Brand Repositioning and Revitalization – part II
View(s):- Brand logo changes and repositioning
Over the last two weeks we looked at the case studies of re-branding and re-positioning. This week also let’s look at more case studies specially from the services sector in the local context. By now, you are fully aware on the fact that any re-branding or repositioning exercise should result in creating a new identity or enhancing the image of the brand so that it can generate more sales and profits. At the same time from a strategic brand management perspective, one must realise the importance of creating a long-term asset for the organisation when the brand is well established in the market.
In the first article of brand re-positioning, we looked at Elephant House Super Pola rebranding and repositioning which didn’t deliver expected results to the brand; therefore, the strategy was reversed to go back to Keells Super. Last week it was mentioned that the brands go through re-branding when the ownership changes. When John Keells acquired majority stakes of Union Assurance, the brand underwent an equity study to realise that the brand was perceived by different stakeholder groups in different ways. Therefore, the management decided to conduct a study to initiate a brand change. The research came up with the finding that the insurance policy holders and potential buyers of insurance are seeking for trust as this was the period where certain financial companies had collapsed. When investigated further, the findings showed that the trust should be established by delivering, convenience to policy holders. Transparency to policy holders and the policy holders should be respected well when it comes to claim settlements. Based on these three pillars Union Assurance, repositioned from a company which had given the promise to take care of its policy holders like their own eyes and would treat them as if they were kings. However, most Sri Lankans still remember the campaigns Union Assurance did with the big U letter and the baby on it. The Blue color logo of Union Assurance stood tall among other logos and it also had the best color for an insurance company. However, the second logo change took place with the takeover of JKH and it lasted for about 12 years for them to change it again to orange color-based campaign. Therefore, it’s evident that companies keep changing logos to give it a novel look and feel to the logo with or without a meaningful USP. Union Assurance with its recent logo change has highlighted the fact that they are a JKH company.
Dialog is another example of reversing brand repositioning. When Airtel was going to be launched in Sri Lanka, Dialog got the impression that they would use Shahrukh Khan for their commercial, and he would probably say Ayubowan. As a Sri Lankan company in the telco sector, Dialog realized that they should probably be saying Ayubowan before anyone else would do. And they launched their campaign using cricketers and celebrities spending millions on advertising budgets on electronic media and outdoor formats. Not only they launched a campaign spending billions of advertising money, they also changed the positioning of the brand highlighting the cost savings one can have with Dialog. The little they knew was that, Dialog was not about pennies, and it was about prestige. It was prestigious for most of the users to carry a number which starts with triple zeros (0777 XXX XXX). This was probably due to the fact that people believe in the fact that number seven is the numerical depiction of luck. The campaign was a failure and Dialog probably had a recorded loss in that particular financial year due to misjudgment on their new competitor. And soon Dialog had to come back to their original positioning, which is more on value-based than cost-based. However, Dialog did a good job with their logo change which evolved from a text based one to a combination of a symbol and a text to a point where people can now recognise the brand without having text on it.
Logo development is a combination of an art and science. Identifying right partners for logo development can create value for the organisation as any brand that becomes successful is an asset in the long-run.
However, what marketers should understand is, that a logo change has to have its underpinning reasons for them to carry out a logo change exercise specially when there are drastic changes from the logo that is already in existence to the one that is getting created. As elaborated, a new brand logo can be coupled with a brand repositioning, or it can be due to an ownership change, or to revitalise the brand to face the competition and may be to give it a novel look and feel.
HitAd.lk is the best and biggest mobile phone market in Sri Lanka, and we guarantee you will find what you need here from our extensive listing of mobile phones for sale in Sri Lanka. Whether it’s a budget-priced smartphone for communication, or higher end features with advanced connectivity, there are many different options from which to choose from on our site!