Branding And Brand Repositioning Examples

Derrick DayeMay 5, 20153 min

Branding Strategy Insider helps marketing oriented leaders and professionals like you build strong brands. BSI readers know, we regularly answer questions from marketers everywhere. Today we hear from Seth, a VP of Marketing from Seattle, Washington who writes:

“Can you or your colleagues think of or recommend any good examples of branding and / or brand repositioning that I could share with our executive leadership team to help them understand in more concrete terms the branding initiative I’m trying to lead them through? It could be either:

Brand Repositioning
A good example of a well-known brand that used to be positioned as X, and then changed their brand position to Y, with evidence of how they infused that new brand into everything they do? One example I’ve used before is Southwest Airlines, but I don’t really know their story, and can only cite one or two examples of evidence.

Branding
Even if the company didn’t reposition themselves, can you think of a good example where a company has infused their brand position into everything they do—their business decisions, their recruitment efforts, the products and services they offer, how they design their customer interactions and touch points, etc.?

Any thoughts you have would be welcome, as I really want to demonstrate the power of effective positioning and branding to our team to get them on board with this important work.”

Thank you for your question Seth. Marketers today have the distinction above all others in their organization of not only having to be successful practitioners of their craft, but excellent educators / defenders of the value of their work. I’m happy we can help you make your case. Here are some well-known examples:

Brand Repositioning
Nike began life as a footwear company – but with the introduction of “Just do it” they began an evolution into an athleticism brand that now spans numerous products and sub-brands and that has taken the brand into more and more new areas. More recently, Nike’s technology initiatives have seen them emerge as an important brand in the “wearables” market, pursuing lucrative opportunities with health-conscious consumers.

It’s easy now to forget just how ground-breaking they have been over the years. This video demonstrates the evolutionary changes – which cumulatively amount to a strong and yet coherent and brilliantly managed repositioning of the brand over the years:

Branding
If you want to look at a brand that infuses one thought into everything it does – look at Red Bull. The singularity with which they have pursued the concept of “extreme excitement” is textbook. It’s there in everything they do – from their positioning line (Red Bull gives you wings) to their sponsorships to events like the Space Jump.

You can find a good article here on how Red Bull uses content marketing to reinforce its central thought time and time again – to the point where the product is the souvenir for the excitement sentiment.

We wish you the best with your branding initiative Seth.

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