I often work on rebranding projects, working with organisations to freshen up their visual identity, or create something new to help position them to make the most of the next steps in their business journey. Helping clients through the rebranding process has prompted me to write this article about what rebranding is – and when is a good time to think about starting a rebrand of your business.

What is rebranding ? 

According to entrepreneur guide, Feedough.com, there are three key things to know about rebranding :

• Rebranding involves new branding for an already existing brand.
• The aim of rebranding is not to create a new brand but to give the existing one such a facelift that it can compete in the ever-changing market.
• It doesn’t only focus on visuals of the brand but also focuses on the internal operations that run the brand.

My services primarily focus on the first two of these points – creating new visual branding for an existing brand, or giving existing branding a much-needed refresh, often to modernise it, or make it more visible to the organisation’s target audience. The final point is about brand strategy – which is a wider approach, although it affects the visual branding direction.

7 reasons to rebrand

There are lots of reasons why an organisation might update its visual branding. Some of these reasons might occur at the same time, depending on where the organisation is in its growth cycle. 

Here are 7 signs it’s time to rebrand your business :

1. Supporting a growth strategy

If you are developing a business plan for growth, you need to look at all aspects of the organisation to make sure everything is aligned with your vision. This certainly includes a review of your brand strategy, which usually leads to updating your visual identity and the way you present your business.

2. Existing identity no longer reflects your business

For many start-up businesses, the initial visual identity is a quick fix to give you something to put on a business card or website. This can often serve you well for a while, but as your business refocuses or adapts, your original identity may be at odds with the way you want to present yourself.

3. Your market has evolved

You may have started your business as a local enterprise, for example, and now want to reach a wider market. If your visual identity is geographically restrictive, you’ll need to update it to make it appealing to potential customers wherever they are. The same applies if you are thinking of selling your product overseas – does your current visual identity work in different languages or cultures ?

4. Merger or acquisition

A change in business circumstances can sometimes lead to a rebranding project. If you are merging with another company, you might need a new visual identity that brings elements of both companies together. If you are being acquired, your new owner might need to incorporate elements of their identity into yours.

5. Change in leadership

This can happen when the original business used the names or initials of the founders, for example. When those people exit the business, or it is bought out by employees, they may want to update the visual identity to help establish the new approach.

6. You have been advised to rebrand

This often happens when you work with someone to devise and implement a new brand strategy, business plan or marketing strategy. Part of this exercise often involves research on what works in your market, including what your competitors are doing, and seeing how your current branding stacks up. This can result in a clear need for your visual brand to be stronger or clearer to allow you to compete better in your chosen market.

7. You just want a refresh

Sometimes, there’s no specific commercial need for a rebranding exercise. As a business owner, you might just feel that it’s time to update your visual identity, introduce new colours or make your typeface more modern. I would advise any company who is rebranding for this reason to seriously consider implementing a focused strategy to get the best results.

Rebranding – things to consider

There are a few things to consider if you are thinking about rebranding. I’m always happy to talk to marketing managers, business owners and managing directors to help them decide how best to approach a rebranding exercise. You certainly need to think about :

• Budget
• Timescale
• Context of brand strategy update
• How you will roll out the new branding
• Research with customers and staff
• End goals

These are all things I cover before starting a rebranding project – to find out more about how I can help, just contact me today.