Your brand is the identity of your business, it tells the world what your brand values and characteristics are in a nut shell so rebranding is a significant undertaking. Even the biggest brands in the world have an identity crisis from time to time and find themselves modernising their brand or designing a complete overhaul.
As a branding consultancy, we’ve worked on countless rebrands for a wealth of businesses across the UK. These are established businesses who’ve built up a reputation and felt rebranding was right for one reason or another. I was recently asked, ‘but when is a good time to rebrand?’ and it got me thinking about this blog.
Rebranding, when is it a good time?
From time to time rebranding comes about because during the startup phase not a lot of effort was put in, the logo is illegible or it was never quite right. In which case, go right ahead however a rebrand shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s the foundation for your marketing and messages so it’s going to take time, investment and effort to implement. If you’ve been thinking rebranding your business, here are some indicators that it’s a good time to rebrand.
You’ve outgrown your message
We’ve worked with many a company where their success has outgrown their old image or messaging. This is natural and a great place to be in. As design trends evolve so can your brand. In this case we’d always explore how much the message or market has changed. We’d look at keeping the core brand idea in tact but possibly updating the styling, fonts, colours and tone of voice for a modern twist on what’s worked well to get a company this far.
As well as outgrowing your own message, from time to time the competition will innovate and or new competitors enter the market. You can use the opportunity of a rebrand to differentiate yourself in the market yet again and cement placement with defining and making clearer those messages that have been successful to date.
Your target audience has changed
Ensuring that your brand and image is relevant and relatable to your target audience is a key piece in the strategy. If your target audience has changed, then you should be considering a rebrand. We’ve worked with businesses where their target audience starting out was very distinct such as Government organisations and they are now branching out to the SMEs and Corporate world.
If your current branding feels like a handbrake on going after new markets and appealing to different customers groups, it’s time to rebrand and give yourself scope to grow.
Your vision has changed
Your mission, vision and values are at the core of your brand. If these change then so should your brand. There are countless examples of businesses understanding how they need to become more environmentally focussed or more customer service oriented and taken a more relevant approach to their look and feel too.
Your products/services have changed
We’ve come across many a tech company where innovation in product development is key to business survival and success. Whether you’ve reinvented a product or developed a new offering, rebranding can show the market that you are evolving and growing too.
Rebranding, taking the next step
If one or more of these scenarios apply to your business and you’re thinking about a rebrand, here are the next steps you can take.
- Be clear and specific about your goals.
Don’t worry too much about what it needs to look like or what you need to do but start with understanding the reason for your rebrand and the strengths and weaknesses of your current brand identity. - Work with a professional branding agency.
A rebrand is a responsibility we take lightly, it’s key to work with a professional branding agency who will take the time to understand your business values, vision and help you to pull that out and shape your story. - Have a strategy.
When you’ve made the decision to rebrand and you’ve found someone you can work with, get a strategy in place. Internally it’s key to get employee buy in when rebranding and equally this is great opportunity to get in touch with existing customers about the rebrand and get new customers excited about your offering.
There’s no black and white answer to the rebranding question, some brands evolve quickly and some remain pretty steady over the decades. Our final lasting message to you is that your brand should be inline with your brand values and your intended customers and whatever you do, applying your brand consistently across the business is king.