Repositioning Conundrum

Is Repositioning Successful always?

Should repositioning be sudden or incremental?

Is repositioning costly or cheap?

These are some of the questions which haunt CEO's and Boards of large companies. WEll I thought about it and came to the following conclusion,

A Number of brands reinvented using various strategies.

1. Bata is now not a value player and you find Bata Showrooms in swank malls. Bata did it gradually without big bang ad noise.
2. Ditto with Cambridge who from mass player are now a middle level player
3. Big Bazaar is doing it incrementally in their garments business with fashion@big bazaar.
4. LG and Samsung are trying to reposition as premium brands

As the demographics and income disposition of a market segment or nation changes you need to sync your products with the public expectations and you get your strategy right or wrong you are surely going to meet a degree of success if you at least try.

Also as your org matures you may have the technology and R&D also the capital to dabble in premium products and create separate brand or subsidiary to cater the upper echelons of consumers.

Also one reason for repositioning is that the Brand Freshness is maintained, so to keep a brand alive and relevant go for kaizan repositioning where you keep refining the brand positioning so that it is nearer to the customer expectations and doesnt loose its consistency of Brand Character.

What say.