Lately I’ve noticed some brand repositioning going on and I’ve also noticed a common theme between some of these efforts. Some companies are trying to take the focus off the products themselves and place more focus on the brand and what the brand can add to the lives of their consumers. Crocs and Toyota have especially had high profiles recently in their attempts to do just this.  These two brands are working hard to reposition themselves and change long-standing perceptions by primarily illustrating brand benefits while letting product benefits become secondary in their marketing and advertising messaging. Why would any company or organization want to do that? Well, frankly, both of these brands are associated with products that have been deemed “uncool” and if you can’t push an uncool product, you’ve got to focus on the brand if you want to survive.

Crocs has not turned a profit since 2005 and has even been the victim of some serious brand bashing with websites like  IHateCrocs.com and anti-Croc groups forming in the social media realm. They have already tried to poke some fun at themselves with taglines such as “Ugly can be beautiful” but clearly it’s not working if there is still no profit in sight. So now Crocs is trying to build themselves up as a stylish shoe choice but not by focusing on the aesthetics (they are taking neither a positive nor a negative stance on that subject). Instead, they are focusing on the comfort of Croslite, the shoe material that has made the brand famous. They are making comfort stylish. This is especially apparent in the advertisements targeting women. In these ads, the shoes are personified into a loyal friend that will take care of you by providing comfort and love instead of just being a shoe. These ads (TV, print, outdoor, and online) show different styles of Crocs fitting into the lives of women in such a way. In fact, the tagline is even “Feel the love” which obviously focuses more on the intangible benefit of Crocs rather than just saying “buy this shoe because it’s pretty” (and I use that term loosely). You can watch one of the television ads here or check out one of the print ads here. Ken Chaplin, vice president for marketing at Crocs has even said, “What we want to do is establish Crocs as a brand and not that one shoe.”

Toyota is working hard to make the Sienna minivan look cool with their series of “Meet the Parents” commercials. These ads are meant to appeal to an audience that would appreciate the humor in these parodies of everyday life in middle to upper class America. Toyota is using this humor to establish themselves as a fun brand probably hoping this new perception will override any negative thoughts either regarding their overall brand image or minivans themselves. If Toyota can succeed in appealing to their target audience by making them laugh and getting them to relate to these Sienna commercials then they can increase the chances of making the Sienna more attractive to people that may have previously turned their noses up at minivans. There has been a lot of both positive and negative feedback on these ads. Some people have found no humor in them or have described them as “random”, “annoying” and “weird”. But as Marshall Ross, chief creative officer at Cramer-Krasselt (ad agency responsible for the new Crocs campaign), says, “Every interesting idea has a polarizing effect. Things that walk right down the middle don’t tend to get as much response.” If Toyota can reposition the minivan so it’s not just viewed as a vehicle that gets kids to soccer practice and back but as a place for a father to feel like a boss or a sanctuary where the mother can find peace then more power to them.

I am not the biggest Toyota fan right now (as I am sure most others are not as well) but all other things aside, I must applaud both of these brands in their efforts to reposition themselves. Brand repositioning is never an easy feat but I feel both of them have a healthy grasp on where they’d like to go and how they plan on getting there. I guess time will tell the true success of these campaigns.