There’s a number of reasons why a brand might not feel ready to reposition itself, whether there’s concerns with costs, alienating their existing audience, or simply not knowing what to do or where to begin. But brand repositioning, when executed well, can be the difference between your company flourishing or simply, becoming extinct.
More than that, what we find with a lot of clients is – they can find the whole process fun!
How is repositioning crucial to brand survival?
Repositioning your brand isn’t just about growth. In an every-changing, ever-demanding market, it really could be what helps your brand survive. Depending on the industry your business is in and the challenges you’ve faced, there are different reasons why repositioning could be what you need. Reasons could include:
- Your enquiries have been trending down for months – or even years
- Your audience has aged and is no longer relevant to your brand, but you need a way to connect with a younger demographic
- Innovations in your industry, or even technology as a whole, means your product no longer hits the mark
- Your competitors are winning the market share race
In all of these instances, small changes to your brand or operations won’t be enough. When we work with clients on a brand repositioning, we look at every area of the business to get to the root cause of your issues. This includes looking at your values (are they still aligned with your core day-to-day?), your audience, your objectives, your challenges and your current strategy and internal processes.
We understand that for many brands, this type of project is not something to jump into. It can have additional cost repercussions (changing signs, marketing materials, etc.). But that’s where working with a creative agency can help, keeping the strategy behind your rebrand in line with your goals and changing only what needs to be.
Rebranding with Kensa
Don’t get us wrong, our team loves a rebrand project. The chance to show a client a new look for their brand that they might not have ever considered before. It’s also really fulfilling when we’re able to help shape the new look and strategy of a brand – and see the results. But one thing we’ll never do is try to oversell.
We take the time during our Discovery Sessions with clients to look at the real reason you’ve come to us, the areas of your brand that impact you most and first and foremost focus our attention on these areas. We’re a curious bunch so we’ll naturally always develop additional ideas that we think will support your vision but while we might have the ideas, we get that it’s still your business at the end of the day. We can develop roadmaps of our recommendations, but we’ll always only ever work on the deliverables that you’re comfortable with.
Since our establishment, we’ve helped brands across all sectors reposition themselves, from wholesale cheese manufacturer, Bridge Cheese, to retrofit specialist, Westdale Midlands. With each project, we take the knowledge we have, coupled with the knowledge you have in your industry, to create a completely bespoke gameplan for your repositioning.
Which companies rebranded successfully?
There’s a few brands who made a complete switch in their positioning – some you might be aware of already – but in all instances, they were able to successfully reposition their audience and range. Here’s some of our favourites:
- Amazon: Everyone’s favourite “I need it quick” online store. We’re all mostly aware of how they repositioned themselves as the biggest online bookstore to become a global seller of, well pretty much anything. Electronics, clothes, even groceries, with subscription options available for consumer savings.
- Play-Doh: When launched in the 1930s, Play-Doh was designed to be a coal-based wallpaper cleaner. When heating changed, they redeveloped the product as a multi-billion children’s modelling clay item.
- Starbucks: Redefining a coffee-loving culture on a global scale, Starbucks pivoted from selling coffee beans and equipment into a home away from home destination. From the perfect out-of-home office, a place to socialise, be involved in the latest seasonal trend – and, of course, continue to sell coffee.
- Spotify: One of the most recent brand changes came as a result of COVID-19. Spotify expanded their offering from being a music-only streaming platform to include podcasts as a response to the pandemic. This opened up new revenue streams for the brand, whilst also attracting new audiences and content creators.
In all of these examples, the brands needed more than just a new logo. They need to evaluate their current position in their own market, the ways they communicate with their audience and their marketing materials. Evaluating all areas of your brand is how you make real change that makes a real difference.
Brand repositioning with Kensa
As a full-service agency, we can provide clients with all the services they need for a strategic repositioning, including:
- Strategy and messaging: We’ll review your current audience, your target audience, your existing value proposition and narratives to help you successfully rebrand.
- Branding and design: Our team will complete industry research and develop a series of concepts that include ideas you’re expecting – and a few you might not! We’ll look at colour palettes, typography, iconography; everything you need to build your new brand.
- Marketing strategy: We’ll look at your current strategy, the channels you use and where there are obvious gaps. We’ll use this information to redevelop your strategy, introducing new ways to engage with your audience, develop lead capture opportunities, digital and traditional promotional deliverables and more.
Ready to transform your brand strategy? Take a look at some of our previous projects or if you’re ready to get the conversation started, contact the team.
