branding Essentials
A short reference guide to Branding.
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Rebranding is the process of changing the image and messaging of an organization, to create a different identity. This strategy includes a new name, strategy, and identity for an already established brand.
Rebranding helps a company pivot to new demographics and stay relevant, especially if it's lost relevance with its target demographic, by changing its strategy to benefit its customers' current needs, adapting the brand identity to the current market, and open new revenue streams such as entering new markets or expanding product offerings fostering long-term growth.
This strategy is often used during mergers to help unify marketing and spread brand awareness, by building trust and familiarity with customers by changing and improving brand strategy, identity, and products or services. Or distance itself from outdated or negative associations, and connect with new demographics by conveying a shift in direction, values, or changes in its offerings.
Proactive Rebranding
This is when a company recognizes an opportunity to expand, innovate, tap into new markets or customers, and reconnect with its target audience, by proactively changing its image to align with current social values or anticipated trends.
Reactive Rebranding
This is done when the existing brand has discontinued services or changed, for various reasons such as mergers and acquisitions, legal issues, negative publicity, competition, or creating a niche, to create a new brand strategy and identity for the brand that is compleatly diffrent from its previous identity.
Petco dropped the cat and dog so they could pivot from animal supplies to health and wellness.
This former college online messaging platform, pivots from social media to virtual reality with Meta.
Kia known for its budget-friendly cars repositions itself as an attainable luxury brand.
Your current branding doesn’t connect with your target audience.
If you’ve been in business for a while rebranding and getting rid of what's not working to make way for new tools and assets, can help you regain relevancy, and adapt to the current market.
Your business is completely changing its identity, products, or services.
If you have new owners or are entering a new market with new partnerships you need to reflect these changes in your branding and reintroduce yourself to customers.
You want to attract new clients.
All things change with time. If you're moving on to new markets a rebrand will help you introduce yourself to your new audience.
You need to rebuild or merge identities to be consistent.
You want to make a good first impression. If you're merging with another business or entering a new market, rebranding will allow you to build a brand identity with clear and cohesive visuals and language.
Your visual identity needs to adapt to a new market or audience.
This is your chance to make an entrance. Rebranding gives you time to analyze your competitors and reassess your branding and positioning for new markets.
Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere
Compared to a brand refresh a rebrand is a more extensive overhaul of your brand identity to reposition it in the marketplace, so thoughtful planning, execution, and communication are essential for success.
1. Define the Reasons for Rebranding
Business growth
Expanding to new markets, or offering new products and services.
Reputation issues
Addressing negative perceptions or public relations challenges.
Competitive pressure
Adjusting to new competitors or market trends.
Mergers or acquisitions
Combining brands or aligning under a unified identity.
Brand alignment
Realigning your brand with new values, missions, or goals.
2. Conduct a Brand Audit
Evaluate current brand assets
Review your logo, color palette, fonts, imagery, and messaging.
Analyze brand perception
Get feedback from your customers, employees, and stakeholders to understand how your current brand is perceived.
Assess market and competitors
Analyze your industry and competitors to identify gaps, opportunities, and areas where your brand needs to evolve.
3. Research Your Audience and Market
Refine target audience
Clarify your current and future audiences and what they expect from your brand.
Rebuild customer personas
Update customer profiles to reflect the preferences and behaviors of your desired market.
Study trends
Understand market trends and cultural shifts that should influence your new brand identity.
4. Define Your Brand Strategy
Clarify your mission, vision, and values
Align these core elements with your new brand direction.
Establish your unique value proposition
Identify how your brand differs from its competitors.
Determine positioning
Define how you want to be perceived in the marketplace and how you’ll communicate that positioning.
5. Develop Your New Brand Identity
Create a new logo
Make sure your new logo aligns with the new brand direction.Update your visual identity: Redesign key visual elements including colors, fonts, imagery, and design styles.
Update your visual identity
Redesign key visual elements including colors, fonts, imagery, and design styles.
Refine brand voice and messaging
Update your tone, taglines, and messaging to align with your new brand’s personality.
Develop a new brand story
Wright a narrative that communicates your brand’s evolution and purpose.
6. Design and Create New Brand Assets
Logo and visual system
Ensure your new logo and design elements are applied across all brand touchpoints.
Website and digital presence
Redesign your website, social media profiles, and digital ads to reflect the new brand identity.
Marketing collateral
Update business cards, brochures, email templates, and packaging.
Physical spaces and products
Rebrand any physical assets, including signage, uniforms, product labels, and stores if applicable.
7. Test and Validate the New Brand
Mockups and prototypes
Develop mockups of key brand materials and test them internally or with focus groups.
Feedback loops
Gather feedback from stakeholders, employees, and customers to ensure the new brand resonates as intended.
8. Plan the Rebrand Launch
Internal launch
Prepare your employees by explaining the reasons for the rebrand, what’s changing, and how it aligns with the company’s goals.
Customer communication
Announce the rebrand to customers and explain why the change is happening and how it benefits them.
Marketing campaign
Plan a rollout across various channels including website, social media, and public relations to unveil the new brand.
Launch events
Consider hosting physical and digital launch events, to generate excitement and buzz around the rebrand.
9. Implement across All Touchpoints
Update all marketing materials
Ensure every asset from business cards to email templates reflects the new brand.
Change signage and product packaging
For companies with physical assets, update in-store displays, signage, and packaging.
Optimize digital channels
Update your website, social media, and other online platforms with the new identity.
Ensure consistency
Prepare clear guidelines of how the new brand should be used across all touchpoints.
10. Implement across All Touchpoints
Track key metrics
Monitor brand awareness, customer engagement, sales, and social media reactions post-rebrand.
Customer feedback
Collect ongoing feedback to assess how customers perceive the new brand and make any necessary adjustments.
Adjust strategy as needed
Be prepared to tweak elements if they are not resonating as expected.
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