Why should my business rebrand?

If you are following trends, you will notice that a number of large companies have undergone some form of rebranding recently. As a business owner, you may be wondering whether it is time for you to also rebrand. Should you rebrand?

Rebranding is almost always about projections for the future; the direction in which a business is headed. Many businesses will rebrand for one or more of these reasons:

• To reposition a company’s brand image if it has been marred or misrepresented in any way.

• To update an obsolete company image that no longer serves its mission.

• To realign a company’s strategies and to present a unified image after a merger, an acquisition, or a divestiture.

• To expand the product or service line.

• To appeal to a new demographic or an expanded one.

• To evolve with the prevailing trends and market dictates.

• To fill a new niche market or specialize in a newly formed market segment.

• Or redesign an image that is simply not resonating well with consumers.

Is your business currently in any of these situations? If so, it may be time to rebrand. Discover strategies for developing a successful brand.

Rebranding may take many forms. It may be a simple adjustment in color, a change in the typeface or font, a tweak in the logo design, or may involve a complete overhaul of the brand. In this case, the logo, wordmark, slogan, and even brand message are revised to suit the new brand mission.

There is an open debate as to which approach to rebranding is best; a gradual tweaking of the brand elements over a period of time, or a one-time overhaul of the brand. There is no quick one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It will depend on a number of factors including but not limited to how a business owner answers these questions:

• Why is the change necessary?

• What does the change entail?

• How old is the business?

• How established is the business in its current market?

• What level of brand equity does the business currently enjoy?

Depending on the answers to these questions, a business owner may decide to drastically shake things up or subtly modify the brand.

A new business has a small window of opportunity in which to test the market and experiment with the brand visuals (logos, icons, wordmarks), without woefully affecting the brand. Albeit, this window is very small. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, when you are new, you’ll still want to quickly establish yourself so that consumers can get to know you and start developing positive associations with your brand.

The brand equity of a well-established enterprise, however, is highly susceptible to changes made to any of its brand elements. There are examples of well-known companies who rebranded only to revert to their original logos immediately after (sometimes within days of) unveiling the new images because the new designs did not resonate well with consumers. Occasionally, a well-thought-out change will not be received in the way it is intended. We will address ways to avoid rebranding pitfalls in our next article.

Nonetheless, it is necessary to conduct periodic brand audits in order to assess the effectiveness of a brand. It is best to make the necessary changes if warranted, rather than live with a brand image that doesn’t work for your business model. You may have a beautiful design that inspires you or that holds strong values for you but it may not necessarily fit your business image.

Should you decide to rebrand, whichever direction you choose, it is essential that it aligns with your business strategy and the image you intend to project. Contact us and let's help you.

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