Brand repositioning is a critical strategy for businesses seeking to redefine their market perception, appeal to a new target audience, or refresh their image in response to changes in the marketplace. This process often requires a mix of traditional marketing, data analysis, creative content, and a solid understanding of customer behavior. One increasingly important element in modern brand repositioning is influencer marketing. By collaborating with influencers, brands can amplify their message, reach new audiences, and build credibility with a demographic that trusts the influencer’s voice. However, effective collaboration requires a strategic approach. In this guide, we will explore how brands can successfully collaborate with influencers during a brand repositioning campaign.

1. Understanding Brand Repositioning and Influencer Marketing

Before diving into the specifics of how to collaborate with influencers, it’s essential to understand both brand repositioning and influencer marketing.

Brand Repositioning

Brand repositioning is the process of changing the way a brand is perceived in the marketplace. This could be due to a variety of reasons:

• Changes in the target audience: A company may want to target a new demographic or geographic market.
• Competitive landscape: The brand may need to adjust its positioning to stand out from new or existing competitors.
• Shifts in consumer behavior: Brands might respond to changing consumer needs, preferences, or values, such as sustainability concerns or technological advances.
• Product changes or updates: A brand may reposition itself to reflect new product features or an expanded product line.
• Rebranding: A complete overhaul of visual identity, messaging, and brand voice.

Repositioning is not just about tweaking a logo or updating a slogan; it involves a deep, holistic approach to understanding what the brand stands for, how it communicates, and the emotions it evokes in its customers.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a strategy where brands partner with influential individuals to promote their products or services. These influencers have the ability to sway consumer opinions and purchasing decisions through their established trust and authority within specific niches or communities. Influencers can range from high-profile celebrities to micro-influencers with a smaller but highly engaged audience. The collaboration typically involves creating content that highlights the brand in an authentic, relatable way.

2. Why Influencers Are Key in Brand Repositioning

Influencers are powerful assets in a brand repositioning strategy for several reasons:

• Authenticity: Influencers have cultivated trust with their followers. When they endorse a brand, the message comes across as more authentic than traditional advertisements. This is particularly important when repositioning a brand that needs to change public perceptions.
• Targeted Reach: Influencers can help a brand reach specific, well-defined segments of the market. For instance, if a brand is repositioning itself to appeal to younger, eco-conscious consumers, working with influencers who align with those values can create an immediate connection.
• Increased Visibility: Influencers have established audiences that brands can tap into. By collaborating with them, brands gain immediate access to a larger audience, many of whom may have never encountered the brand before.
• Content Creation: Influencers are skilled at creating content that resonates with their followers. This user-generated content is often more engaging than traditional advertising, providing a fresh, creative perspective on how a brand’s products or services can be used or experienced.

3. Steps for Collaborating with Influencers on Brand Repositioning

Successfully collaborating with influencers during a brand repositioning involves strategic planning and execution. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

3.1 Define Your Brand Repositioning Goals

Before involving influencers, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of what the brand repositioning aims to achieve. Some key questions to ask include:

• What are the core objectives of the repositioning? Is the goal to target a new customer segment, refresh your brand’s image, or introduce a new product line?
• What new brand attributes do you want to communicate? Consider the values, personality traits, and unique selling propositions that the repositioned brand will embody.
• How do you want your audience to perceive the brand? What emotional response do you want to evoke? How should your brand be positioned against competitors?

Once you’ve defined these objectives, you can align your influencer strategy to meet these goals. For instance, if the repositioning focuses on sustainability, partnering with eco-conscious influencers can reinforce that message.

3.2 Identify the Right Influencers

Choosing the right influencers is a critical step in a successful brand repositioning campaign. Here are some factors to consider when identifying the ideal influencer partners:

• Relevance to Your Brand: The influencer’s values, lifestyle, and tone should align with the repositioned image of your brand. If your brand is pivoting to a more luxury market, partnering with influencers who project exclusivity and sophistication will help solidify the repositioning.
• Audience Demographics: Influencers should have an audience that matches your target demographic. Look at factors such as age, gender, location, interests, and purchasing behaviors.
• Engagement: Engagement rates (likes, comments, shares) often matter more than follower count. An influencer with a smaller but highly engaged following can be more valuable than one with a large, less interactive audience.
• Content Style: Influencers have unique ways of creating and sharing content. It’s important to choose influencers whose style complements your brand’s message and aesthetic. For example, if your brand is repositioning as fun and playful, partnering with an influencer known for humor and light-hearted content would be ideal.
• Past Collaborations: Review the influencer’s past collaborations to see if they align with your repositioning goals. Have they worked with similar brands or industries? Do their endorsements seem authentic?

