To reposition a brand effectively these six elements need to be addressed:

The Brand History
The development of a brand can accurately inform how it needs to grow and develop. If the brand position was deliberate then start with an analysis of who the intended audience was to begin with. If the brand position developed organically, it’s helpful to understand how that development occurred and what the influencing factors were.

The Current Audience

Understanding audience and the current message that is delivered through the elements that make up the entire brand experience gives a baseline point from which to work. “You need to understand the characteristics of your current audience and how the brand is perceived before you can decide upon the desired migration destination,” explains Naidoo.

The Targets Achieved
Has the brand been effective in achieving the identified targets? This is presuming that detailed targets have been set at the outset of the branding process. Branding targets can include attracting new customers from a previously untapped markets, telling people how great you are, increasing knowledge of your value proposition or drive online/offline activity.

There might have been a change in focus from where the brand began to what needs to be achieved today.

The Aesthetic Elements
The aesthetics or tools that are in use are means by which the message is delivered to the target audience. The message and the tool need to complement one another to ensure congruence across the tools. “The business needs to compare all the aesthetic elements that communicate the brand from print collateral to online presence. All the tools and platforms need to communicate a harmonious message at all times,” comments Naidoo.

The Objectives Going Forward
There needs to be an essential understanding of the objectives of the repositioning exercise. Why do you want a new logo/colour palette? What are the emotions you want the customer to feel? What do you want your brand to be synonymous with and will the changes that you make achieve those outcomes?

If your objective is to update your brand simply because it is outdated and you want to be relevant then make that clear before you begin the process.

Re-engineering

The re-engineering of all the tools and platforms is a lengthy and costly process and adequate budget should be allocated to getting these things up to scratch. Like building a house, the foundations and initial structure goes up incredibly quickly, but the finishing touches always take the longest time and often the budget is blown on these small, basic elements.

“Understand your brand and business objectives and use the right tools to reposition your brand in the market to the intention of achieving the brand and business objectives’” comments Naidoo. 

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