Weight Watchers brand used to be about ‘dieting’ and ‘shedding pounds’ – Please read the Adweek article (second link) which explains the shift in consumers’ mindsets regarding new ways of viewing weight loss; it’s about wellness, lifestyle, how individuals define ‘ideal of beauty’, etc. The Product Life Cycle is a concept that explains how concepts such as weight loss and associated services might grow in popularity (and sales), mature (many companies enter the market; sales for all companies peak).
1. After visiting the new WW site and reading the article, identify and describe the external forces (i.e., societal norms/values, consumer preferences and mindset shifts, competitive offerings (including new ways of seeing health, etc.) that caused ‘diet programs’ to go into the decline stage.
2. What does ‘repositioning’ mean? Why did WW ‘reposition’ and rebrand WW? Include the new name and slogan in your discussion. What types of associations did they want potential consumers to have regarding the brand? Examples might relate to wellness and a typical user of the services.
3. Refer to the 3 types of brand strategies at the top of week 5. Which is WW?