Back to all articlesEssentially, a rebrand falls into two categories: proactive and reactive. A proactive rebrand occurs for a number of reasons, while a reactive rebrand is usually due to a significant change in the overall business model – such as an acquisition, merger or other legal reason.
In this blog, we’re going to take a look at proactive reasons for a business rebrand…
5 reasons why a rebrand may be right for you
We’ve worked on some great rebranding projects, and through our discovery sessions, we’ve found that these are some of the more common reasons that businesses decide it’s time for a change:
1. Growing up – quite often, branding is a bit of an after-thought for new businesses. There’s so much else to organise and think about that aside from a logo and website, the overall brand isn’t really considered. But as your business grows and develops, you may feel that your original ‘branding’ is no longer representative of your company. As your business matures, expands and becomes more streamlined, a rebrand helps to reflect this ‘coming of age’.
2. Dated and dull – it’s not nice to hear criticism, but if you’ve been told your brand looks old and out of date, or if you look at your logo and shudder, then it’s probably time for a refresh. It may be that your brand was based on a styling/design fad or trend that’s had its day, or perhaps your business is stronger and bolder than your brand collateral demonstrates. If you look old-fashioned and come across as boring, you may not be sending out the right message to prospects.
3. New management – if your business is going through some major changes, it’s likely that your brand will be revisited to reflect them – especially if the big boss is new! This type of rebrand is about taking ownership of, and stamping a new style on the business. It presents a great opportunity for a relaunch event, where you can introduce a new approach, and reassure existing customers that the changes reflect a new, positive step in your company’s development.
4. New market or audience – if you’ve branched out into a new sector, have added new services or types of products, or feel that you need to appeal to a different demographic or buyer persona, then a rebrand is probably a necessity. By repositioning your brand to better reflect what you’re offering, and who you’re offering it too, you avoid risking…
5. Lack of consistency or clarity – if you’ve been adding to your marketing materials along the way, using in-house resources or a variety of suppliers, you need to ask yourself if you’re sending a clear message.
Do your older materials and newer ones look similar in style? Does your logo/strapline still accurately reflect what you do? Is it clear from your homepage or marketing collateral exactly what you offer? Is your tone of voice consistent and representative of your approach?
If you answered ‘no’ to one or more of these questions, it’s worth considering refreshing your branding.
Of course it may be that some elements of your brand are ‘on point’, and you just need some fairly simple tweaks to align everything successfully – or you may need to start from scratch, getting right back to basics.