Insights: When to Refresh a Current Brand
A rebrand or brand refresh is not a minor task. A rebrand will require an enormous amount of time and resources. So, a rebranding initiative should be considered carefully. I work with many great clients across the country and they often ask me when is the best time to rebrand. Although there isn’t a definitive rule or guideline, there are many insights into your brand that should help shed some light on the appropriateness of rebranding.
What does rebranding involve?
Before we jump into the reasons to rebrand, in order to add context for this article, let’s first discuss what it means to rebrand.
A typical rebrand initiative may require a new name, a major repositioning of your brand, an overhaul of your current offerings and how you describe them, a major update to the visual language you use to express your brand, defining a new market and target audience, and so on.
Because a rebranding initiative is a major deal and can consume an organization for many months, it is imperative first to initiate a brand audit. A brand audit will provide you with the clarity and information you need to thoroughly analyze the state of your current brand and also articulate all of the necessary brand elements you will need to update or change for a successful rebrand.
Are you ready to rebrand? Below are several of the top reasons:
- Are your sales down or stagnant?
- Have you made a significant change in your business, product or service?
- Has your competitor landscape recently changed?
- Have you outgrown your brand name?
- Is your existing brand frequently confused with another brand?
- Has it been several years or more since you have reviewed your brand message and positioning?
- Has your company merged or changed ownership recently?
- Have you added products or services to your company which affects your overall brand message?
- Have you reached a major milestone in your company?
Finally, since we are just scratching the surface, there are many other variables to consider if a rebrand is necessary. Contact us to find out more.
What are the benefits of a rebrand?
If any of the above situations sound familiar, then you should consider rebranding your business. With a successful rebranding, there are many major benefits such as creating a new sense of excitement with your current customers, a new freshness to your current brand, boost brand equity, defining a clear brand purpose, getting everyone in the organization on the same page about the purpose of your brand, overall brand consistency, clear business goals, a well-defined meaning of your brand, increased sales, a stronger brand loyalty, saving you money and resources with brand consistency, and there are even more.
At our agency, when we are asked to perform a rebrand, we typically start with a brand audit to figure out where the gaps are and review the outcome with a new brand strategy. Depending on the outcome of the brand audit, you may not need to do a total rebrand, a partial rebrand is not uncommon. Aligning your business strategy and goal with your rebrand initiative might include updating brand elements such as your brand story, value propositions, overall benefits to your customers, besides updating your visual brand. These take on a more customer facing visual brand strategy which might include a new logo, a new color palette, a redesign of your current marketing collateral, updating your website, and an overall visual update. On the other hand, you might need to invest in your brand a little deeper to keep the competitive edge. It is also advisable to regularly review your brand’s message and position.
Lastly, the best brand strategy is to audit your brand’s message and position periodically and align it with your current business goals, short and long-term sales strategy, and the marketing strategy.
