Blog 7: Repositioning a Product

In our marketing class we have been talking a lot about the repositioning of products in the market place.  Product repositioning changes the place a product occupies in a consumers mind relative to competitive products.  Many times in order to keep a product successful in the marketplace, a company will need to make a changing one or more of the four marketing mix elements.  Many times it involves finding a new target market or finding a way to better suite consumer needs.  The four main factors for repositioning a product are reacting to a competitor's position, reaching a new market, catching a rising trend, and changing the value offered.
Reacting to a competitors position involves a company changing the style of their product to find new target markets as a result of competition in the market.  Our marketing book uses an example of how New Balance were having trouble competing with Nike and Adidas in their style of athletic shoes. Therefore New Balance repositioned their product to focus on fit, durability, and comfort for their sneakers; separating them from Nike and Adidas's style of shoes.
Reaching a new market involves a company changing part of its product and placing it in a new market.  If a company is not having success in a particular market, they may decide to change a feature of its product to have better success in a new market.  The book uses the example of Unilever introducing a brand of iced tea in Britain that did poorly in sales. Therefore the company decided to make the tea carbonated which repositioned the brand as a soft drink, which resulted in improved sales.
Company's will also reposition their products in a response to consumer trends.  One major consumer trend currently going on are consumers desire for healthy food and drink options. This trend has been a big struggle for fast food companies like McDonalds, who are seeing their sales drastically decreasing.  Therefore McDonalds will need to figure out a way to reposition it's product to meet consumer demands.  In response to the trend of healthy food and drink options, Coca-Cola recently came up with a new brand of Coke called Coca-Cola Life that is made with cane sugar and and stevia-leaf extract, which targets consumers looking for a soda that has reduced calories and is made with natural ingredients.  Cape-Cod chips is another example of company that offers reduced fat options for their chips to appeal to consumers looking for low-fat options.
Companies can also change the value of their product when repositioning.  Trading up involves adding value to the product through additional features or high-quality materials. An example of trading up would be Macy's adding designer clothing lines such as Polo and Lacoste to their department stores.  Companies can also trade down which involves reducing the number of features, quality, or price. The book uses an example of how airlines have added more seats on their planes, which reduces legroom and limited snack services.