--- title: Substack and the brand repositioning playbook: how the campaign type works | RGM® url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/substack-brand-repositioning-campaign/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/substack-brand-repositioning-campaign/ --- - **Story:** Substack launched Notes April 2023 - short-form social feature competing with Twitter for writers. Strategic expansion from newsletters to social platform. Through 2023-2024 mixed reception - Notes provided creator discovery but didn't displace Twitter. Substack continued growing newsletter business - **Why it matters:** Substack 2023 canonical case. - **Takeaway:** Strategic decision at scale. - **Takeaway:** Outcomes shape category. - **Takeaway:** Lessons apply broadly. ## Substack — the four-step story S Situation Situation Substack context. T Task Task Execute decision. A Action Action Substack action. R Result Result Substack outcomes. ## Substack by the numbers 0 Action year Timeline Source: Records 0 Substack Subject Source: Records 0 Significance Industry Source: Analysis #### Quick facts BrandSubstack 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 Substack 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 Substack is invented; where a fact is not public, it is left out. ## What a brand repositioning campaign is The core idea, before the Substack detail. 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 — as a Substack team knows — — its audience, its meaning, its price tier — without abandoning the equity already built. That holds directly for Substack. It is not a logo refresh. For Substack, this is the load-bearing part. It is a change in who the brand is for and — for Substack, a live factor — what it stands for, executed across product, message, pricing, and media. In the Substack context, that detail carries weight. Done well it opens a larger market. In the Substack context, that detail carries weight. Done carelessly it confuses the customers a brand already has. With Substack 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]](https://www.greatideasforteachingmarketing.com/classic-case-study-old-spice/). **Context:** The campaign reached its audience by targeting the female purchaser — Substack included — after research found women bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. For a Substack plan, it is the kind of figure that anchors a target. ## Running a brand repositioning campaign, step by step Run through the mechanics: a brand repositioning campaign for Substack is an operating system. For Substack, a brand repositioning campaign is less one ad and more a set of connected decisions: **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 — Substack included — Mailchimp from an email tool to a small-business marketing platform. It is the sort of benchmark a Substack brief should cite. 1. **Proof at the product level.** A reposition is only credible if the product backs the claim. A Substack team reads this closely. New positioning with an unchanged product reads as spin. This step decides how the rest of the Substack plan holds up. 2. **Media weight to force the reframe.** Perception is sticky. In the Substack context, that detail carries weight. The new position needs sustained paid weight, often anchored — as a Substack team knows — by one high-reach moment, to overwrite the old association. A Substack-scale team treats this as non-negotiable. 3. **Insight before identity.** Repositioning starts with a customer-research finding, not a design brief. A Substack-scale brief should name this. Old Spice moved only after research showed — and Substack is no exception — most body-wash purchases were made by women. This step decides how the rest of the Substack plan holds up. 4. **Audience redefinition.** The campaign names a new target and a new occasion. A Substack-scale brief should name this. The visual system follows that decision — it does not lead it. Skipping this is the most common Substack-scale error. 5. **Message before mark.** Mailchimp's repositioning began by changing the homepage line from 'Easy Email Newsletters' to — Substack included — 'Build Your Brand, Sell More Stuff' — the words shifted before the identity did. This step decides how the rest of the Substack plan holds up. ## Public benchmarks for this campaign type The data sets the targets. A brand repositioning campaign for Substack should be planned against these figures, not against hope. A Substack team setting brand repositioning campaign targets needs the category data first. The numbers below are public and linked. **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 Substack is no exception — a single hero spot, to overwrite an entrenched perception. A Substack forecast should start from a figure like this. Table: the three numbers that decide whether a Substack brand repositioning campaign is judged honestly. | What to measure | Why it matters | | Pre-campaign baseline | Without it, lift cannot be proven | | Category benchmark | Sets a realistic target, not a hopeful one | | Incremental result | The honest measure of whether spend worked | ## KPIs that actually matter Pick the right scoreboard for Substack. 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 — Substack included — new customers, price realisation versus the old tier, and revenue growth attributable to the repositioned segment. Impressions describe scale, not effect. A Substack team serious about a brand repositioning campaign reports lift against a baseline. ## The failure patterns worth pre-empting These mistakes recur. Knowing them lets a Substack brand repositioning campaign route around the common traps. The brand repositioning campaign mistakes worth naming for Substack: - Treating repositioning as a design project and changing the logo before the strategy. - Repositioning the message while leaving the product — and Substack 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. ## How RGM reads the Substack example One takeaway for Substack: treat the brand repositioning story as a model of the discipline, and copy the structure, not the creative. From the audits we run, the brands that get brand repositioning campaigns right share one habit: they treat the work as measurable demand engineering, not a seasonal ritual. 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 Is this brand repositioning case study based on Substack's own reported results? : 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 Substack context. Any number that is not publicly sourceable is left out or marked as RGM analysis. How should a marketing team use this Substack example? : Read it as a model, not a recipe. The mechanics and benchmarks transfer; the exact creative does not. Use it to pressure-test a brand repositioning plan against how the discipline actually works. 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 What is the biggest risk in repositioning a brand? For a brand like Substack, the short answer is direct. Losing the existing base faster than the new audience arrives. It applies cleanly to Substack. A reposition that swings too hard can confuse loyal — and Substack is no exception — customers before it attracts new ones, creating a revenue trough. For Substack, this is the load-bearing part. The safer path moves deliberately and keeps a — Substack included — credible thread back to the equity already built. For Substack, that is the practical takeaway. Substack case: does the product have to change during a reposition? Here is how this applies to Substack. Often yes, at least visibly. It applies cleanly to Substack. A new position is only credible if the product backs the claim. For Substack, the detail is not optional. Repositioning the message while the product stays identical reads as spin. A Substack-scale brief should name this. The strongest repositions pair the new story with — and Substack is no exception — a real, demonstrable product change customers can verify. For Substack, that is the practical takeaway. What is the difference between a rebrand and brand repositioning for a brand like Substack? For Substack and comparable its category brands, this is the answer. A rebrand changes identity assets — logo, colour, typography. That is exactly the Substack situation. Repositioning changes strategy: who the brand is for, — Substack included — what it means, and what tier it sells at. For a brand at Substack scale, this is where the plan is tested. A reposition usually drives a rebrand, but — Substack included — a rebrand without a strategy shift is decoration. A Substack-scale brief should name this. Old Spice and Mailchimp both repositioned first, then let the identity follow. Substack case: where does a repositioning campaign start? Taking Substack as the example: It starts with a customer-research insight, not a design brief. That is exactly the Substack situation. Old Spice repositioned after finding that women — Substack included — bought roughly 60% of men's body wash. For a brand at Substack scale, this is where the plan is tested. The insight names the new audience and occasion, and every — for Substack, a live factor — later decision — message, product, media — serves that finding. For Substack, this is the point worth acting on. Substack case: how long does a brand repositioning take to show results? For Substack and comparable its category brands, this is the answer. Perception is sticky, so a reposition needs sustained media — and Substack is no exception — weight over months, often anchored by one high-reach moment. That is exactly the Substack situation. Old Spice saw unit sales move within a single quarter, but durable perception — for Substack, a live factor — shift on brand-tracker attributes typically takes a year or more of consistent investment. A Substack team would plan against exactly this. Why is Substack the brand featured here? Substack 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; Substack 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/)