People often say, “Old is gold!” Though this quote holds true to a certain extent, in the domain of business and marketing, innovation is the name of the game. In order to keep pace with other competitors, brands need to keep up their image. Rebranding plays an important role in this aspect. if the brand is outdated it is time to rebrand to establish a strong brand again to remain in the competitive market.
What is Rebranding?
Rebranding is the process of changing an organizarion’s or brand’s corporate image. It is a marketing strategy of giving a new symbol, logo, or name or changing the design of a previously established brand. Connecting with customers is one of the important aims of rebranding. Major brands ranging from Uber to Dunkin’ Donuts have rebranded in the past.
There are two types of rebranding- Proactive rebranding and Reactive rebranding.
When a company identifies that there is a scope to tap into new customers or businesses, to innovate, to grow, and to reconnect with users, proactive rebranding is done. It is a planned and calculated effort. For example, Coty, a fragrant brand, adopted the butterfly symbol.
When an existing brand has to be changed or discontinued, reactive rebranding is done. Some possible reasons are legal issues, mergers & acquisitions, creating one’s own niche, beating competition, and negative publicity. For example, when Satyam Computer Service was sold to Tech Mahindra, the latter rebranded itself in 2013 to Mahindra Satyam.
If your brand awareness efforts don’t seem to be paying off or your sales are slow, consider creating a new marketing strategy or conducting marketing research rather than rebranding. However, if your company’s mission, market, values, and vision are not reflected in your brand anymore, consider rebranding.
Rebranding may take weeks or months. It involves reassessing your business strategy, brand positioning, and core values. There are different types of rebranding. The right branding agency helps in deciding the one that is right for you.
A disastrous rebranding may prove to be a bane as Gap’s 2010 logo redesign and Tropicana’s 2009 rebrand.
Elements of Rebranding
Some common elements of rebranding are:
Visual Branding It involves changing a brand’s visual symbols such as packaging, typography, colours, shapes, logos, environments, and promotional styling.
Brand Legacy It may involve highlighting a firm’s legacy or escaping a brand’s negative legacy such as association with an obsolete fashion, product, or technology and poor sustainability practices.
Authentic Branding It is an attempt to actually change as an organization in contrast to brand image that does not reflect innate realities.
Customer Experience It involves changes to customer experience such as redesigned products and services.
Promotion It involves highlighting a rebranding through extensive advertising campaign and other promotional efforts.
Experimentation It is better to experiment and measure results before going for a brand change. This is mainly in case of rebranding an established brand.
Brand Name A brand name is usually changed to repair a firm’s negative reputation.
Brand Identity Brand identity starts with a brand concept that represents the basic idea behind a brand. It is often difficult to communicate.
Brand Promise It is designed to be short, memorable, and direct. It is a short statement like a slogan that communicates to customers what can be expected of a brand.
Internal Branding Rebranding may sometimes begin internally to get employee on board with a new vision and mission in case of authentic branding.
Pricing and Distribution Pricing and distribution may be changed along with rebranding a product.
Storytelling It involves making information interesting.
What Can Rebranding Do? rebrand is a big take.
Rebranding, if done the right way, can:
* Create the excitement of something innovative, both in the external as well as internal aspect.
* Ensure that your organization is aligned with who you are today and who you want to be.
* Fortify your team and lead to the development of pride among your employees.
* Inculcate confidence in your sales team, management, and customers and lead to positive output.
* Visually communicate new evolutions or differentiators of your business.
Specific Types of Rebranding
1) Brand Refresh This is the most basic type of rebranding. It is suitable for businesses with straightforward needs and includes:
* Brand Identity
* Website
* Photography & Illustrations
* Brand Discovery
* Corporate Stationery
* Copywriting
2) Brand Reboot It is mainly for fast-growing companies that may quickly outgrow their initial brand identities because of change in the visions of their companies and increase in new employees. brand asset includes.
* Copywriting
* Marketing Material
* Brand Audit
* Corporate Stationery
* Naming & Tagline
* Website
* Photography
* Audience Research
* Brand Identity
* Brand Strategy
A Brand Reboot includes a lot more strategic thinking and research than a Brand Refresh.
3) Brand Overhaul In terms of complexity and cost, it is the largest of the rebranding types. It mostly suits global companies rebrand with multifaceted challenges that the current brand stands at, those with worldwide markets and enterprise status. it includes:
* Brand Research
* Brand Audit
* Brand Architecture
* Brand Identity
* Website
* Photography & Video
* Brand Guidelines
* Brand Rollout
* Marketing Material
* Copywriting
* Corporate Stationery
* Naming & Tagline
* Brand Strategy
* Audience Research
Steps to Rebranding
1) Decide if it is time to rebrand and focus on your mission.
2) Decide who you are and who you want to be.
3) Make a note of everything that needs rebranding.
4) Consider the market and select a rebranding partner.
5) Introduce/launch your new brand.
Signs That Tell You It’s Time to Rebrand your business
* When one wishes to target a new demographic, such as Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR)
* When initial objectives have been surpassed, such as Altify
* When the market is undergoing a rapid evolution, such as Apple
* When one is trying to discard an old image, such as Burberry
* When one has only name recognition but substance to go with it are lacking, such as Harley-Davidson
Also, note that a rebrand is necessary if:
* Your target audience is not engaging with your brand
* Your traffic numbers are waning in referral and direct
* There is a change in your value proposition and you have hit a plateau
* Your message is unclear and outlook is outdated
* Your target audience has changed
* Your brand fails to resonate with your customer base
Rebranding, though it takes a lot of effort, is worth it. The process becomes smooth if you have carefully thought out why you need to rebrand and how you intend to carry it out.