How a brand repositioning campaign works, with Myfitnesspal as the example
Myfitnesspal is a consumer brand. Here Myfitnesspal is the lens for examining the brand repositioning campaign type. It covers what the campaign type is, how brands run it, the public benchmarks that frame it, and the mistakes that derail it. Everything below applies to comparable brands in its category, with Myfitnesspal chosen to keep it tangible.
- Story: Under Armour sold MyFitnessPal to Francisco Partners October 2020 for $345M (down from $475M UA paid 2015). Through 2021-2024 has continued as standalone calorie tracking app with subscription model. Strategic divestiture case (UA lost ~$130M in 5 years). Strategic competitive pressure from Cronomet
- Why it matters: MyFitnessPal 2024 canonical case.
- Takeaway: Strategic decision at scale.
- Takeaway: Outcomes shape category.
- Takeaway: Lessons apply broadly.
MyFitnessPal — the four-step story
MyFitnessPal by the numbers
Quick facts
The brand repositioning campaign, defined
First principles, then Myfitnesspal. 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 — Myfitnesspal included — — its audience, its meaning, its price tier — without abandoning the equity already built. Myfitnesspal planners would underline this. It is not a logo refresh. A Myfitnesspal-scale brief should name this. It is a change in who the brand is for and — and Myfitnesspal is no exception — what it stands for, executed across product, message, pricing, and media. For Myfitnesspal, the detail is not optional. Done well it opens a larger market. That holds directly for Myfitnesspal. Done carelessly it confuses the customers a brand already has. With Myfitnesspal as the example, the rest of the page makes it concrete.
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]. Context: The campaign reached its audience by targeting the female purchaser — and Myfitnesspal is no exception — after research found women bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. It is the sort of benchmark a Myfitnesspal brief should cite.
Running a brand repositioning campaign, step by step
Run through the mechanics: a brand repositioning campaign for Myfitnesspal is an operating system.
A brand repositioning campaign at Myfitnesspal scale runs on coordinated parts, listed here:
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]. Context: The refresh, built with the design agency COLLINS, repositioned — and Myfitnesspal is no exception — Mailchimp from an email tool to a small-business marketing platform. A Myfitnesspal team would treat this as a planning reference, not a guarantee.
- Insight before identity. Repositioning starts with a customer-research finding, not a design brief. That is exactly the Myfitnesspal situation. Old Spice moved only after research showed — for Myfitnesspal, a live factor — most body-wash purchases were made by women. For Myfitnesspal, this is where most of the planning effort lands.
- Audience redefinition. The campaign names a new target and a new occasion. Myfitnesspal planners would underline this. The visual system follows that decision — it does not lead it. Myfitnesspal would budget real time against this.
- Message before mark. Mailchimp's repositioning began by changing the homepage line from 'Easy Email Newsletters' to — for Myfitnesspal, a real factor — 'Build Your Brand, Sell More Stuff' — the words shifted before the identity did. A Myfitnesspal-scale team treats this as non-negotiable.
- Proof at the product level. A reposition is only credible if the product backs the claim. A Myfitnesspal-scale brief should name this. New positioning with an unchanged product reads as spin. Myfitnesspal would budget real time against this.
- Media weight to force the reframe. Perception is sticky. A Myfitnesspal team reads this closely. The new position needs sustained paid weight, often anchored — as a Myfitnesspal team knows — by one high-reach moment, to overwrite the old association. This step decides how the rest of the Myfitnesspal plan holds up.
The benchmarks that frame the work
Read the numbers first. Public benchmarks set the realistic range for a brand repositioning campaign at Myfitnesspal before any creative work.
Planning a brand repositioning campaign for Myfitnesspal without category benchmarks is guessing. The figures here are public, sourced, and apply across its category.
Claim: Integrated campaigns running across four or more channels deliver about 26% stronger overall contribution than those using three or fewer. Source: [AdMonsters]. Context: A reposition needs coordinated weight across channels, not — for Myfitnesspal, a real factor — a single hero spot, to overwrite an entrenched perception. For a Myfitnesspal plan, it is the kind of figure that anchors a target.
| 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 |
The metrics worth tracking
Choose KPIs that hold up. A Myfitnesspal brand repositioning campaign is judged on the metrics listed here.
