--- title: How a brand repositioning campaign works, with Github as the example | RGM® url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/github-brand-repositioning-campaign/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/github-brand-repositioning-campaign/ --- - **Story:** Github is the worked example here for a brand repositioning campaign: what it is, how it runs, and what the numbers say. - **Why it matters:** The value of a brand repositioning campaign comes from rigour: clear targets, real benchmarks, built-in measurement. - **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 Github, reach is an input; incremental lift against a baseline is the real measure. ## How a brand repositioning campaign plays out for Github S Situation Where it starts A brand repositioning campaign is a concentrated chance to move the Github business in its category, with a short window and high stakes. T Task What had to happen Turn attention into measurable demand for Github: plan the mechanics, set targets against category benchmarks, and build in the measurement. A Action The execution 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 Github, this is the anchor of the plan. R Result The scoreboard On incremental lift against a baseline for Github, not reach and not impressions. That is the honest scoreboard for a brand repositioning campaign. ## The math behind a Github brand repositioning campaign 0% A reference point for Github forecasting 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% A reference point for Github forecasting 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% A planning anchor for Github 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 A reference point for Github forecasting 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 BrandGithub 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 Github 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 Github is invented; where a fact is not public, it is left out. ## The brand repositioning campaign, defined First principles, then Github. 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 — Github included — — its audience, its meaning, its price tier — without abandoning the equity already built. A Github-scale brief should name this. It is not a logo refresh. For a brand at Github scale, this is where the plan is tested. It is a change in who the brand is for and — and Github is no exception — what it stands for, executed across product, message, pricing, and media. For Github, this is the load-bearing part. Done well it opens a larger market. In the Github context, that detail carries weight. Done carelessly it confuses the customers a brand already has. This page applies that definition to Github. **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 — and Github is no exception — after research found women bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. It is the sort of benchmark a Github brief should cite. ## Running a brand repositioning campaign, step by step These are the components a Github-scale team has to coordinate for a brand repositioning campaign. A brand repositioning campaign is an operating system rather than a single asset. For Github, these parts have to work together: **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 — for Github, a real factor — Mailchimp from an email tool to a small-business marketing platform. For a Github plan, it is the kind of figure that anchors a target. 1. **Audience redefinition.** The campaign names a new target and a new occasion. In the Github context, that detail carries weight. The visual system follows that decision — it does not lead it. Github would budget real time against this. 2. **Message before mark.** Mailchimp's repositioning began by changing the homepage line from 'Easy Email Newsletters' to — Github included — 'Build Your Brand, Sell More Stuff' — the words shifted before the identity did. This step decides how the rest of the Github plan holds up. 3. **Proof at the product level.** A reposition is only credible if the product backs the claim. A Github team reads this closely. New positioning with an unchanged product reads as spin. For a brand like Github, getting this wrong is expensive. 4. **Media weight to force the reframe.** Perception is sticky. It applies cleanly to Github. The new position needs sustained paid weight, often anchored — and Github is no exception — by one high-reach moment, to overwrite the old association. For a brand like Github, getting this wrong is expensive. 5. **Insight before identity.** Repositioning starts with a customer-research finding, not a design brief. It applies cleanly to Github. Old Spice moved only after research showed — and Github is no exception — most body-wash purchases were made by women. This step decides how the rest of the Github plan holds up. ## The numbers that set the targets Read the numbers first. Public benchmarks set the realistic range for a brand repositioning campaign at Github before any creative work. For Github, 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 — for Github, a real factor — a single hero spot, to overwrite an entrenched perception. For Github, this number sets expectations before the work starts. Table: the three numbers that decide whether a Github 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 Pick the right scoreboard for Github. The metrics below separate a campaign that moved the business from one that moved a dashboard. The KPIs that count for a brand repositioning campaign are listed here. Unaided brand awareness against the new positioning, perception-tracker shifts on the target attributes, audience-mix change in — Github included — new customers, price realisation versus the old tier, and revenue growth attributable to the repositioned segment. Impressions describe scale, not effect. A Github team serious about a brand repositioning campaign reports lift against a baseline. ## Where these campaigns go wrong Most failures repeat. The four errors below sink a large share of brand repositioning campaigns, and each one is avoidable for Github. A Github-scale team should design around these recurring errors: - 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. - Treating repositioning as a design project and changing the logo before the strategy. - Repositioning the message while leaving the product — and Github is no exception — untouched, so the new claim has no proof. **What to notice**Each failure traces to planning, not to the work itself. A Github brand repositioning campaign is set up to win, or not, in advance. ## What RGM takes from the Github case For Github, the value is the model. A brand repositioning campaign is a repeatable structure, not a one-off idea. Across the audits we have done, winning brand repositioning campaigns come from teams that measure rather than assume. Github 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. ## Fast answers Does this page report private Github campaign numbers? : No. The figures are public industry benchmarks for brand repositioning campaigns, each sourced and linked. They show how the campaign type works, set against the Github context. Any number that is not publicly sourceable is left out or marked as RGM analysis. How should a marketing team use this Github example? : Use the structure, not the surface. The brand repositioning-campaign mechanics here apply broadly; the Github creative is one execution among many. What sources back the numbers on this page? : The numbers are drawn from public reporting by Adobe Analytics, Nielsen, the ANA, and established business press, and each one links back to its source. **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 Where does a repositioning campaign start? For a brand like Github, the short answer is direct. It starts with a customer-research insight, not a design brief. For Github, the detail is not optional. Old Spice repositioned after finding that women — as a Github team knows — bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. For Github, this is the load-bearing part. The insight names the new audience and occasion, and every — for Github, a live factor — later decision — message, product, media — serves that finding. For Github, that is the practical takeaway. How long does a brand repositioning take to show results? For a brand like Github, the short answer is direct. Perception is sticky, so a reposition needs sustained media — Github included — weight over months, often anchored by one high-reach moment. A Github team reads this closely. Old Spice saw unit sales move within a single quarter, but durable perception — as a Github team knows — shift on brand-tracker attributes typically takes a year or more of consistent investment. For Github, that is the practical takeaway. What is the biggest risk in repositioning a brand for a brand like Github? Taking Github as the example: Losing the existing base faster than the new audience arrives. It applies cleanly to Github. A reposition that swings too hard can confuse loyal — and Github is no exception — customers before it attracts new ones, creating a revenue trough. For Github, this is the load-bearing part. The safer path moves deliberately and keeps a — and Github is no exception — credible thread back to the equity already built. A Github team would plan against exactly this. Does the product have to change during a reposition? Taking Github as the example: Often yes, at least visibly. For a brand at Github scale, this is where the plan is tested. A new position is only credible if the product backs the claim. For Github, the detail is not optional. Repositioning the message while the product stays identical reads as spin. A Github-scale brief should name this. The strongest repositions pair the new story with — for Github, a live factor — a real, demonstrable product change customers can verify. For Github, this is the point worth acting on. What is the difference between a rebrand and brand repositioning? Here is how this applies to Github. A rebrand changes identity assets — logo, colour, typography. For Github, this is the load-bearing part. Repositioning changes strategy: who the brand is for, — for Github, a live factor — what it means, and what tier it sells at. In the Github context, that detail carries weight. A reposition usually drives a rebrand, but — and Github is no exception — a rebrand without a strategy shift is decoration. It applies cleanly to Github. Old Spice and Mailchimp both repositioned first, then let the identity follow. For Github, this is the point worth acting on. What makes Github a useful example for this campaign type? Github 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; Github 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/)