BrandStruck’s goal has always been to serve as a reliable source of knowledge and inspiration for brand strategists, marketers and academics. We strongly believe that the best insights come from exploring categories beyond our own, which is why we place such a strong emphasis on practical examples.
Over the years, we’ve analysed some of the most influential case studies in repositioning and rebranding, highlighted successful brand launches, iconic strategies and much more.
Today, we’ve curated a list of what we consider to be the 10 most essential and timeless case studies every strategist should know. These examples cover topics such as creating entirely new categories, executing brand extensions, structuring brand architecture, revitalising stagnant brands and delivering essential lessons in rebranding – both what to do and what to avoid.
They’re also the first 10 from our newly released PDF, “39 Brand Case Studies Every Strategist Should Know” – a curated collection designed to deepen your strategic thinking.
1. Apple – Building an ecosystem brand
There are many reasons why Apple deserves recognition as an influential case study. However, what stands out most is how deliberately the company has launched brand extensions to create a seamless, vertically integrated ecosystem encompassing devices, software, content and services. Every product Apple launches, from the iPhone and MacBook to AirPods, Apple Watch and the Apple TV platform, is designed to make the others more valuable. Each element reinforces the next.
The main objective of this approach is customer lock-in. Apple’s ecosystem is seamless by design – your messages sync across devices, your photos update in real time, your purchases follow you. The friction of switching platforms is high, as it means leaving a system built around your habits, data and convenience. Even Apple’s service extensions like Apple Pay, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and iCloud don’t distract from the core. They deepen usage and make the brand stronger.
While Apple may not necessarily be the best or the biggest in each of these categories, it has introduced numerous upselling opportunities, crafted a sticky customer experience and made it difficult for users to leave its ecosystem. Importantly, Apple didn’t do this by chasing every new category. It avoided the temptation to overextend. Instead, it grew the ecosystem deliberately, focusing on how each new layer would reinforce the whole.
Why care?
It’s rare to find a business that is highly successful in both hardware and software (let alone content) and capable of integrating them to the extent that Apple has. Apple not only did it, but made the integration part of the brand experience. Many companies have failed trying to do the same – spreading themselves too thin or fragmenting their brand in the process.
Our take
Brand extensions should always reinforce the umbrella brand and the core of your business, not pull away from them. Apple proves that with a long-term ecosystem mindset, every extension can strengthen the whole.
2. Red Bull – Creating a new category
Red Bull was launched in Austria in 1987 by Dietrich Mateschitz, who came across the idea while travelling in Thailand. He discovered Krating Daeng, a non-carbonated energy drink popular with blue-collar workers and noticed its functional benefits – especially in helping with jet lag. Recognising its potential, Mateschitz partnered with the product’s original creators and adapted it for Western markets. Rather than importing the drink directly, he reformulated it to better suit Western tastes – made it fizzy, less sweet and introduced new packaging. He also translated the original name to Red Bull and positioned it as a premium product with a distinct identity.
In Thailand, Krating Daeng was purely functional. In Europe, Red Bull added a cultural layer: performance, edge and adrenaline. The company invested early in extreme sports sponsorships and created its own events. These choices helped Red Bull define not just a new product, but a new consumption occasion – something closer to a functional alternative to coffee, but with a very different energy. Energy drinks as a category didn’t exist in Western markets before Red Bull. By launching a product and building the context around it (from how it’s consumed to where it shows up) Red Bull created the market it now leads.
Why care?
Creating a new category is difficult, particularly in an established space like soft drinks. Many brands have tried and failed, so when one succeeds, it’s worth understanding how they did it.
Our take
To succeed in a new market, know your audience inside out – adapt your product, packaging and story to meet their needs.
3. Dove – Bold repositioning
For many years, Dove’s communication centred on its moisturising and nourishing qualities, highlighting lotion as a key ingredient in its products. While these functional benefits remain central to the brand, Dove’s focus shifted in 2004 with the launch of the “Campaign for Real Beauty”.
Instead of selling moisturiser, Dove began selling confidence. The brand took a clear stance: challenging traditional beauty standards and encouraging women to embrace their natural appearance, regardless of age, size or skin tone. This set it apart in a beauty category often criticised for promoting unattainable standards. The campaign kicked off a bigger, long-term strategic pivot grounded in a new brand purpose: to make beauty “a source of confidence, not anxiety” and “helping women everywhere develop a positive relationship with the way they look, helping them raise their self-esteem and realise their full potential”.
At the time, the category was dominated by glossy imagery and unattainable beauty ideals. Dove’s choice to feature real women with unretouched bodies was a risk – and a first for a mainstream brand of this size. However, it paid off, as the campaign generated global attention and earned Dove a reputation for authenticity and inclusivity. Interestingly, the brand didn’t change the product formula, but everything else: its voice, its visuals and its role in culture.
This shift helped Dove break away from category conventions. Over the years, the brand has continued to evolve the conversation, addressing topics like self-esteem, digital distortion and beauty anxiety in young girls.
Why care?
