REPOSTIONING VERSUS REBRANDING

As Companies grow product line expand and market condition changes, sometimes Business Owners find themselves with a Company brand image who no longer reflects “What they are and what they do”. So they came out with a new product, or started doing business in a new market, we can say in Niche market, and try to build their entire company identity around it – and then business serves in a new, bigger, different or diverse customer base.

WHAT TO DO?

 A reason for this is a Company needs to explain what it really does. Or when an Owner says “We are more than just (……).At this point a new brand strategy takes place. But a question arise “Do the Owner needs to Reposition its company or completely Rebrand it?”

REPOSITIONING V/S REBRANDING

Reposition if the company name is right but the message and/ or image is wrong:

Repositioning is something that required when a Company’s offerings, mission statement or goals have changed. It focuses on changing what customers associate with the brand and sometimes competing brand. It’s a change in the brand promise and its personality.

Apple could be the best example of brand repositioning. It was a computer company in the 80s and 90s. It expanded beyond its original core product. They simply dropped the word “Computer” and shifted the message to “Think different” They no longer position their brand as a “computer company” but more as a cool digital lifestyle provider.

Rebrand if a company name causes confusion:

Rebranding comes into play when the original company identity has grown outdated, confusing or outright misleading. It usually includes a change in name, logo, and tagline, essentially creating a new brand on the foundation of the old one.

KFC could be the best example of Rebranding. Kentucky Fried Chicken successfully rebranded as KFC in 1991 in a bid to reduce consumer brand association with fried foods. The brand, however, rebranded again in 2015. But with this one, the company hopes to get closer to its original Kentucky Fried Chicken founder, Colonel Saunders and his famous recipes, and to communicate to its costumers the realness of the story.

                                               

 Both repositioning and rebranding give Companies a chance to put their brand front and center in customers’ minds. Making a change can be difficult, but if they choose the right path for their company, a little change can make a big difference in how customers see them–and how they see themselves.