--- title: "7 Brand Repositioning Examples and What Changed — Dardo" description: "Seven brand repositioning examples with sources: Domino's, Juan Valdez, Dunkin', BBVA, Gucci, CUPRA and Burberry, what changed and what they reported." url: "https://dardo.studio/en/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/" language: "en" translations: {"es":"https://dardo.studio/es/blog/reposicionamiento-de-marca-ejemplos/","fr":"https://dardo.studio/fr/blog/exemples-repositionnement-de-marque/","de":"https://dardo.studio/de/blog/markenneupositionierung-beispiele/","it":"https://dardo.studio/it/blog/esempi-riposizionamento-brand/","pt":"https://dardo.studio/pt/blog/exemplos-de-reposicionamento-de-marca/","nl":"https://dardo.studio/nl/blog/merkherpositionering-voorbeelden/","sv":"https://dardo.studio/sv/blogg/ompositionering-varumarke-exempel/","pl":"https://dardo.studio/pl/blog/repozycjonowanie-marki-przyklady/","uk":"https://dardo.studio/uk/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","ru":"https://dardo.studio/ru/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","ar":"https://dardo.studio/ar/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","hi":"https://dardo.studio/hi/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","th":"https://dardo.studio/th/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","ja":"https://dardo.studio/ja/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","ko":"https://dardo.studio/ko/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","zh-Hans":"https://dardo.studio/zh-Hans/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/","zh-Hant":"https://dardo.studio/zh-Hant/blog/brand-repositioning-examples/"} updated: "2026-10-12T23:14:51.814Z" --- [Blog](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/) # 7 brand repositioning examples: what changed and what the companies reported Seven real brand repositionings, from Juan Valdez to Domino's and CUPRA: what changed, what the companies reported, and what the cases have in common. By [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/studio/) ·October 12, 2026 ![A chessboard on a library table at night under a reading lamp, all pieces ivory and ebony except one crimson knight that has just moved to a new square.](https://dardo.studio/_astro/01M4S57WQ5WWJF5Q0HG06A2DGA_1R5hD7.webp) ## Key takeaways - Repositioning changes a brand's audience, category or promise; a new logo on its own is a refresh. - In the strongest cases the product or experience changed first: Domino's changed its recipe, Juan Valdez opened shops, Dunkin' changed its menu. - Successful repositionings keep the assets people already recognize, such as Dunkin's colors or the Juan Valdez character. - Reported results vary and none is permanent: Gucci's revenue more than doubled from 2015 to 2019, then fell 22% in 2025. - Plan it in four steps: check the brand's health, research customers, define the new position and carry it out everywhere. ## What brand repositioning means Brand repositioning changes what a brand promises and to whom: its audience, its category or its reason to choose it. Harvard Business School's Jill Avery describes it as rewriting the brand's customer value proposition ([HBS Online](https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/brand-repositioning)). A new logo can be part of it, but a logo alone is a refresh. Kevin Lane Keller's classic distinction is useful here: you reinforce a brand that still works, and you revitalize one that has lost ground by finding new sources of brand equity ([California Management Review](https://cmr.berkeley.edu/1999/05/41-3-managing-brands-for-the-long-run-effective-brand-reinforcement-and-revitalization-strategies)). The examples below are real repositionings with public, primary or high-quality sources. Where a company reported results, we give them with the source; where nobody published reliable numbers, we say so. ## Seven brand repositioning examples ### 1\. Domino's: admitting the pizza was the problem (2009–2010) - **Before:** a cheap, convenient delivery chain whose product had a poor reputation. - **After:** a brand that publicly accepted the criticism and promised better taste. From late December 2009 it rolled out a new core recipe for crust, sauce and cheese, with a campaign that showed customers' complaints on screen. - **Reported result:** in its first-quarter 2010 results, Domino's credited the new pizza for a 14.3% rise in US same-store sales ([SEC filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1286681/000119312510105392/dex991.htm)). Its