Summary: Brand reinvention is a very important aspect of long horizon brand stewardship and requires regular attention, sensitivity to changing conditions, creativity in spades , executional boldness and a corporate willingness to embrace risk. Reinvention can be both subtle or more bold but standing still is always a risk in itself. Reinvention can be required due to changing market conditions or structural decline or by the ever present need to remain relevant. It can mean creating a virtually new identity and offering ,or making more subtle updates to an existing brand, but by definition it also implies there was something there worth reinventing. Legend has it there's no going back to an old love that isn't doomed to failure, but some brands have carried it off with aplomb,others less well ; as ever those looking for hard and fast laws / the easy way will be disappointed.
This blog came about as a result of reading (without any sector knowledge to get in the way obviously ) about an apparent slow motion car crash that is unfolding here in the UK , also known locally as the Royal Mail* .Their strategy for coping with structural market decline in the face of most likely competition from electronic communication is apparently to price themselves into I would imagine faster decline, penalizing the elderly and non internet users. They act like they're stuck in a box , which without reinvention could become a brand and business coffin.
This lead to me thinking about the topic of reinvention in marketing and how some have done miracles ,others seemingly faring less well.
Reinvention for the purposes of this blog will include new products, new markets,or reinventing the original offering by refreshing or repositioning.Timing ,investment levels , culture and luck also play their part as usual.
In brand marketing a classic portfolio or indeed single brand approach to managing lifecycle stage and destiny will likely involve completing at a minimum a Boston Consulting Group plus maybe a PEST style matrix , placing brands ,markets and countries into clusters of relative attractiveness and best marketing strategy.
In my home market of the UK there are some excellent examples of reinvention that have reinvigorated an otherwise declining brand, others which have prolonged lifecycles in categories which in the UK seemingly had little future growth potential but remain strategically important in other countries, an example of the latter to me would be the market for canned milks which Nestlé have stuck doggedly with over decades despite the overwhelming market share of fresh milk.
Lucozade : with roots as unwanted consumer product offshoot of a pharmaceutical company this brand was marketed as a drink for the ill or convalescent ie adjacent to pharmaceuticals until it was reinvented in one single move into an early leader in the nascent energy drinks market ,retaining only the product and brand name. Brave and extreme in largely abandoning in one move their existing user base ,and in the significant brand stretch required. This was one very successful reinvention.
Burberry: Iconic if stuffy British couture brand known for one product , reinvented globally as a British fashion brand for the aspirational and affluent style conscious young. Successful change of brand image in which original signature product the raincoat remained a pillar.
BT was previously the historic effective monopoly provider of UK domestic landline telephone services and infrastructure , won plaudits for its advertising campaign featuring Bob Hoskins ( Thanks Lisl) " It's good to talk". Challenged by the market being opened up to other providers and the emergence of the internet it pivoted successfully to become one of the leading providers of internet packages and then into content such as sports via dedicated channel BT Sport.
The Mini was one of the automotive icons of the swinging 60's and beyond, until it wasn't. Built upon innovative for the day engineering , beloved by the glitterati of the day(proto influencers) as well as the general car buying public it also built a strong supporting sporting pedigree via success in car rallying. Ultimately let down by a lack of strategic marketing by the then owners and lack of product evolution until the range was withdrawn in 2000(I had to look it up as it had long since faded from my consciousness ) ,the successful reinvention of the brand by new owners BMW is a stark counterpoint. With careful but not slavish interpretation of core brand properties especially in design and clever ,loving nods to the Brit nostalgia such as optional Union Jack roof paint and tail lights there's lots to admire. The Fiat 500 has also been a successful reinvention, but by contrast the attempts by Jaguar and even the VW Beetle have been less successful.
Doc Martens was a brand with military boots heritage which was then adopted by the Skinhead movement ;not a promising start point for a consumer brand that has remained an iconic youth alternative fashion lifestyle brand over many generations since the 70's. Starting with adoption by Punks the range has expanded beyond recognition to appeal to popular counterculture around the world. Constant range reinvention to stay relevant has been key.
Reinvention at its softest touch is the constant attention to and regular evolution of an existing brand and any or all aspects of it. Taking beloved consumer brands like Andrex toilet tissue or Heinz soups for instance there has been regular attention paid to product formula, pack graphic design , creative platforms and general updating of vital distinctive assets to keep them relevant to today whilst building on their heritage. The disappearance from the UK high street of once household retail brands such as Debenhams, British Home Stores, Littlewoods, Woolworth et al suggests the art of reinvention as well as poor financial management can have dire consequences. Other famous retail brands like Marks and Spencer have struggled for some years in clothing to reinvent themselves and have had a lengthy period of trying to find the target audience and range that best suits them these days, having once been a go to amongst the middle of the road populace for sensible clothing. Their touch in their food business by contrast has over the years been near faultless as they continue to reinvent their range for current trends.
Fin.
Usual disclaimers: opinions mine , ideas likely unoriginal;only data you'll get is that n=1;
ex consumer goods foods marketer UK and International , failed restaurateur, sometime would be marketing consultant. Thanks for getting this far, now read on.....
*the postal delivery service ,formerly state owned but long since privatized and spun off .
