In order to understand how to execute an effective brand repositioning, it’s important to understand the why behind the change and what you should consider as it relates to your organization.
Brand Repositioning Versus Rebranding
A brand reposition is focused on shifting the perception and understanding of what your organization is about. Think of it as expanding on who you are, or in certain cases what you may no longer be.
A rebrand is a change in your identity. Organizations often rebrand when they have had a crisis or their reputation has been damaged, resulting in a desire to start afresh. A rebrand will include an overhaul of the logo and other aspects of your visual presence.
Whether you are repositioning or rebranding, doing the work to develop the appropriate messaging to support your efforts is critical.
Key Considerations For Brand Repositioning
When starting any repositioning process, it is important to find your why.
Here are several questions to help you identify whether a repositioning project is the right move for you.
1) When should companies consider a brand repositioning?
- When it feels like your brand is tired and stale.
- When your audiences think of you only for certain things and don’t understand the breadth of your offerings or the reasons to engage with you.
- When your competition is outperforming you because their value proposition is better understood or meets the moment.
- When you are trying to reach new audiences.
- When you are adding new products or services in keeping with your existing brand.
- When you are trying to reach younger audiences.
- When something in your market has changed.
Repositioning takes an investment of time and resources, so you have to understand the reason behind making the shift.
2) Does it matter to your audience?
Once you have identified the challenge, be mindful of what matters to your audience. Just because you want to tell them something, doesn’t mean they want to hear or embrace what it is you want to communicate.
You have to get out of the prism of me and communicate through a prism of value, where you connect who you are and what you do to what matters most to your audiences.
3) What are the most common mistakes businesses make in a brand reposition?
Not having a clear purpose behind the why is one of the most common mistakes businesses make. This results from not investing enough time in understanding the dynamics of your market, along with the needs, wants and aspirations of your target audiences.
To prevent this, do your research.
Simply thinking that changing your message will address your challenge and bring instant results is false. Making big compelling statements that are not matched by the reality of the experiences users have when interacting with your brand can lead to a disjointed brand versus a unified one.
4) How often should a brand consider repositioning?
The old saying goes, if it’s not broken don’t fix it, which does apply to branding (for the most part). It’s not a question of chronology, but more a question of need.
Examples of Brand Repositioning
Domino’s
Domino’s is an example of a brand reposition due to negative buzz.
The company was getting backlash for having lousy pizza all over the Internet. So in response to this, the company revamped its recipes and represented itself with updated marketing initiatives.
While they kept their identity and didn’t change what it is they do, they did add new products, refreshed their messaging and leveraged social media to communicate to their audiences about their changes.
Old Spice
This iconic brand has been around since the 1930s leading it to be labeled the “old man’s after shave.” As a result, the company embarked on a campaign leveraging humor and bold creativity to present fresh concepts of masculinity.
The brand was looking to appeal to both men and women, as research showed females make up 50% of purchasers for body wash products.
The repositioning campaign included:
- Updating the logo by modernizing its signature sailboat
- employing hunky actors in ads
- actively engaging with younger audiences through social media and on its website.
Sales have surged and Old Spice has become the top selling men’s body wash.
Not sure if it’s time for your enterprise to consider a reposition? Wainger Group can help. Contact us