annual report shows US same-store sales falling 4.9% in 2008, rising 0.5% in 2009 and 9.9% in 2010 ([Domino's 2010 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1286681/000119312511050979/d10k.htm)). - **Lesson:** the repositioning worked because the product changed first. The campaign only told people about it. ### 2\. Juan Valdez: from advertising character to coffee shop (2002) - **Before:** a character created in 1959 by Colombia's coffee growers' federation to promote Colombian coffee abroad ([WARC](https://www.warc.com/content/article/gale-emmc/national-federation-of-coffee-growers-of-colombia-juan-valdez-campaign/en-gb/84481)). - **After:** a consumer brand of coffee shops and packaged coffee. Procafecol was created in 2002 to run it, and the first shop opened on 14 December 2002 at Bogotá's El Dorado airport ([Juan Valdez](https://juanvaldez.com/nuestra-historia/)). - **Reported result:** Procafecol's operating revenue reached COP 807,300 million in 2024, 9.8% more than in 2023 ([La República](https://www.larepublica.co/empresas/los-ingresos-de-procafecol-alcanzaron-807-300-millones-9-8-mas-frente-a-2023-4097461)). - **Lesson:** repositioning can change the category entirely, from an ingredient's ambassador to a place you visit, while keeping the symbol people already trusted. ### 3\. Dunkin': from donut shop to beverage brand (2018–2019) - **Before:** Dunkin' Donuts, a donut chain that also sold coffee. - **After:** Dunkin', which announced it would become a beverage-led, on-the-go brand ([Dunkin' press release](https://news.dunkindonuts.com/news/releases-20180925)). The word "Donuts" left the name, but the pink and orange colors and the familiar typeface stayed, and the menu leaned into espresso and cold brew. - **Reported result:** for the fourth quarter of 2019 the company reported its highest quarterly comparable sales growth in six years and credited espresso and cold brew ([SEC filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1357204/000135720420000004/dnkn-ex99120191228xpr.htm)). Many other factors affect sales, so read that as a signal, not proof. - **Lesson:** keep the assets people recognize when you change what you stand for. ### 4\. BBVA: one bank instead of many local names (2019) - **Before:** a group of local brands, including Bancomer in Mexico, Francés in Argentina, Continental in Peru and Compass in the United States. - **After:** one global name and a new logo, adopted everywhere in 2019, so the group could present itself as one increasingly global and digital bank ([BBVA](https://www.bbva.com/es/mx/bbva-unifica-su-marca-en-mexico-y-en-todo-el-mundo-tambien-cambia-su-logo/)). - **Reported result:** none we could verify that isolates the brand change. - **Lesson:** a repositioning can be about coherence. One name lets one product and digital experience travel across countries. ### 5\. Gucci: a new creative point of view (2015) - **Before:** a luxury house whose sales had stalled. - **After:** a new creative director, Alessandro Michele, appointed in January 2015 with responsibility for every collection and the brand image, and a distinctly new aesthetic from his first collections. - **Reported result:** Gucci's revenue went from €3,898 million in 2015 to €9,628 million in 2019 ([Kering 2019 results](https://echanges.dila.gouv.fr/OPENDATA/AMF/BWR/2020/02/FCBWR123517%5F20200212.pdf)). It didn't last: Kering reported Gucci's 2025 revenue at €6 billion, down 22% ([Kering](https://www.kering.com/en/news/2025-results-sequential-improvement-unlocking-the-next-phase-of-sustainable-and-profitable-growth/)). - **Lesson:** a sharp new position can transform a brand, and it still needs renewing. ### 6\. CUPRA: from a trim level to its own brand (2018) - **Before:** SEAT's sporty label, used on high-performance versions of SEAT models. - **After:** a standalone brand launched in February 2018 with its own logo, its own models and its own customer ([SEAT](https://www.seat.com/company/news/cars/cupra-sports-car-launch)). - **Reported result:** CUPRA delivered 328,800 cars in 2025, up 32.5%, more than SEAT's 257,400 ([Volkswagen Group](https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/articles/seat-and-cupra-breaks-all-time-sales-record-in-2025-despite-industry-headwinds-20084)). - **Lesson:** sometimes the clearest repositioning is to let one part of a brand become a brand of its own. ### 7\. Burberry: from over-licensed to luxury again (2006–2014) - **Before:** a heritage name spread across too many