REVITALIZING YOUR BUSINESS:

A BRAND REINVENTION FRAMEWORK

Submitted By:Saransh Gupta

In 1985, P&G rescued Richardson-Vicks from Unilever.

P&G introduced Oil of Olay which was popularly mocked as “Oil

of Old Lady” by young women who, as children, watched their

mothers, aunts and grandmothers apply the beauty fluid before

going to bed.

In 2000, it ditched the oil and relaunched Olay with a

breakthrough product, Olay Total Effects.

Total Effects offered seven different compounds in a single

formula designed to prevent skin aging.

The new proposition enabled P&G to sell Total Effects for three

times the original Oil of Olay price in mass channels like Wal-Mart

and Walgreens.

Other products like Regenerist and Pro-X further expanded

Olay’s customer base and credibility by addressing the specific

skin care needs of different consumer segments.

P&G introduced beauty consultants that further reinforced its

technical benefits and ‘mass premium’ image and pricing.

By 2009, it became the world’s fourth largest beauty brand and

a significant player in Asian market accounting for more than

$2.5 billion in annual revenue.

DOES YOUR BRAND QUALIFY FOR REINVENTION?

How flexible is the brand? It’s important to note that a strong existing proposition can sometimes make a brand harder to reinvent.Is there market potential? Existing and adjacent category growth should be assessed for under-leveraged markets.Is it on trend? Brands on the wrong side of history are difficult to align with growing trends.Is its revenue sizable? Sizable sales figures may suggest under-utilized consumer love.Is it strategically useful? Brands that signify broader opportunities that a company wants to take advantage of across the portfolio can help built internal capabilities.

A BRAND REINVENTION FRAMEWORK

BRAND

ProductionChannel

Offerings

Proposition

Target

PROPOSITION: REDEFINE YOUR BRAND PROPOSITION TO

STAY FRESH AND RELEVANT

Earlier slogans were most important tool a marketer could use

to convey value proposition to its customers.

Now consumer blogs, tweets and comments work as a means

of promotion of the brand.

CASE: BARNEY’S NEW YORK

•Opened discount menswear store in New York in 1923.

•Clothing at Barney’s Boys Town came from showroom

samples, retail overstocks, manufacturers’ closeout and

bankruptcy sales; Barney threw in the added value of custom

tailoring for a compelling retail experience at bargain prices.

•This proposition was threatened by competitors competing at low

prices.

•Shifted the brand proposition away from the benefit of low prices

towards style and unique design.

•Removed Boys Town from name and got rid of the overstock inventory

that undermined the premium message.

•New slogan- “Select, Don’t Settle”- with imported new European suits

by upcoming designers.

•Also focused on custom tailoring and quality.

TARGET:WHO YOU SELL TO CHANGES HOW YOU DO

BUSINESS

Companies must understand how their customers think, what

they value and how their lives are changing.

Choosing the right audience to target comes down to many

factors- demographics, size and brand awareness- and knowing

a segment of the population better than your competitors.

CASE: CADILLAC

•By 1999, Cadillac had lost its place in America because of

strong competition from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus

appealing to a younger demographic.

•In 1999, it reinvented itself as a car brand powered by the

combination of ‘Art and Science’.

•Between 2000 and 2007, Cadillac replaced its entire product

portfolio with vehicles in ‘the new design language’.

•Identified new vehicle categories (like roadster and SUV).

•Sales rose from 182,750 vehicles per year in 1998 to over

235,000 in 2005.

•Average age of Cadillac owners dropped from 64 in 2000 to 57

in 2005.

OFFERINGS:TELL A NEW STORY BY TRANSFORMING

WHAT YOU OFFER

The role of offerings is to win genuine appreciation and

goodwill from customers.

If people believe that your offerings are the best, they become

your brand advocates.

CASE: IBM

•Appeared on the verge of collapse in 1993.

•Its massive product portfolio was more expensive than

competitors.

•Analysts and shareholders felt that IBM’s diversity left it

vulnerable from nimble and focused players.

•Company began to split, spinning off its printers and hard drive

businesses as independent companies.

•But new CEO realized that corporate IT departments like to buy

solutions not a bunch of technologies.

•IBM could act as a general contractor to large corporations by

assembling solution packages.

•Needed to transform its portfolio, lower the cost of production

and add customer valued features to existing offerings to achieve

this vision.

PRODUCTION:REINVENT YOUR BRAND THROUGH HOW

YOU GET THINGS MADE

Earlier, a company’s method of production were nearly invisible

to the public.

The role of production in brand reinvention is that it can either

serve as a point of proof to validate a brand’s promise, or it can

be a driving force to change the perception of a company’s

offerings.

CASE: WALMART

•Acquired an undesirable reputation by the beginning of 21st

century that it indulges in misconduct.

•By procuring more goods than any other retailer, it could make a

more impact on environment than any other company.

•CEO Scott Lee set audacious goals; to produce zero wastage,

use 100% renewable energy, and to supply customers with

sustainable products at lower prices.

•Today, Walmart is both the most prominent and effective

sustainable brand in the world and the largest company in

United States.

CHANNEL:CREATE AN EXPERIENCE, NOT A

TRANSACTION

The most critical considerations for channel transformation are

to eliminate existing channels that contradict the new brand

strategy and identify new ones that are resonant enough to

change perception.

CASE: APPLE

•In 1997, when Steve Jobs retook the top spot at Apple, revenue

growth was flat and market share was very small.

•Many argued that Apple needed to slash its prices to match

rivals like Dell.

•Jobs and his team showed that Apple’s biggest problem wasn’t its

products, its propositions or its production: the problem was that people

didn’t have anywhere to go to try out Apple products for themselves.

•Apple went into physical retail business itself in 2001, offering a ground-

up environment designed to let people try its products.

•Since then, Apple has opened more than 300 stores worldwide. Owning

its channels is believed to allow Apple to offer a market-low $499 price on

its iPad tablet while maintaining the best margins in the industry.

•Between 2001 and 2010, Apple’s revenue increased by more than 14

percent.

IN CLOSING…The hallmark companies described here illustrate how long standing brands can adapt and evolve to stay relevant and timely.Creating brands from scratch is often challenging for large companies; leveraging existing assets is much easier. Brand reinvention is a great way to achieve sustained top-line growth.Identifying which brand to reinvent is the first step in the process.Second is to understand that brand reinvention is really business reinvention, requiring a holistic approach that involves inter-departmental collaboration.

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