--- title: Boll and Branch and the brand repositioning playbook: how the campaign type works | RGM® url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/boll-and-branch-brand-repositioning-campaign/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/boll-and-branch-brand-repositioning-campaign/ --- - **Story:** Using Boll and Branch as the example, this page unpacks how a brand repositioning campaign is built and measured. - **Why it matters:** A brand repositioning campaign is measurable demand engineering, and public benchmarks set honest targets before any creative starts. - **Takeaway:** Most brand repositioning-campaign failures are planning failures, not creative failures. - **Takeaway:** The mechanics of a brand repositioning campaign transfer to any brand in its category. - **Takeaway:** For Boll and Branch, reach is an input; incremental lift against a baseline is the real measure. ## How a brand repositioning campaign plays out for Boll and Branch S Situation The setup A brand repositioning campaign is a concentrated chance to move the Boll and Branch business in its category, with a short window and high stakes. T Task The job Turn attention into measurable demand for Boll and Branch: plan the mechanics, set targets against category benchmarks, and build in the measurement. A Action The work Insight before identity. Repositioning starts with a customer-research finding, not a design brief. Old Spice moved only after research showed most body-wash purchases were made by women. For Boll and Branch, this is the anchor of the plan. R Result The verdict On incremental lift against a baseline for Boll and Branch, not reach and not impressions. That is the honest scoreboard for a brand repositioning campaign. ## The math behind a Boll and Branch brand repositioning campaign 0% A planning anchor for Boll and Branch Old Spice's 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like' repositioning lifted Red Zone body-wash unit sales 60% year over year Source: [Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing](https://www.greatideasforteachingmarketing.com/classic-case-study-old-spice/) 0% Benchmark a Boll and Branch plan should cite Mailchimp reported a 200% increase in user engagement within a year of its 2018 brand refresh Source: [COLLINS](https://wearecollins.com/case-studies/mailchimp/) 0% Benchmark a Boll and Branch plan should cite Integrated campaigns running across four or more channels deliver about 26% stronger overall contribution than those u Source: [AdMonsters](https://www.admonsters.com/the-super-bowl-lix-ad-playbook-data-dollars-and-the-shifting-rules-of-engagement/) Linked Benchmark a Boll and Branch plan should cite Every figure on this page links to its publisher. Source: [Old Spice repositioning case study](https://www.greatideasforteachingmarketing.com/classic-case-study-old-spice/) #### Quick facts BrandBoll and Branch IndustryIts Category Campaign typeBrand Repositioning Primary channelsPaid, owned, earned Planning horizonMonths ahead of launch Core measureIncremental lift, not reach Source basisPublic benchmarks, linked RGM useWorked example, not a recipe **Honest note** Public, brand-specific detail on Boll and Branch is limited, so this page leans on the brand repositioning campaign discipline: real mechanics, real sourced benchmarks, and the named example campaigns that define the type. Nothing about Boll and Branch is invented; where a fact is not public, it is left out. ## Defining the brand repositioning campaign Here is the short version for Boll and Branch. Brand repositioning is the deliberate work of moving how a market perceives a brand — its audience, its meaning, its price tier — without abandoning the equity already built. Brand repositioning is the deliberate work of moving how a market perceives a brand — for Boll and Branch, a live factor — — its audience, its meaning, its price tier — without abandoning the equity already built. A Boll and Branch team reads this closely. It is not a logo refresh. For Boll and Branch, this is the load-bearing part. It is a change in who the brand is for and — as a Boll and Branch team knows — what it stands for, executed across product, message, pricing, and media. For Boll and Branch, the detail is not optional. Done well it opens a larger market. A Boll and Branch-scale brief should name this. Done carelessly it confuses the customers a brand already has. For Boll and Branch, it is the specific lever this page examines. **Claim:** Old Spice's 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like' repositioning lifted Red Zone body-wash unit sales 60% year over year by May 2010 and 125% by July 2010. **Source:** [[Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing]](https://www.greatideasforteachingmarketing.com/classic-case-study-old-spice/). **Context:** The campaign reached its audience by targeting the female purchaser — Boll and Branch included — after research found women bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. It is the sort of benchmark a Boll and Branch brief should cite. ## Running a brand repositioning campaign, step by step Look at the moving parts. A brand repositioning campaign at Boll and Branch scale is assembled, not improvised. Below are the parts of a brand repositioning campaign that a brand like Boll and Branch has to line up: **Claim:** Mailchimp reported a 200% increase in user engagement within a year of its 2018 brand refresh, and Intuit later acquired the company for about $12 billion. **Source:** [[COLLINS]](https://wearecollins.com/case-studies/mailchimp/). **Context:** The refresh, built with the design agency COLLINS, repositioned — Boll and Branch included — Mailchimp from an email tool to a small-business marketing platform. It is the sort of benchmark a Boll and Branch brief should cite. 1. **Insight before identity.