Your competitors are constantly showing you what matters to them. Not through strategy decks or internal meetings, but through the products, services and categories they choose to promote.
- A beauty retailer starts running more ads for skincare.
- A home retailer increases its focus on tableware before a seasonal occasion.
- A financial brand becomes more visible around loans or savings.
- A betting brand begins building its communication around a specific sport, tournament or game format.
Each ad may look like an isolated piece of communication. But when the same topic appears repeatedly, across multiple ads and channels, it becomes a signal.
That is what Ad Topics in Rivaler is designed to uncover.
The ad is interesting. The pattern is important.
Ad Topics automatically classify competitor ads according to the products, services and categories they promote.
Instead of manually reviewing hundreds of ads, you can filter competitor activity by the topics that matter to your business.
For a beauty company, those topics might include:
- Skincare
- Makeup
- Fragrance
- Haircare
- Supplements
For a retailer, they could include:
- Fashion
- Home
- Kids
- Beauty
- Electronics
For a financial company, they might include:
- Loans
- Savings
- Investments
- Insurance
- Everyday banking
The categories can be adapted to the market you operate in. This means the analysis reflects how your organisation thinks about the category, rather than forcing every business into the same generic classification.
See how competitors show up in a category
Knowing that a competitor is pushing a category is only the first step. The next question is how they are pushing it.
Are they leading with discounts? Are they using inspiration and storytelling? Are they focusing on product benefits? Are they promoting bundles, memberships or limited-time offers? Are they using Meta for reach, newsletters for conversion and Google for demand capture?
Two competitors can push the same category in completely different ways. One might compete on price. Another might build a more premium story. A third might focus on urgency, seasonality or convenience.
That difference matters: because once you understand how competitors are trying to win attention in a category, you can make a better decision about how you want to show up yourself.
From insight to action
Ad Topics is not about copying competitors. It is about giving teams better timing and better context.
If a competitor increases pressure in a category that matters to you, you can decide whether to respond, defend your position, adjust your budget or take a more differentiated route.
If several competitors begin pushing the same category, the market may be becoming more competitive.
If one competitor already owns the discount angle, you might choose to focus on quality, service, inspiration or trust.
If competitors are quiet in a category where you are strong, there may be an opportunity to increase visibility before the space becomes crowded.
Ad Topics can support campaign planning, creative briefings, category reviews and performance discussions by adding the competitive context that internal data cannot provide.
Your own data can tell you what happened to your campaign. Ad Topics can help you understand what was happening in the market at the same time.
The point is simple. When you understand what competitors are promoting, when they started promoting it and how they are showing up, you are in a better position to decide your next move.
Rivaler's Ad Topics turns scattered competitor ads across all digital channels into a structured view of the products, services and categories shaping your market.
Request access to Rivaler and see where your competitors are placing their bets.