This week at Day Camp, we talked about survival.

Not on a deserted island, but in 2025’s market, where new competitors pop up daily, AI is changing the rules, and sales teams need more than just another static battlecard.

In this market, if your competitive strategy is reactive, you’re already behind. So how do you outwit, outplay, and outlast? By learning from the best.

Enter: Boston Rob.

In high school, I had a massive crush on Boston Rob. Not just because of the backward hat and dimples (though let’s be honest, that helped).

But because he played the game of Survivor better than anyone else.

Winning Survivor isn’t just about challenges and immunity idols. It’s about strategy, relationships, and knowing when to make your move.

And in product marketing, it’s the same story.

Today, we’re going to explore the traits of market winners with a little help from my favorite reality TV show.

Outwit, Outplay & Outlast

The best PMMs play to win. But most are just trying to make it through another day. They fall into the same three traps over and over again:

• They are reactive to the market, always scrambling to catch up to competitor moves instead of staying ahead.

• They overload sales with too much information, flooding reps with battlecards and win-loss reports but failing to give clear action plans.

• They are future blind, ignoring long-term strategy and only reacting to what’s happening today.

And as a result? They’re constantly spinning their wheels. That’s where our Survivor lessons come in.

How to Think (and Play) Like a Survivor Winner

Every Survivor player has their own approach to the game (just like companies). But the BEST players follow a similar recipe. They have three core traits in common:

1. A Strategic Thinker

Survivor winners are always three steps ahead.

Sandra never dominated challenges. But she always knew when to make her move. She let bigger threats take each other out while quietly controlling the game.

✨ Winning Move: The best PMMs don’t just react to competitors, they position ahead of them, forcing competitors to play their game.

2. An Adaptable Player

Survivor winners know when to pivot and adjust.

In Marquesas, Boston Rob lost early because he played too aggressively. He refused to adapt, and it cost him the game. When he came back for Redemption Island, he played smarter, not harder — adjusting his approach, controlling alliances, and winning in a landslide.

✨ Winning Move: If your competitive strategy is static, you’re losing. The best PMMs learn from every deal and evolve.

3. An Alliance Builder

Survivor winners influence and enable their teammates.

Russell Hantz played hard, finding idols without any clues, but lost twice because no one wanted to work with him. The best Survivor players don’t just compete alone — they influence others.

 ✨ Winning Move: Competitive insights are useless if no one uses them. The best PMMs build buy-in across product, sales, and leadership.

So, ask yourself: Are you just playing the game? Or are you here to win it?

At Day Camp, we broke down how to build a repeatable competitive strategy that actually works:

• Andy helped us set up a competitive survival kit to track and analyze competitors

• Ryan showed us how to use the win-loss feedback loop to learn from real deals & refine your strategy

• Talya inspired us to create competitive enablement that actually gets used

Missed Day Camp? Want the slides (they’re great)? Hit reply and I’ll send them your way!

CAMPER ESSENTIALS

📚 Reading List: Get on the waitlist to be first in line for your copy of Blindspots, the new book from Klue’s VP of win-loss Ryan Sorley. The book covers how to build a sustainable win-loss program that will generate actionable insights and give your company a much-needed competitive advantage.

🎧 Playlist: Want to brush up on your Survivor strategy? Dig into the Survivor archives with this list of every season, ranked.

Until next week,