Dove’s shift to emotional messaging made the brand more famous and boosted its financial performance – it achieved this primarily through communication, as the product formula remained unchanged. By adopting a purpose-driven approach, Dove set a new standard for authenticity and inclusivity, inspiring a wave of change across the beauty industry. Dove is now one of Unilever’s largest and most valuable brands, with its campaign studied in marketing textbooks worldwide.
Our take
Never underestimate the power of emotional branding rooted in deep consumer insight (purpose-driven or not) – it will always leave a lasting impact.
4. Aviva – Recipe for a successful rebranding
When Norwich Union and CGU merged, the newly created company was initially called CGNU before rebranding to Aviva, a name invented by the company’s employees. The global rebranding was approached with precision, delaying the name change in key markets like the UK, Ireland and Poland to protect established brand equity and minimise financial risk. Each market adopted a tailored transition strategy, ranging from a direct switch (Norwich Union in the UK) to gradual, multi-stage rebrands (e.g., Commercial Union in Poland).
Aviva’s leadership made two strategic decisions that set this process apart. First, they secured a substantial budget – not just for replacing assets, but for building awareness through a celebrity-driven campaign featuring Elle Macpherson, Ringo Starr and Bruce Willis. Second, they treated internal alignment as critical to success. Roughly 700 employees were directly involved in the change process, ensuring buy-in from every level of the business. The name Aviva has been in use since 2002 and brand awareness in key markets returned to pre-rebrand levels within just three months – without customer losses.
Why Care?
Aviva’s rebranding is one of the most ambitious and well-executed in corporate history. It’s a textbook example of how to manage large-scale brand transformation.
Our take
Rebranding isn’t just a name change – it’s a comprehensive transformation. Success requires substantial investment, strong leadership alignment and employee buy-in at every level. When all three are present, even a completely new name can gain traction quickly.
5. Tropicana – The most infamous rebranding
In 2009, Tropicana changed its iconic packaging, replacing the familiar image of an orange with a straw with a more contemporary design. However, the change was so drastic that the brand became almost unrecognisable on the shelf. Shoppers were confused – some didn’t realise it was the same product, while others simply couldn’t find it. The design overhaul disrupted habitual purchasing patterns in a low-engagement category where visibility and recognition drive sales.
As a result, Tropicana’s sales dropped by 20% year-on-year, despite being backed by a massive advertising campaign. Recognising the severity of the impact on its performance, the company reverted to its original branding within two months.
Why care?
Tropicana’s failed redesign is one of the most frequently cited examples of how not to rebrand in FMCG. It highlights the crucial role of distinctive brand assets in driving recognition and sales, especially in low-engagement categories where consumers shop on autopilot, gravitating toward familiar, easy-to-spot brands. It doesn’t matter how visually appealing your new designs are – if they deviate too far from what customers recognise, it’s as if you’re launching a new brand, which, as Tropicana’s case demonstrated, can be a costly mistake.
Our take
If you’re an FMCG brand sold in retail and need a visual identity refresh, ensure it capitalises on your existing distinctive brand assets rather than removing them entirely. Always test the changes in retail environments with real customers before rolling them out.
6. Amazon – Masterclass in brand stretchability
Amazon is a standout example of how far a strong brand can stretch. It capitalises on the benefits of a brand architecture primarily based on the branded house and sub-brands frameworks, leveraging the fame of its umbrella brand. The company has built one of the most expansive brand architectures in the world, extending its brand across a diverse range of industries: cloud computing (AWS – Amazon Web Services), entertainment (Amazon Prime Video), smart home tech (Alexa), groceries (Amazon Fresh) and fashion (Amazon Fashion), to name just a few. Each of these extensions benefits from the trust, scale and visibility of the Amazon brand. Interestingly, they have succeeded even in categories where Amazon initially seemed to lack brand equity and where it had little or no credibility.
This brand architecture approach is intentional. Amazon applies consistent naming, visual identity and UX design across most products and services, reinforcing the umbrella brand. At the same time, it introduces select sub-brands (like Alexa or Kindle) only when a distinct identity helps create stronger differentiation or emotional engagement, but always keeps them connected to Amazon.
Why Care?
Many companies opt to launch new products or services under entirely new names, often underestimating the time and cost required to build brand awareness from scratch. Amazon shows that leveraging an existing, trusted brand can significantly accelerate success in new categories, reduce marketing spend and boost adoption, even in fields not immediately associated with the brand.
Our take
Brand awareness is a more powerful asset to leverage than brand equity. You don’t need to “earn the right” to enter every new category – the strength of the masterbrand can do a lot of the heavy lifting. As a default strategy, use the fame of the masterbrand for brand extensions, unless you have the resources of conglomerates like Procter & Gamble or Unilever to build entirely new brands from scratch.
7. Procter & Gamble – House of brands benchmark
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a classic example of a company applying the house of brands architecture, making a clear distinction between its corporate brand (P&G) and a portfolio of around 80 individual brands. Operating in only 10 product categories, its brands often compete with each other. For example, Tide, Ariel, and Gain in fabric care, or Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Herbal Essences in hair care.