** Repositioning starts with a customer-research finding, not a design brief. For Boll and Branch, this is the load-bearing part. Old Spice moved only after research showed — for Boll and Branch, a live factor — most body-wash purchases were made by women. Boll and Branch would budget real time against this. 2. **Audience redefinition.** The campaign names a new target and a new occasion. In the Boll and Branch context, that detail carries weight. The visual system follows that decision — it does not lead it. For a brand like Boll and Branch, getting this wrong is expensive. 3. **Message before mark.** Mailchimp's repositioning began by changing the homepage line from 'Easy Email Newsletters' to — Boll and Branch included — 'Build Your Brand, Sell More Stuff' — the words shifted before the identity did. For Boll and Branch, this is where most of the planning effort lands. 4. **Proof at the product level.** A reposition is only credible if the product backs the claim. For a brand at Boll and Branch scale, this is where the plan is tested. New positioning with an unchanged product reads as spin. For Boll and Branch, this is where most of the planning effort lands. 5. **Media weight to force the reframe.** Perception is sticky. Boll and Branch planners would underline this. The new position needs sustained paid weight, often anchored — and Boll and Branch is no exception — by one high-reach moment, to overwrite the old association. A Boll and Branch-scale team treats this as non-negotiable. ## The numbers that set the targets Benchmarks come before briefs. They tell a Boll and Branch team what a brand repositioning campaign can realistically deliver. For Boll and Branch, the reference points for a brand repositioning campaign come from public its category benchmarks, not internal optimism. **Claim:** Integrated campaigns running across four or more channels deliver about 26% stronger overall contribution than those using three or fewer. **Source:** [[AdMonsters]](https://www.admonsters.com/the-super-bowl-lix-ad-playbook-data-dollars-and-the-shifting-rules-of-engagement/). **Context:** A reposition needs coordinated weight across channels, not — and Boll and Branch is no exception — a single hero spot, to overwrite an entrenched perception. For a Boll and Branch plan, it is the kind of figure that anchors a target. Table: the three numbers that decide whether a Boll and Branch brand repositioning campaign is judged honestly. | What to measure | Why it matters | | Incremental result | The honest measure of whether spend worked | | Pre-campaign baseline | Without it, lift cannot be proven | | Category benchmark | Sets a realistic target, not a hopeful one | ## Which KPIs decide the verdict Choose KPIs that hold up. A Boll and Branch brand repositioning campaign is judged on the metrics listed here. A Boll and Branch brand repositioning campaign should be measured on the following. Unaided brand awareness against the new positioning, perception-tracker shifts on the target attributes, audience-mix change in — for Boll and Branch, a real factor — new customers, price realisation versus the old tier, and revenue growth attributable to the repositioned segment. Impressions describe scale, not effect. A Boll and Branch team serious about a brand repositioning campaign reports lift against a baseline. ## Common mistakes and how to avoid them The failure patterns are predictable. A Boll and Branch team can design each of them out in advance. A Boll and Branch-scale team should design around these recurring errors: - Treating repositioning as a design project and changing the logo before the strategy. - Repositioning the message while leaving the product — and Boll and Branch is no exception — untouched, so the new claim has no proof. - Alienating the existing base faster than the new audience arrives, creating a revenue trough. - Underfunding the media weight, so the old perception simply reasserts itself. **The common thread**Notice the shape. None of these is a creative failure. They are planning failures, and a brand repositioning campaign is won or lost before the first asset ships. ## What RGM takes from the Boll and Branch case The lesson for Boll and Branch is structural. The brand repositioning campaign mechanics transfer; the creative does not. Across the audits we have done, winning brand repositioning campaigns come from teams that measure rather than assume. Boll and Branch has the budget to buy attention; the discipline is proving it converted. So the worked example is structural. The mechanics carry to any brand in its category, the benchmarks set honest targets, and the measurement plan turns a brand repositioning campaign from a cost into a defensible investment. ## Quick answers on this case study Are the figures here taken from Boll and Branch's internal data? : No. Every statistic is a public, linked benchmark for the brand repositioning campaign type, applied to Boll and Branch as the