licences and products. Angela Ahrendts, who led the turnaround, wrote that licensing had come to threaten what made the brand distinctive ([Harvard Business Review](https://hbr.org/2013/01/burberrys-ceo-on-turning-an-aging-british-icon-into-a-global-luxury-brand)). - **After:** fewer licences, design run centrally and the focus back on core heritage products such as the trench coat. - **Reported result:** total revenue rose 17% to £2,330 million in the 2013/14 financial year ([Burberry results announcement](https://investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/burberry-group--brby/preliminary-results/3543940)). - **Lesson:** repositioning can mean doing less, and saying no to income that dilutes the brand. ## A famous case without verified numbers Old Spice's 2010 campaign is the most quoted repositioning in marketing classes: an old-fashioned deodorant brand that spoke to younger men, and to the women who often bought it for them. The strategy is well documented. The sales figures that circulate with it, though, come mostly from agency and award material and don't agree with each other, so we leave them out. ## What these examples have in common - **The product or experience changed, not only the message.** Domino's changed its recipe; Juan Valdez opened shops; Dunkin' changed its menu. - **They kept what people already recognized.** Dunkin' kept its colors and type; Juan Valdez kept its character. - **They chose a specific audience and promise.** CUPRA picked a customer SEAT wasn't serving; Burberry chose luxury over volume. - **Results took time and none are permanent.** Gucci shows that a position has to be renewed. ## Repositioning, rebranding or refresh? | | Brand refresh | Rebranding | Repositioning | | --------------- | ----------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | What changes | Visual details, tone, assets | Name or identity, often both | Audience, category or promise | | What stays | Strategy and promise | Often the business and the offer | Usually the recognizable assets | | Typical trigger | A dated look | A merger, a conflict or a name that no longer fits | A new market, new competitors or a promise that stopped working | | Example above | None of the above is only a refresh | BBVA's unified name | Domino's, Juan Valdez, CUPRA | ## How to plan a repositioning The HBS Online article sets out four steps that match what we see in practice ([HBS Online](https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/brand-repositioning)): 1. **Check the brand's health.** What do customers believe today, and where does that hurt you? 2. **Research customers.** Who do you want to win, and what do they need that you can credibly offer? 3. **Define the new position.** One audience, one promise, one reason to believe it. 4. **Carry it out everywhere.** Product, prices, service, website, sales materials and signage, in an order your team can actually deliver. The fourth step is where most repositionings slip, which is why we wrote a [rebrand launch checklist](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/brand-launch-checklist/) for the rollout. ## How Dardo can help We plan and design repositionings through our [brand repositioning](https://dardo.studio/en/services/brand-repositioning/) service, and handle identity changes through [rebranding](https://dardo.studio/en/services/rebranding/) and [brand refresh](https://dardo.studio/en/services/brand-refresh/). If you're comparing studios in Colombia, our guide on [choosing a rebranding agency](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/choose-rebranding-agency-colombia/) lists what to ask. When you're ready, [tell us what you want the brand to stand for](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/?service=brand-repositioning). ## Common questions **What is brand repositioning?** It's changing what a brand promises and to whom: its target audience, its category or its reason to choose it. It usually involves the product, prices or experience as well as the message and visual identity. **What's the difference between repositioning and rebranding?** Rebranding changes the name or identity. Repositioning changes the brand's audience, category or promise, and may keep the name and identity. Many projects do both, but they answer different problems. **When should a company reposition its brand?** When its current promise has stopped working: a new market or audience, new competitors, a product that has changed, or a reputation that holds it back. If only the look feels dated, a brand refresh is usually enough. **Does repositioning always work?