Right Guard deodorant names Exverus media agency of record

Exverus by Brainlabs' deep experience with growth-stage CPG brands earned the business after a competitive pitch

Media planning & buying for Right Guard will be directed by Shelby Dolan, who also runs the New Belgium Brewing account.

Exverus by Brainlabs has been selected as the media agency of record for Right Guard deodorant, owned by Thriving Brands. The scope of work covers omnichannel media planning, buying, and measurement — with a mandate built around making a challenger brand compete smarter, not just louder.

The Challenge: Earning attention in an outspent category

The deodorant category is among the most competitive in consumer packaged goods. Global conglomerates command massive budgets, and a wave of high-spending startups has made shelf space (physical and digital) increasingly expensive to capture.

Right Guard, a brand with decades of consumer equity, enters this environment with a clear-eyed understanding of its position.

"Right Guard has deep consumer equity, but we're vastly outspent in today's deodorant category dominated by global conglomerates and high-spending startups," said Peter A. Olson, Senior Director of Marketing at Thriving Brands. "Exverus' challenger-brand playbook was a great fit for where Right Guard is headed."

Exverus has refined that challenger playbook growing across brands facing similar situations, where budget alone doesn't determine who wins.

Why choose Exverus as a media agency

Thriving Brands evaluated Exverus specifically for its strategic rigor and what it calls an impact-focused measurement framework: a methodology designed to trace media spend to meaningful business outcomes, not just impressions.

For a brand that needs every dollar to outperform, the ability to identify white space — underpriced audiences, underutilized channels, moments the competition has overlooked — was non-negotiable.

"We knew going in that we'd have to earn attention rather than buy it. That takes a partner like Exverus who is willing to get scrappy and find white space," Olson continued. "Their strategic rigor and impact-focused measurement framework delivered a plan that makes our media dollars work harder than the competition."

That orientation — finding leverage rather than adding spend — sits at the core of how Exverus approaches full-funnel planning. Brand and performance aren't treated as separate work streams. They're designed to reinforce each other at every stage of the funnel.

Learn how we balance brand & performance media under one scientific brain.

Who's leading the work

The Right Guard account will be overseen by Shelby Dolan, Media Director at Exverus. Dolan also leads media strategy for New Belgium Brewing and Bell's Brewing, bringing proven experience with consumer brands navigating competitive, culture-driven categories.

What this means for Right Guard

For a heritage brand reclaiming relevance, this partnership is less about media volume and more about media precision. Exverus will develop an omnichannel plan built around where Right Guard's target consumers actually spend attention — and where the brand can win without simply matching competitor spend dollar for dollar.

Exverus by Brainlabs works with challenger brands and category leaders alike, building media strategies grounded in data, accountability, and the belief that smarter always beats louder.