement.

He said, “Coverage volume/quality, audience reach, audience impact, website visits, LinkedIn likes.”

Each of these metrics serves a purpose.

• Coverage volume and quality indicate how often and where the brand is being mentioned, particularly in relevant trade publications.
• Audience reach and impact help determine how far the message is spreading and whether it’s landing with the right people.
• Website visits signal interest and validation. Are people actively looking to learn more?
• And LinkedIn likes, while modest on the surface, serve as a real-time pulse check on engagement from peers, prospects and industry insiders.

This mix is smart because it straddles two key marketing goals: establishing credibility in the field and building a digital presence that compounds over time. For brands entering traditional sectors, momentum is built slowly, but every signal matters.

Tracking these indicators helped Jim’s team stay responsive, make better decisions and keep their efforts aligned with what was actually working.

Conclusion

Breaking into a conservative market doesn’t require bold gimmicks or massive ad budgets; it requires focus, credibility and strategic clarity.

As we’ve seen, the brands that succeed in slow-moving sectors aren’t the ones shouting the loudest. They’re the ones that lead with a clear message, back it up with data and repeat it consistently across the right channels.

Jim Gilroy’s experience with Salinity Solutions is a solid example of how to do this well. His team used a single performance stat to drive a tightly focused PR campaign, one that earned national media coverage, sparked 12 months of inbound leads and continues to fuel business momentum without outbound sales.

By choosing metrics that reflect real traction, validating every message with data and prioritising substance over noise, Jim demonstrated what’s possible for challenger brands, especially in industries where change is slow and trust takes time to build.

For marketers launching into traditional spaces, the takeaway is simple: don’t try to do everything. Do one thing well, prove it matters and let that message carry you forward.

For more informative, actionable insights like this, read some of our other blogs or get in touch with our team at Mr Digital to get the ball rolling on your next marketing project!