Markets evolve, preferences shift, new competitors emerge. For some brands, the only way to stay relevant is to reinvent themselves. This process of reinvention, known as brand repositioning, isn’t easy but when done right it can breathe new life into a company and transform its fortunes.
This can involve trying to change how existing audiences perceive your brand, or updating your approach / offering to reach and engage new ones. Either way, repositioning requires accurate insights, clear strategy and compelling creative to make a success.
If you’d like to supercharge your organisation’s brand or just explore your options then you can get in touch with our Client Services Director, Juliette Neault, using Ju@notepadstudio.com
In today’s blog, we’ll be exploring brands that successfully repositioned themselves and take away some valuable lessons on exactly how they did it. We hope you enjoy!
Whisk: from recipe app to B2B food data leaders
Firstly an example from the Notepad back catalogue, showing the game changing impacts that brand repositionings can have.
Whisk had grown into a global remote team after successfully launching a mobile app that creates shopping lists based on recipes, with a high number of active daily platform users. However, while the app was proving popular with everyday foodies it was proving difficult to monetise and scale.
Whisk were sitting on huge amounts of behavioural data and could utilise that to showcase our behaviour with food online. After extensive research we concluded that Whisk needed to shift from B2C recipe app, to B2B food data platform.
We started by articulating what truly made Whisk unique, and developed their new proposition, celebrating their competitive advantage which is their unrivalled understanding of food data and cutting edge tech:
‘The world’s smartest food platform. Whisks technology enables businesses to build integrated, smarter, and more meaningful digital food experiences.’
Just 6 months after rolling out the new positioning created by Notepad, Whisk had tripled in size, and within 18 months Whisk were successfully acquired in a multi-million dollar deal by Samsung Next.
The lesson here, understand and analyse your organisation’s strengths and capabilities, figure out how they can be employed to create better opportunities for your brand and develop the brand to match.
Apple: from niche computer maker to global lifestyle icon
In the 1990s, Apple was a struggling computer manufacturer with a limited, almost cult-like following. The brand was perceived as a niche player in the tech world, largely ignored by the mainstream audience. However, with the return of Steve Jobs in 1997, Apple underwent a radical transformation.
Apple’s repositioning was not just about new products, it was about creating a whole new identity. The launch of the iMac in 1998 was a clear signal of change, with its playful design and bold colours shattering the stereotype of the boring beige PC. Then came the iconic “Think Different” campaign, which elevated Apple from a tech company to a brand that stood for innovation, creativity, and rebellion against the status quo.
The release of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad only solidified Apple’s position as a leader not just in technology but in lifestyle. Today, Apple products are synonymous with sleek design, intuitive functionality, and premium quality.
The key takeaway? Repositioning isn’t just about changing your products; it’s about changing the way people think about your brand.
Old Spice: from “dad’s aftershave” to contemporary favourite
There was a time when Old Spice was the epitome of an outdated, “dad” brand. Its musky scents and traditional aftershave products were associated with older men, and younger consumers had little interest in what Old Spice had to offer. That is, until a bold repositioning campaign in 2010 turned the brand’s fortunes around.
The “Smell Like a Man, Man” campaign, featuring Isaiah Mustafa, turned Old Spice into a viral sensation. The campaign didn’t just modernise Old Spice’s image, it made it cool, funny, and relevant to a younger, digitally-savvy audience. By embracing humour, a fresh tone of voice, and a quirky social media presence, Old Spice became the top-selling men’s body wash brand in America.
The lesson from Old Spice? Don’t be afraid to embrace a complete personality shift. If you know what your brand’s core strengths are (in this case, its legacy of men’s grooming), you can use bold, creative marketing to refresh how you present those strengths.
Burberry: from tired heritage brand to modern fashion powerhouse
Burberry had a long and storied history, but by the early 2000s, it had a major image problem. Burberry’s iconic trench coats and checked patterns had become overexposed, even cheapened, by their association with counterfeit goods and lower-end fashion markets. It was losing its high-fashion appeal.
Newly appointed executives and highly rated designers took on the challenge of transforming Burberry from a tired British heritage brand into a global fashion powerhouse. One of their first moves was reclaiming Burberry’s classic symbols, like the trench coat and the signature check pattern, while repositioning them in a more aspirational, high-fashion context.
Burberry also embraced digital innovation early on, becoming one of the first luxury brands to fully integrate social media and e-commerce into its business model. This bold, forward-thinking approach helped Burberry appeal to a younger, more fashion-conscious audience without losing its heritage.
The lesson? Repositioning doesn’t mean abandoning your roots. Instead, it’s about finding new ways to make those roots relevant again whilst modernising your overall approach.
We hope you’ve gained some useful insights from this blog. If you’d like to learn more about repositioning, then maybe a good place to start would be uncovering everything that goes into regular brand positioning (virtually all of the same principles apply!)
Here Notepad’s Founder, Naeem Alvi-Assinder, breaks down exactly what brand positioning is and how to correctly define your business’s positioning, so check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPT7hkQPC6g&t=3s
