What happens when the market moves on without you? What do you do when your brand reputation is less than you believe it deserves? What happens when opportunities open up that you aren’t currently equipped for?

If you don’t want your business and your brand to be left behind then it’s time for some Audacious Brand Reinvention. If drastic measures are called for, there is no point being half-hearted. Let’s look at a couple of classic brand reinventions.

Lucozade

I remember well from my childhood the adverts for Lucozade – a sickly child being administered a sickly drink and the strapline “Lucozade aids recovery”. Sold in a hefty glass bottle wrapped in cellophane the thought of maybe having to drink it was enough to keep me from complaining about my ailments. Its association with illness was clearly holding back sales.

So in 1983, Lucozade underwent an audacious brand reinvention as an energy drink, advertised by Olympic decathlete, Daley Thompson, sales tripled between 1984 and 1989 and the brand continues is success today.

Skoda

The once risible car brand suffered from a massive gap between consumers’ perceptions of the brand and the actual quality. With a budget much smaller than its sector rivals, Skoda needed an audacious approach to reinventing the brand. Bravely putting the car at the heart, Skoda targeted not just prospective Skoda buyers but also prospective Skoda buyers’ mates – the people who might well sneer enough to put the buyer off – with a witty campaign that admitted its past reputation and challenged people to take a smarter view of the car. In 2001, sales were up 33% on the previous year; in 2002 they grew by another 27%.

Whilst well-known consumer product brands are often the most visible of audacious reinventions, that doesn’t mean that smaller businesses and service brands can’t also be bold. Successful brand reinvention is not restricted to any one type of brand but it does have common factors.

Audacious brand reinvention is not about:

• Tinkering around the edges,
• Panicking about a fall in sales,
• A last-minute attempt as your business draws its last breath.

Audacious brand reinvention is about:

• Understanding your customers, competitors and the market environment and taking action in that context to (re)gain a competitive advantage;
• Sticking to your core values and applying them consistently yet creatively to your new brand position;
• Being bold in the changes you make – if the market you are in is stagnating you may need a big leap to a new one; if you’ve let your proposition become irrelevant to your customers then getting back on their radar needs drastic action;
• Getting the whole of your business – its employee and other stakeholders – on board with the change. They are your front line for brand advocacy and you need their passion.

Think about making an audacious change when:

• Your market environment is undergoing significant change;
• The typical business model in your sector is becoming unviable;
• Your customer base is changing is lifestyle and habits;
• Technology is having an impact;
• You’ve made great improvements within your business and need to let your customers know.

And think also about the impact that audacious brand reinvention had on Lucozade and Skoda - branding isn't just a fluffy way to make your business look good, it's about giving a big boost to your profits.

Why not check our our free resources on branding?

If Your Can't Blog It, You can't Brand It - audio download

6 Benefits of a Strong Brand - pdf download

The Brand Playground - pdf download