From senior editor Robert Klara: When Adweek launched its Challenger Brands franchise two years ago, “challenge” still went by its traditional definition—to engage in competition, to push limits, to disrupt the status quo. But coming off a year like 2020, the notion of a challenge has taken on an entirely new dimension. Not only is most every brand now challenged in multiple ways, but the upstarts have that much tougher a fight. The unique economic conditions of the pandemic have demonstrated that the mega brands seem to hold all the cards—scale, infrastructure, access to capital and simple brand recognition. So, what hope does any challenger brand have now, at the start of 2021?

Meet the 26 challenger brands that stood out in a crowded, competitive field.

Challenger Brands Summit Begins Today

For the next four days, the brightest minds in brand marketing will take our virtual stage to deliver the insights you need to push your business forward. Here's a small sample of the many speakers in today's lineup:

• Mark Cuban at 11:10 am ET.
• Sara Blakely at noon ET.
• Deborah Wahl at 12:25 ET.

How to attend:

• Brand marketers can access the main stage sessions just by registering.
• Brand marketers can also purchase a VIP Pass, which grants access to Masterclass sessions, breakout rooms, a subscription to Adweek and more.
• Non-brand marketers can purchase a Partner Pass to get similar access as VIPs.
• Additionally, our Worldwide sessions are complimentary to agencies.

Register or purchase your passes here.

As part of our Challenger Brands issue, we looked at Once Upon a Farm and Jennifer Garner, who serves as chief brand officer. The company produces organic, non-GMO baby food and has overcome significant logistical hurdles to land on the shelves of grocery stores across the country.

In the story: Garner and CEO John Foraker explain how they built this company into a major disruptor of the baby food industry.

Also in this issue of Adweek:

• TV editor Jason Lynch reports cable networks are still profitable, but upheaval is coming due to cord-cutting. Read the story.
• Infographic: This is where Gen Z and millennials are getting their entertainment and distraction. See the infographic.
• Opinion: How David beat Goliath in the battle of brand perception. Read the story.

Mountain Dew's Super Bowl ad left fans watching it over and over again to count the number of Mountain Dew bottles in the spot. The ad led to thousands of tweets as fans poured in guesses to win the $1 million up for grabs. No Super Bowl advertiser came close to generating this kind of buzz on Super Bowl Sunday.

How Mountain Dew pulled it off: The team gave Adweek an inside look at how it executed this successful promotion.

Publishers across the world are paying close attention to the effects of Google's and Facebook's decisions in Australia. Here's some things to keep an eye on:

• Facebook traffic to Australian publishers last year was worth an estimated $319 billion. Facebook's decision has decimated referrals to publishers.
• Misinformation could thrive on Facebook without publishers' content there to set the record straight.
• Independent journalism and smaller publishers will lose out because of Google's actions.

Adweek's media editor Lucinda Southern breaks down every angle of this complicated web that's entangled Google, Facebook and publishers.

Buzzy new shows join returning series, which others remain delayed by Covid-19.

Today marks Day 1 of Adweek’s Challenger Brand Summit, and we’re kicking it off by throwing our attendees straight in with the sharks. Join Mark Cuban, founder of Mark Cuban Companies, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and star of the ABC Series “Shark Tank” to hear about his business journey and what it means to be an entrepreneur in this era of uncertainty and disruption. Don’t miss out—view the full lineup and join us at 11 am.

Theresa McLaughlin joins from TD Bank, where she led digital transformation.

The spot helped the chain spread the word about its newest menu items.

Its New York executive creative directors will now become co-CCOs.

Sell out like Beyonce.

Smart TV makers are pushing into a quickly fragmenting space.

It’s the first campaign for the brand from Austin-based Callen.