Rebranding is the process of changing the corporate image of an organisation. Your branding is the identity of your business and the association’s people make when they hear your company name. Your brand identity must always closely match the culture and vision, if your business has begun to head in a different direction – it’s time for a rebrand. Repositioning a brand can transform stagnant businesses, helping an organisation reconnect with existing and old customers, whilst engaging a new audience.
Rebuilding a brand can be a dangerous process, if you transform your brand too severely, you run the risk of isolating and rejecting the loyal audience you spent years nurturing. There’s a fine line between successful and detrimental rebranding, make your rebrand a triumph. Burberry and Starbucks boast two of the most successful rebrands of all time. Click here to view more examples of the best and worst rebrands by big-name companies.
First and foremost, your rebrand needs to be transparent and undertaken with integrity. It needs to engage and inspire, exciting existing customers and attracting new audiences. Rebranding should show commitment to moving with the times, which is something recognised and respected by customers.
5 Reasons to Rebrand
1. Your mission statement and culture has evolved over time. What is important to your business has changed, your rebranding should reflect this important shift in the company. Don’t stay with your current branding if it’s screaming the wrong message.
2.To shed negative associations which have become aligned with your brand. In our digital age, an opinion of one person can be planted like a seed in the minds of millions of other people. Before you know it, your company is hit by an epidemic
3. Sometimes in order to continue to grow, you need to reach out to new demographics. Conquering new demographics will prevent your business from becoming static
4. Rebranding is a good idea if you are planning to branch out internationally. Cultural differences sometimes make it difficult to market an existing brand internationally
5. Businesses become outdated over time, companies can sometimes become to be perceived as old-fashioned. Modernisation often motivates companies to pursue a branding overhaul.
Steps to Rebranding
Research, research and research! It is important to understand public perception of your brand. Also consider how you will appeal to your target markets, including how your new branding will set you apart from competitors. The research and analysis of competitors is of the utmost importance. Ask your customers (old and new) for their feedback and listen to it. From here, you can develop your market positioning and balance who you are currently, with who you want to become.
Consider the fundamental messages you want to get across, but also how you will convey these messages through your brands identity. Numerous visual elements are used to communicate a brand, including: the name, tagline, logo, business card design and stationary. Everything possible should voice your new brand, including company vehicles and company mugs in the office. Be creative and craft your new brand, this part should be the most fun!
Think in advance. Think whether your rebranding will remain modern and exciting in five or ten years? Or will it be outdated and irrelevant in five years. Essentially, consider the future. It is recommended that your website is designed and developed in such a way that it will remain viable for a minimum of five years.
It is important to consider SEO when completing a rebrand. Design always seems to be regarded as the most valued component of rebranding and SEO gets overlooked. It is possible to maintain current SEO rankings, even if you are changing domain addresses.
A new website and an increased online presence are great ways to implement your rebranding. Website redesigning and company rebranding go hand in hand. Decide whether you are keeping the same URL address, or whether you would prefer to opt for a new domain. Choosing a domain name which is not particularly competitive in the search rankings is a good place to start. Launching a website at an appropriate time is important to the success of the launch. In addition, DNS records require time to propagate throughout the internet.
Let people know! Communicate the new branding through all channels accessible to the company – create a buzz. Promoting and supporting the brand is fundamental, be consistent and persistent. Write a blog post about your rebranding, and spread the word on social media.
Thinking About it?
If you are considering a company rebrand, then the Teknet Group offer a comprehensive range of skills and knowledge which will ensure the success of your rebranding journey. Including the website research/ design/development/ content, SEO, marketing and social media management. Contact us for more information if you would like us to guide your project from start to finish.