** No. The examples with reported results show growth after the change, but many other factors affect sales, and gains can fade, as Gucci's 2025 results show. ## Sources & further reading Sources behind this page, with further detail from the original publishers. - [HBS Online: Brand repositioning](https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/brand-repositioning) · online.hbs.edu - [Keller, Managing brands for the long run (California Management Review, 1999)](https://cmr.berkeley.edu/1999/05/41-3-managing-brands-for-the-long-run-effective-brand-reinforcement-and-revitalization-strategies) · cmr.berkeley.edu - [Domino's first-quarter 2010 results (SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1286681/000119312510105392/dex991.htm) · sec.gov - [Domino's 2010 annual report, form 10-K (SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1286681/000119312511050979/d10k.htm) · sec.gov - [Juan Valdez: our history](https://juanvaldez.com/nuestra-historia/) · juanvaldez.com - [WARC: the Juan Valdez campaign](https://www.warc.com/content/article/gale-emmc/national-federation-of-coffee-growers-of-colombia-juan-valdez-campaign/en-gb/84481) · warc.com - [La República: Procafecol's 2024 revenue](https://www.larepublica.co/empresas/los-ingresos-de-procafecol-alcanzaron-807-300-millones-9-8-mas-frente-a-2023-4097461) · larepublica.co - [Dunkin' press release, 25 September 2018](https://news.dunkindonuts.com/news/releases-20180925) · news.dunkindonuts.com - [Dunkin' Brands fourth-quarter 2019 results (SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1357204/000135720420000004/dnkn-ex99120191228xpr.htm) · sec.gov - [BBVA unifies its brand worldwide (2019)](https://www.bbva.com/es/mx/bbva-unifica-su-marca-en-mexico-y-en-todo-el-mundo-tambien-cambia-su-logo/) · bbva.com - [Kering 2019 annual results](https://echanges.dila.gouv.fr/OPENDATA/AMF/BWR/2020/02/FCBWR123517%5F20200212.pdf) · echanges.dila.gouv.fr - [Kering 2025 results](https://www.kering.com/en/news/2025-results-sequential-improvement-unlocking-the-next-phase-of-sustainable-and-profitable-growth/) · kering.com - [SEAT: the CUPRA launch](https://www.seat.com/company/news/cars/cupra-sports-car-launch) · seat.com - [Volkswagen Group: SEAT and CUPRA 2025 deliveries](https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/articles/seat-and-cupra-breaks-all-time-sales-record-in-2025-despite-industry-headwinds-20084) · volkswagen-group.com - [Harvard Business Review: Burberry's CEO on turning an aging British icon into a global luxury brand](https://hbr.org/2013/01/burberrys-ceo-on-turning-an-aging-british-icon-into-a-global-luxury-brand) · hbr.org - [Burberry preliminary results 2013/14](https://investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/burberry-group--brby/preliminary-results/3543940) · investegate.co.uk [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/studio/) Nicolás Cerón is the founder of Dardo, a brand, web design and development studio in Bogotá, Colombia. ## Related articles - [**Rebrand launch checklist: brand rollout and website go-live, phase by phase**A launch checklist for a new website and a new or changed brand: what to finish weeks before, in launch week, on launch day and in the 30 days after.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/brand-launch-checklist/) - [**How to choose a rebranding agency in Colombia and compare proposals**Before hiring a rebranding agency, settle the scope, compare what each proposal delivers and clear any new name with Colombia's SIC.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/choose-rebranding-agency-colombia/) - [**3D websites: when they're worth it and how to keep them fast**When a 3D website earns its place, when video or images work better, and how we kept Janus Observatory's ten 3D worlds fast, accessible and usable.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/3d-websites/) - [**WordPress or a custom website? How to choose, and when each one pays off**When WordPress is the right choice, when a custom site pays off, and the middle path of headless WordPress, compared on cost, speed, updates and ownership.](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/wordpress-vs-custom-website/) ## Keep exploring. - [Service · **Brand repositioning strategy and messaging**](https://dardo.studio/en/services/brand-repositioning/) - [Your project · **Start a conversation**](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/)