P&G’s model allows each brand to have full strategic autonomy – its own positioning, target audience, marketing strategy and tone of voice, which enables the company to cover more ground and meet a wider range of consumer needs. This intentional overlap maximises shelf presence and overall category dominance. The company’s strategy is rooted in performance: delivering superior products at every price tier it competes in. Brands that fail to meet P&G’s strict criteria are either retired or sold. For instance, in 2014, P&G divested 100 brands, including Duracell (sold to Berkshire Hathaway), Wella (sold to Coty) and Camay and Zest (sold to Unilever).
Why Care?
By having a number of brands compete in the same space, P&G captured a larger combined market share than any one brand could achieve alone. Not many companies can pull off a house of brands architecture, because few have the resources and brand management expertise that P&G does. P&G is simply best-in-class when it comes to FMCG brand portfolio management, which has allowed the company to maintain a healthy roster of exceptionally strong brands, each with a single-minded proposition.
Our take
More brands are not necessarily better when it comes to the house of brands model. P&G’s portfolio is relatively lean, which is a key reason for the company’s success with this approach. P&G manages around 80 brands, while Unilever oversees more than 400. You can see the impact reflected in their financial performance: P&G’s adjusted net margin stands at approximately 19%, compared to Unilever’s 10% (according to Forbes). That’s a significant difference.
8. IKEA – The power of a great brand strategy
IKEA should be praised not only for how it articulates its positioning but also for how it executes it. However, here we want to spotlight its brand strategy, which is rooted in recognising the importance of celebrating everyday life and acknowledging that one’s home, big or small, is the most important place on Earth. The home is perceived as a key factor influencing quality of life, which, in turn, directly affects well-being and happiness.
IKEA defines its brand vision as “creating a better everyday life for the many people”, highlighting its focus on both great design and functionality (“better everyday life”) as well as affordability (“for the many people”). This vision permeates every level of the organisation – from IKEA’s business model to its product development and marketing strategy. It also clearly differentiates the brand from more style- or luxury-focused home retailers, anchoring its identity in democratic design.
Why Care?
Many companies articulate their brand strategies in ways that are often difficult to understand. IKEA, however, is an outstanding example of a company that has made its brand strategy both self-explanatory and practical. Because it is rooted in a timeless and universal consumer insight, it is likely to remain relevant for years to come.
Our take
A great brand strategy serves as a set of guiding principles that simplify decision-making across an organisation.
9. Patagonia – Purpose-driven branding at its finest
Patagonia was practising purpose-driven branding long before the concept became a buzzword in marketing. It sees itself as an activist company and defines its mission as “We’re in business to save our home planet”. Privately held and operating as a benefit corporation in the US, Patagonia is legally required to “create a material positive impact on society and the environment” and to publicly report on its social and environmental performance.
Why Care?
Patagonia’s focus on its environmental mission is more than just a strategy to position its brand and market its products – it is the company’s very reason for being. Since 1985, the company has donated a portion of its profits to environmental organisations. It has launched initiatives like Patagonia Action Works, which connects environmentally conscious individuals with non-profits and invested in green start-ups. The company actively encourages consumers to buy second-hand clothing, repair what they own and think critically about their consumption habits. Despite its commitment, Patagonia openly acknowledges the inherent conflict of being a consumer goods company while striving to minimise environmental harm.
Remarkably, this approach hasn’t hurt its commercial success – Patagonia has grown into one of the world’s most admired and profitable outdoor brands.
Our take
Purpose only makes sense when it is at the heart of a business strategy, not just a marketing message.
10. Microsoft – Exponential growth of brand value under strong leadership
When Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014, Microsoft was seen as an uncool, arrogant giant rapidly losing relevance. It was heavily reliant on legacy products, out of step with modern developer culture and perceived as closed and combative.
Nadella led a fundamental transformation. He repositioned Microsoft around cloud computing and AI, embraced open-source technologies and even partnered with long-time rivals like Linux. Internally, he fostered a more open, collaborative culture. Externally, Microsoft’s communication shifted from product-focused to purpose-led, built around its updated mission: “Empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more”. The results were remarkable. Microsoft went from a legacy tech player to one of the most admired, innovative and valuable brands in the world.
Why Care?
In 2014, Microsoft’s brand value, according to Interbrand was $61 billion – lower than IBM’s. By 2024, it had grown to $352.5 billion, nearly 10 times IBM’s current value ($37 billion), making Microsoft the second most valuable brand globally.
Could it one day overtake Apple and secure the top spot?
Our take
A high ambition, low ego leader can do wonders for a brand by changing what the company does, how it operates and what it values. Nadella made Microsoft more relevant by focusing on substance over surface.
Want all 39 brand case studies?
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This list isn’t final; we see it as a living document and would love your help in updating it. If you believe there are other case studies that deserve a spot, please email Magda – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Magda Adamska is the founder of BrandStruck.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/magda-adamska-32379048/
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