When it comes to major marketing moves there is a clear and enduring hierarchy of pain.
At the bottom of the hierarchy are the mundane, everyday tactical moves that cause barely a whimper of concern from even those strategically responsible: a change in distributor, a new spokesperson or the introduction of new segmentation.
In the middle come more challenging marketing executions like changing ad agencies, implementing a CRM system or launching a new product.
And then, at the very top, above all others, is the scariest prospect of them all – rebranding. It’s actually a catch-all concept for different approaches to brand change. Here are three.
1. In a pure rebranding the company leadership decides to rename the brand and overhaul what it represents in the market – think Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting).
2. In a repositioning the name stays the same but what the brand stands for is radically changed – think Ryanair.
3. In a revitalization a formerly successful position is reintroduced for a new era – think Burberry.
Each of these individual strategies represents an enormous organizational challenge and a career-defining moment for those responsible. Think it through.
This thought piece is featured courtesy of Marketing Week, the United Kingdom’s leading marketing publication.
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One comment
Rob Knapp
May 13, 2016 at 11:26 am
First time I’ve seen rebranding defined as renaming. Isn’t rebranding a more general concept than renaming and starting anew?
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