Outra forma de David bater Golias

"Conventional wisdom holds that nationally operated companies should play up their inherent advantages over local businesses - leveraging their brand recognition, diverse product inventory, and price-setting capabilities, for example. But a new study finds that the size advantage isn’t all it is cracked up to be. When lightweights frame competition against a larger rival as a David versus Goliath story, the advantage often goes to the lightweight.
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Although it’s presumed that consumers have nearly abandoned the mom-and-pop shop for the big-box store, a few prominent anecdotes suggest otherwise.
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To be sure, data is not the plural of anecdote. But in six different types of experiments involving consumer-oriented retail establishments such as those selling books, coffee, and auto parts, the authors found that major brands lose local market support to small businesses when differences in resources, size, and corporate outlook are emphasized. Compared with scenarios in which small brands compete with one another or simply don’t acknowledge their larger rivals, those that explicitly position themselves in a struggle against a national chain see an uptick in sales, the frequency of customer purchases, and positive online reviews.
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The authors also found that for the underdogs, stressing the competitive narrative was just as effective as other strategies that small brands tend to use to differentiate themselves - such as focusing on price, quality, and safety. The more a large brand is seen as competing with a local business, the less support the large brand receives, most likely because consumers realize their shopping choices can affect the fate of the marketplace.
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The David versus Goliath strategy could also help small firms fight back against “showrooming,” wherein consumers examine products in bricks-and-mortar outlets only to buy them at cheaper prices online. Small businesses have much to lose when their merchandise is handled in the store but purchased elsewhere. By contrasting their lesser status with that of online retail giants, small firms could be seizing on a little-known, and relatively cheap, ploy to appeal to consumers: Stressing the dark horse narrative is much less expensive than slashing prices, increasing inventory, introducing elaborate customer service schemes, or switching to a niche sector."

Há dias, ao circular nas ruas da baixa do Porto, reparei que a maioria das sapatarias, na zona mais "turista-friendly", apresentava sapatos de marcas internacionais (Camel, Fluchs e outras). Depois, ao deparar com uma loja da Eureka, em plena Santa Catarina, escrevi no Twitter:

A loja da Eureka em Sta Catarina ñ ganharia em mostrar a relação à fábrica?
— Carlos P da Cruz (@ccz1) March 10, 2015

Para muitos turistas, a marca Eureka é desconhecida. Portanto, é mais uma marca "internacional", como as outras, só que menos conhecida. A ligação à fábrica, o reforçar a sua portugalidade, talve tivesse o efeito sugerido neste artigo.
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Criar, reforçar, abusar da imperfeição dos mercados...

Trechos retirados de "Sometimes It Pays to Be the Underdog"