Again in 2011, BODYARMOR hit the cabinets with daring packaging, a better-for-you promise and a mission to shake up the sports activities drink aisle. Almost 15 years later, the cabinets are extra crowded, the stakes are increased and BODYARMOR wanted a reset.
It developed a brand new visible id and marketing campaign — it is a delicate but daring message tweak that communicates the worth of authenticity regardless of altering appears to be like.
Behind the new commercials and bottles is a blueprint that small enterprise house owners ought to pay shut consideration to. Rebranding is not only for billion-dollar beverage corporations — it is a transfer that, when timed proper, can unlock your online business’s subsequent degree.
BODYARMOR’s CMO, Tom Gargiulo, sat down with Entrepreneur to debate the corporate’s new inventive route and advertising and marketing technique. Listed below are 5 classes to study from its model reset.
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1. You do not should be damaged to reinvent
When you’re ready till gross sales drop off a cliff or your opinions go south to contemplate a rebrand, you would possibly already be too late.
BODYARMOR did not await a disaster. Although folks “completely love” the product, “our aided consciousness may be very, very low for the dimensions of the model that we’re,” Gargiulo says.
Translation? The product was working, however the model wasn’t telling its story effectively sufficient. So BODYARMOR modernized its packaging and simplified the design to spotlight elements and differentiate the product lineup.
Picture Credit score: BODYARMOR
“We needed to create a brand new visible ID system,” Gargiulo says, “maintaining numerous the identical parts that we had up to now, however updating it, and we needed to create a persistent platform for this model shifting ahead.”
Small enterprise house owners typically concentrate on survival mode — fixing issues and plugging holes. However generally, the larger alternative lies in amplification: clarifying who you might be, whom you are for and why it issues.
2. Make your id work more durable
BODYARMOR’s new branding options font tweaks and a brand redesign, nevertheless it additionally re-focuses on the model’s id. The refresh consists of color-coded product strains, extra distinguished fruit imagery and a gladiator-inspired defend meant to characterize power, unity and ahead movement.
“We needed to modernize the feel and appear,” Gargiulo says, “but in addition make the model simpler to grasp.”
That is the rebranding candy spot for small companies. Do not simply chase developments; make clear your id. If a brand new buyer finds your services or products for the primary time, does your model clarify itself in 10 seconds or much less? If not, you is perhaps due for a recent look.
Picture Credit score: BODYARMOR
3. Each design determination is strategic
Here is a little-known fact about model confusion: it would not take a lot. One mismatched font. A crowded product label. A reputation that is sensible to you however to not your market.
BODYARMOR seen some clients had been confused about its “LYTE” and “ZERO” strains, so it stripped the muddle, assigned every sub-brand a singular shade and made advantages like “no synthetic sweeteners” entrance and heart.
Small companies typically consider design because the final step in launching a product. However in actuality, it is the entrance line of communication. It is often the very first thing your clients see! Do not deal with it as ornament.
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4. A terrific marketing campaign makes the rebrand actual
BODYARMOR additionally launched its “Select Higher” branding business marketing campaign. The commercials are constructed round a dystopian world of routine and monotony, adopted by an explosion of shade, motion and new prospects.
The marketing campaign’s commercials function numerous BODYARMOR athletes, together with Professional Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow, NHL all-star Connor McDavid, WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu, and Dallas Cowboys vast receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Sabrina Ionescu – Picture Credit score: Bodyarmor
The marketing campaign speaks to a easy fact: Most individuals do not know why they purchase what they purchase. They comply with habits, search for familiarity and have a tendency to gravitate towards the identical factor they’ve at all times reached for. That is as true for sports activities drinks as it’s for native cafés or on-line attire manufacturers.
rebrand challenges these defaults. It says, “There’s a greater approach, and we’re it.” Campaigns and rebrands do not succeed due to massive names — they work due to authenticity.
“BODYARMOR is about being higher daily,” Burrow tells Entrepreneur. “That is precisely what I attempt to do. Our messaging aligns completely.”
5. Developments do not change belief
With new competitors from influencer-led manufacturers like Prime or Feastables, BODYARMOR is staying alert however not reactive out of concern.
“We’re not shifting utterly to a life-style model,” Gargiulo says. “We’re simply opening our apertures somewhat bit extra.”
In different phrases, concentrate on the place tradition goes, however do not lose your id attempting to comply with new developments.
The identical applies to small companies. To attach along with your viewers, you do not want a viral dance problem or a Gen Z aesthetic. You want relevance. Relevance comes from realizing your worth and exhibiting it in a approach that resonates.
“You may see how (BODYARMOR is) evolving and at all times striving to enhance,” Ionescu tells Entrepreneur. “That mindset reveals via their merchandise — serving to athletes and on a regular basis shoppers perceive what they’re placing into their our bodies. This hydration stands out as one of the best, and it impacts us each on and off the court docket.”
So, when’s the correct time to rebrand? It is perhaps now, not since you’re damaged, however since you’re rising, your clients have modified, your message is not touchdown prefer it used to or since you’re prepared for the following chapter.
Rebranding is not a danger. Stagnation is.
As BODYARMOR’s marketing campaign suggests, higher does not imply good. It means progress and evolution. And whether or not you are a billion-dollar beverage or a 10-person enterprise, your objective and authenticity must be the identical.
