Repositioning American Vodkas

• Most American vodkas seem Russian.

• Stolichnaya gained market share by positioning as Russian vodka.

Repositioning Pringle’s
• When it was new to market it rapidly gained up to 18 percent of
market.
• The old brand Borden’s Wise struck back with a classic repositioning
strategy.
• Lost market share just because of not knowing the rules of
repositioning.
• You taste what you expect.
• Though it followed “natural all” strategy but brands follow “once a
loser always a loser” concept.
Repositioning Listerine
• Scope focused not on the consumer problem which its product cured,
but on the consumer problem its competitor caused. Scope used this
weakness to reposition Listerine as “medicine breath.”
Repositioning vs Comparative ads
• “we are better than our competitors” is not repositioning.
• Comparative ads fail to reposition the competition.
• Do not put competitor as benchmark for your own brand.
Is repositioning legal?
• 1964: National Broadcasting Company dropped ban on comparative
ads.
• 1974: American Association of Advertising Agencies issued new
guidelines representing a complete turnaround.
• 1975: Independent Broadcasting Authority allowed knocking ads.
Is repositioning ethical?
• You should relate your brand to other brands already there.
• The claims led in advertisements should be genuine and proved.
• To position, you need to tell your customers how much better your
product is compared to your competitors.
• Done honestly and fairly, it keeps the competition on toes.
Summary
“To move a new idea or product into the mind, you must first move an
old one out.”
“For a repositioning strategy to work, you must say something about
your competitor’s product that causes the prospect to change his or
her mind, not about your product, but about the competitor’s
product.”
“Aim for their weakness, no matter how small. Their weakness can be
your strength.”