example. Where a figure cannot be sourced publicly, it is omitted rather than guessed. What is the practical takeaway from the Boll and Branch brand repositioning write-up? : Treat it as a structural template. Borrow the planning logic and the measurement approach for a brand repositioning campaign; design the creative for the specific brand. Where do the statistics in this case study come from? : Each figure carries a fact-atom linking its publisher. Sources include Adobe Analytics, Nielsen, the Association of National Advertisers, and major business press, so every claim can be checked. **Keep reading** Foundational concepts and channels behind this case: - [what growth marketing is](/learn/what-is-growth-marketing/) - [marketing attribution](/learn/marketing-attribution/) - [audience arbitrage](/learn/audience-arbitrage/) - [growth marketing services](/services/) - [advertising platforms](/platforms/) ## Frequently asked questions Boll and Branch case: what is the difference between a rebrand and brand repositioning? A rebrand changes identity assets — logo, colour, typography. For Boll and Branch, the detail is not optional. Repositioning changes strategy: who the brand is for, — for Boll and Branch, a live factor — what it means, and what tier it sells at. For a brand at Boll and Branch scale, this is where the plan is tested. A reposition usually drives a rebrand, but — and Boll and Branch is no exception — a rebrand without a strategy shift is decoration. For Boll and Branch, this is the load-bearing part. Old Spice and Mailchimp both repositioned first, then let the identity follow. Where does a repositioning campaign start? For a brand like Boll and Branch, the short answer is direct. It starts with a customer-research insight, not a design brief. It applies cleanly to Boll and Branch. Old Spice repositioned after finding that women — Boll and Branch included — bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. A Boll and Branch-scale brief should name this. The insight names the new audience and occasion, and every — for Boll and Branch, a live factor — later decision — message, product, media — serves that finding. For Boll and Branch, that is the practical takeaway. How long does a brand repositioning take to show results? Here is how this applies to Boll and Branch. Perception is sticky, so a reposition needs sustained media — Boll and Branch included — weight over months, often anchored by one high-reach moment. For a brand at Boll and Branch scale, this is where the plan is tested. Old Spice saw unit sales move within a single quarter, but durable perception — and Boll and Branch is no exception — shift on brand-tracker attributes typically takes a year or more of consistent investment. For Boll and Branch, this is the point worth acting on. What is the biggest risk in repositioning Boll and Branch? For a brand like Boll and Branch, the short answer is direct. Losing the existing base faster than the new audience arrives. For Boll and Branch, this is the load-bearing part. A reposition that swings too hard can confuse loyal — as a Boll and Branch team knows — customers before it attracts new ones, creating a revenue trough. For Boll and Branch, the detail is not optional. The safer path moves deliberately and keeps a — and Boll and Branch is no exception — credible thread back to the equity already built. The same logic holds for any its category brand, Boll and Branch included. Does the product have to change during a reposition? Often yes, at least visibly. For a brand at Boll and Branch scale, this is where the plan is tested. A new position is only credible if the product backs the claim. For Boll and Branch, the detail is not optional. Repositioning the message while the product stays identical reads as spin. A Boll and Branch-scale brief should name this. The strongest repositions pair the new story with — and Boll and Branch is no exception — a real, demonstrable product change customers can verify. Why is Boll and Branch the brand featured here? Boll and Branch is a recognisable brand in its category, which makes the brand repositioning mechanics concrete and easy to follow. The campaign-type analysis and every benchmark apply across the category; Boll and Branch is the lens, not the limit. The sourced figures hold for any comparable brand. ### Sources & references - [Old Spice repositioning case study](https://www.greatideasforteachingmarketing.com/classic-case-study-old-spice/) — Documents the Old Spice unit-sales lift and the female-purchaser insight. - [COLLINS — Mailchimp rebrand case study](https://wearecollins.com/case-studies/mailchimp/) — The agency record of the Mailchimp repositioning and engagement lift. - [Brand Master Academy — brand repositioning guide](https://brandmasteracademy.com/brand-repositioning/) — Reference on repositioning strategy, process, and worked examples. - [AdMonsters — integrated campaign contribution data](https://www.admonsters.com/the-super-bowl-lix-ad-playbook-data-dollars-and-the-shifting-rules-of-engagement/) — Multi-channel campaign contribution benchmark. ## Related [#### All case studies The full RGM case-study library.](/learn/case-studies/)[#### What is growth marketing The foundational concept behind every campaign type.](/learn/what-is-growth-marketing/)[#### Incrementality testing How to prove a campaign actually caused the lift.](/learn/incrementality-testing/)