Before investing your money into a rebrand, make sure that there’s an actual reason for needing one. Too many people think getting a new logo, with new colours is going to solve all their problems. If you haven’t fixed the foundations of the house, the paintwork isn’t gonna stop it falling down. Assess everything about your brand, if you feel it sits with one of the below reasons, GO FOR GOLD.
1. You’re outdated.
This is usually the most popular one. With trends and technology forever evolving, businesses are always trying to stay up to date. It’s important to make sure if you’re starting out, or are thinking about a rebrand, that you try to make your identity timeless. By that I mean, don’t get caught up too much in the current trends, because they will soon become outdated, which will leave you needing yet another rebrand. Always refer back to the centralised reason as to why you’re undergoing a rebrand:
- Will the new look and feel align with where you are taking your brand?
- Will it look professional and will it have synergy?
- Are you communicating to the right audience, if yes, are you up to date with their language?
I’m not gonna lie, when my husband first asked me if I knew what Netflix and Chill meant a couple of years ago, I felt so behind my time (mind you I was 28). It’s super important to keep updated with the language of your target market, it will affect how you communicate with them.
2. New direction.
I see this the most with small startups selling products on socials that blow up bigger than they expected. The problem? They’re then stuck with a lacklustre brand they’ve outgrown and need to change. Keep in mind, we can’t-do everything perfect first go, sometimes you just need to get something to market.?A lot of the time it all comes down to cost, but bear in mind it will be the best investment you make, and it will save unnecessary dollars, in the long run. Have a read of my post How much does a logo cost?
The 2nd time around though, analyse and measure your past information to see how you’re currently positioned. As mentioned above, make sure that your new brand aligns with that information. You might want to shake off an old image and head down a new path.
Make sure that this includes:
- The way you engage with people
- How you showcase your brand personality
- Creating a strong brand consistency throughout all of your brand touchpoints
More importantly, don’t forget to do a big song and dance about having a new look or direction – generate some hype and make your current customers/clients aware of the change.?If you’re not sure what to look for, have a read of my other blog post 3 huge factors that impact your brand rep.
A perfect example of this is Miley Cyrus. Love her or hate her (I personally love her), she managed to shake that squeaky clean Disney image. She did go to extremes to do it, was that necessary? We’ll never know, but it worked.
3. You’ve grown.
You’ve hit the big time baby. As a brand becomes bigger and bigger in size, we tend to notice that the boundaries become a little more restrictive. That means we need to put processes in place for what goes out to market and how it’s delivered there. Like the above, growth is an indication of positioning, that may be that you’ve now become a market leader, therefore you need to act like one. Sometimes it’s fun to be a smaller brand as you can throw caution to the wind without as much scrutiny. Once a brand becomes a certain size, they need to start to focus on what’s being said in the market?to make sure they maintain a positive brand presence; especially in regards to social media and how they respond.
Remember, you may not necessarily need a rebrand right at this moment. You might just need to pull apart your brand, see where it’s going well and where it’s not, and focus on that first. In which case, head over to my ongoing branding page.
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