3.3 Craft a Clear Brand Message

Once you’ve chosen the right influencers, it’s important to communicate your brand repositioning clearly. Influencers are content creators, but they also need to align with your brand’s new identity. The clearer your message, the easier it will be for them to create content that feels authentic.

• Brand Guidelines: Provide influencers with clear brand guidelines that include the tone of voice, key messages, visuals, and values associated with your repositioned brand.
• Creative Freedom: While it’s important to set guidelines, influencers are often more effective when they have the freedom to craft the message in their own way. Trusting them with creative control allows the content to feel genuine and resonate with their audience.
• Emphasize the ‘Why’: Influencers should understand the reasons behind the repositioning. This helps them create content that explains not just the “what” but the “why” behind the change. For example, if your brand is repositioning to become more sustainable, the influencer can explain why sustainability matters to you and how the brand is adapting to that trend.

3.4 Collaborate on Content Creation

The most successful influencer collaborations come when both the brand and the influencer collaborate closely on content creation. This can range from sponsored posts and videos to product reviews, unboxings, and “day-in-the-life” content.

• Content Formats: Choose the right formats that align with your brand and resonate with your target audience. This could include Instagram posts, TikTok videos, YouTube reviews, blogs, and even podcasts.
• Storytelling: Encourage influencers to tell a story about their experience with your brand, how it aligns with their values, and how it fits into their lifestyle. A compelling narrative helps build a deeper connection between the audience and your repositioned brand.
• Consistency: While influencers have creative freedom, the content should be consistent in terms of messaging, look, and feel. This ensures that the repositioned brand’s identity remains coherent across all channels.

3.5 Monitor and Measure the Campaign’s Effectiveness

As with any marketing campaign, tracking performance is crucial. You should monitor both qualitative and quantitative metrics to evaluate how successful the influencer collaboration is in achieving the repositioning goals.

• Reach and Impressions: How many people were exposed to the influencer’s content? What is the overall reach of the campaign?
• Engagement Rates: Are followers interacting with the content (likes, comments, shares)? Higher engagement can indicate that the influencer’s message is resonating.
• Sentiment Analysis: Track how people are talking about your brand across social media and other platforms. Is the sentiment positive? Are people embracing the new brand positioning, or is there resistance?
• Sales and Conversions: Ultimately, the goal is often to drive sales or conversions. Are there measurable increases in sales or website visits linked to the influencer campaign?

3.6 Continue the Relationship

Influencer partnerships are not always one-time engagements. If an influencer collaboration proves successful, you can continue working with the same influencers to further reinforce your repositioned brand. Long-term partnerships can help solidify the brand’s new identity and further embed it within the influencer’s community.

• Ongoing Content: Build a long-term strategy where influencers regularly feature your brand in a natural and authentic way.
• Brand Ambassadors: If an influencer is particularly aligned with your repositioned brand, consider turning them into a long-term brand ambassador who continues to promote your products or services.
• Exclusive Offers: Provide influencers with early access to products or special offers to share with their followers, making the relationship mutually beneficial.

4. Conclusion

Collaborating with influencers is a powerful tool for brands undergoing repositioning. Influencers help amplify a brand’s message, expand its reach, and generate consumer trust, all of which are vital when introducing a new brand identity. By identifying the right influencers, crafting a clear and consistent message, and monitoring the success of the campaign, brands can ensure that their repositioning is both impactful and sustainable.

Effective influencer partnerships can accelerate brand repositioning efforts, foster deeper connections with new audiences, and ultimately drive business success. With the right strategy and approach, influencers can play an essential role in shaping and communicating a brand’s new direction to the world.