Everything You Need to Know About Rebranding
Rebranding your business can be really powerful and positively impact customer engagement. Rebranding excites customers, boosts visibility, and drives sales. Jon Simpson, in Forbes article, the Art of Rebranding, says,
“With the right processes and the right mindset, a rebrand can be the crux your business needs to improve future marketing endeavors.”
Not only does good rebranding increase sales, but it improves the image of your brand as a whole, as it is your company’s identity.
Know Your Reason.
Branding is important to representing who a company is and what it stands for. If your company image no longer represents who you are, is no longer relevant, or is falling behind in the market, it may be time for a rebrand. Other reasons for a rebrand include repositioning the firm in the marketplace, competing in a new market, launching a new service, or modernizing and realigning.
Whatever the reason, make sure you know the purpose behind the rebrand and keep this in mind throughout the rebranding process. Simpson says, “Identifying why the company wants to rebrand will help determine the type of rebrand that will best achieve its goals.”
Research. Research. Research.
The second step is research. Research internally and externally. Where and how depends on your business purpose for the rebrand. If you are attempting to modernize and reach new audiences, then the new target clients must be included in your research.
You also need to research the market competitors. See what other competitors are out there and what they’re doing for two purposes: to be aware of the market and more importantly, to give the customers something they don’t have. Remember to keep your identity distinct from competitors to avoid confusion.
Build your visual identity.
The next step is to build your brand identity visually. At this point, you should your research gathered and you should know 1) who the company is, 2) what they stand for and want to be known as, 3) what your target audience wants, and 4) what competitors are doing. From here, you can start to develop ideas about forms, shapes, colors, and what the brand should look like and feel like.
Keep working on concepts and developing your favorites. It may be helpful to get a second or even third opinion. It would be a good idea to stay away from trends. Use fonts that are easy to read and not outdated. I would suggest sticking to one font family. Choose colors that convey the right brand attributes and are based on color theory. Make sure the logo works visually in both small and large applications.
Consistency is key.
Once you have finalized your designs, make sure they are consistent throughout. The branding material must communicate the same identity and feeling as the logo.
Launch Your Brand.
The only thing left to do is the brand launch! This is to promote and celebrate your new brand inwardly to the company outwardly to the public. When releasing the brand to employees, a brand launch party is a great idea because it will bring everyone on the same page and encourage excitement about the rebrand. Long-term employees may be skeptical about a change, but a brand launch party will help to show that the rebrand improves the image of the company.
When releasing the logo to the public, post on social media, update the website, release new advertisements, update store signs, etc. Some companies will even do a promotion or giveaway to create excitement.
Congratulations!
The only thing left to do is to kick your feet up, open a bottle of Martinelli’s, and celebrate your hard work and successful rebrand.