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The Challenger Edge Podcast

The Challenger Edge Podcast

By: Shannon Zastrow Scott Miller
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Most B2B marketing advice is written for companies that can outspend the competition. This show is for the ones who can't.

The Challenger Brand Podcast is hosted by Scott Miller and Shannon Zastrow of Rocketship, a B2B agency that has spent a decade helping mid-market challengers compete against category leaders with deeper pockets and bigger brand budgets. Each episode, they dig into the positioning failures, attribution blind spots, and lazy marketing patterns that keep good companies stuck, and the strategies that actually break the ceiling.

Frameworks. Real talk. One tactic you can steal every episode.

Built for VPs of Marketing, CMOs, and founders who are tired of sounding like the incumbents they're trying to replace.

2026 Shannon Zastrow, Scott Miller
Episodes
  • What is a Challenger Brand?

    What is a Challenger Brand?
    Jun 30 2026

    Most companies competing against bigger, better-funded rivals are using the wrong playbook. In this first episode, Scott Miller and Shannon Zastrow define what actually makes a brand a "challenger" and why it has nothing to do with company size.
    Shannon breaks down the Growth Ceiling: the point where the tactics that built early success stop working as a company moves up market. Topics covered:

    • What separates a challenger brand from a startup, an innovator, or a market leader
    • Why HubSpot vs. Salesforce is a textbook challenger story
    • The Lighthouse Identity: why being unapologetically specific about who you serve is the key to growth
    • The Monster/Villain archetype and why challengers rarely attack competitors head-on
    • Why most B2B brands hitting AI for content are accidentally sounding exactly like their competitors
    • The biggest gap killing challenger growth: conveyor belt marketing

    If you're running a mid-market B2B company that's outgrown "scrappy startup" but isn't ready to outspend the category leader, this episode is your foundation.
    Rocketship helps B2B challenger brands cut through the noise and close the competitive gap. Learn more: getrocketship.com
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    36 mins
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