Page 126 - 100 Great Marketing Ideas (100 Great Ideas)

59 REPOSITION INTO A
BETTER MARKET

Sometimes a brand has been promoted to a target audience that is
disappearing, or at least turns out to be less attractive than another
audience. The brand might be doing perfectly well, but could do
better: this is where repositioning comes in.

Repositioning means establishing the brand in a different location
in the customer’s consciousness. Usually, it means changing the
way everybody thinks of the brand—not just the existing customers,
but anyone else who might now consider the product. The position
of a brand in people’s minds is always relative to other brands
and products, some of which may not be direct competitors—
people often say that a product is “the Rolls-Royce of . . . ,”
for example.

Repositioning takes time and effort, but the payoffs can be very
large indeed.

The idea

Lucozade is a carbonated glucose drink available throughout Britain
and in many other countries. It was originally developed as a drink
for people convalescing after serious illnesses—the glucose provided
quick energy, and the bubbles gave people’s digestive systems a
boost. As a way of nourishing someone whose appetite might be
poor it succeeded very well, and was in fact an iconic brand.

However, during the 1980s it became clear that there were a great
many more healthy people than sick people. General improvements
in healthcare and aftercare meant that Lucozade had a shrinking

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