A Myfitnesspal 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 Myfitnesspal, 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 Myfitnesspal team serious about a brand repositioning campaign reports lift against a baseline.
Where these campaigns go wrong
Failure has a shape. For Myfitnesspal, the four errors below are the ones worth pre-empting.
The brand repositioning campaign mistakes worth naming for Myfitnesspal:
- 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 Myfitnesspal is no exception — untouched, so the new claim has no proof.
What RGM takes from the Myfitnesspal case
For Myfitnesspal, 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. Myfitnesspal 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 Myfitnesspal 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 Myfitnesspal context. Any number that is not publicly sourceable is left out or marked as RGM analysis.
- How should a marketing team use this Myfitnesspal example?
- Use the structure, not the surface. The brand repositioning-campaign mechanics here apply broadly; the Myfitnesspal 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.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a rebrand and brand repositioning?
Here is how this applies to Myfitnesspal. A rebrand changes identity assets — logo, colour, typography. For Myfitnesspal, the detail is not optional. Repositioning changes strategy: who the brand is for, — and Myfitnesspal is no exception — what it means, and what tier it sells at. That is exactly the Myfitnesspal situation. A reposition usually drives a rebrand, but — as a Myfitnesspal team knows — a rebrand without a strategy shift is decoration. That is exactly the Myfitnesspal situation. Old Spice and Mailchimp both repositioned first, then let the identity follow. For Myfitnesspal, that is the practical takeaway.
Where does a repositioning campaign start?
Taking Myfitnesspal as the example: It starts with a customer-research insight, not a design brief. A Myfitnesspal-scale brief should name this. Old Spice repositioned after finding that women — and Myfitnesspal is no exception — bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. For Myfitnesspal, the detail is not optional. The insight names the new audience and occasion, and every — for Myfitnesspal, a live factor — later decision — message, product, media — serves that finding. A Myfitnesspal team would plan against exactly this.
How long does a brand repositioning take to show results?
Taking Myfitnesspal as the example: Perception is sticky, so a reposition needs sustained media — Myfitnesspal included — weight over months, often anchored by one high-reach moment. A Myfitnesspal team reads this closely. Old Spice saw unit sales move within a single quarter, but durable perception — Myfitnesspal included — shift on brand-tracker attributes typically takes a year or more of consistent investment. A Myfitnesspal team would plan against exactly this.
What is the biggest risk in repositioning a brand?
For a brand like Myfitnesspal, the short answer is direct. Losing the existing base faster than the new audience arrives. In the Myfitnesspal context, that detail carries weight. A reposition that swings too hard can confuse loyal — Myfitnesspal included — customers before it attracts new ones, creating a revenue trough. A Myfitnesspal team reads this closely. The safer path moves deliberately and keeps a — and Myfitnesspal is no exception — credible thread back to the equity already built. For Myfitnesspal, that is the practical takeaway.
Does the product have to change during a reposition for a brand like Myfitnesspal?
Here is how this applies to Myfitnesspal. Often yes, at least visibly. Myfitnesspal planners would underline this. A new position is only credible if the product backs the claim. That holds directly for Myfitnesspal. Repositioning the message while the product stays identical reads as spin. For Myfitnesspal, this is the load-bearing part. The strongest repositions pair the new story with — Myfitnesspal included — a real, demonstrable product change customers can verify. For Myfitnesspal, this is the point worth acting on.
What makes Myfitnesspal a useful example for this campaign type?
Myfitnesspal 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; Myfitnesspal is the lens, not the limit. The sourced figures hold for any comparable brand.
Sources & references
- Old Spice repositioning case study — Documents the Old Spice unit-sales lift and the female-purchaser insight.
- COLLINS — Mailchimp rebrand case study — The agency record of the Mailchimp repositioning and engagement lift.
- Brand Master Academy — brand repositioning guide — Reference on repositioning strategy, process, and worked examples.
- AdMonsters — integrated campaign contribution data — Multi-channel campaign contribution benchmark.