Is a rebrand right for you? And how do you know when it’s time?

Read this Blog Before You Announce a Rebrand

Do you spend a lot of time dreaming about what your brand could be? Have you ever wondered if a rebrand is right for your business? In this blog, we’re exploring rebrands: What are rebrands? What does a good rebrand look like? When is a rebrand right for your business? How can a rebrand help grow your business?

We’ll answer these questions so you can take your brand to the next level with the many benefits of a rebrand (while also avoiding some seriously big mistakes other brands have made in their rebrand process).

How a Rebrand Can Help:

Rebrands are a fantastic opportunity to transform the image of your business–when a change is needed.

A rebrand can include:

Changing the visual image of your brand (logo, fonts, colours, graphics, imagery, photography, etc.)
Changing the persona of your brand– like personality, tone, key messaging and voice.

When a rebrand is done well, it can improve the health of your brand, internally (with your employees) and externally (with your customers).

Signs of a Successful Rebrand:

A good rebrand can bring in some big wins for your company. Just imagine how good it would feel to …

Set yourself apart: Many companies in saturated markets struggle to differentiate themselves from their competition. If consumers often confuse your brand for another, or you aren’t being heard about the noise of your competitors, a rebrand can help you stand out and clarify what makes you unique and superior.
Attract more of your ideal clients: When your brand image is vague or hasn’t been well-defined, you can spend way too much time filtering out clients who aren’t the right fit for your brand. If your email inbox feels more like a catch-all right now than a sales funnel, a rebrand might be able to help you attract more of your ideal clients. A strong brand personality should be able to filter out the customers who won’t be a good fit for you (that’s a lot of admin time you’ll get back in your day!)
Advance your know-like-trust factor: When your brand has been recreated to meet your clients where they are at, then you can increase your knowability (awareness) and your likability as a brand. No one will pay attention to a boring, robotic brand, or find interest there. But when you humanize your brand, it will have a defined look and personality that helps customers relate to it better, and recognize it out in the wild.
Help increase your prices: With a sharp new brand image, that is directed at a specific target audience, you improve your credibility as a professional brand and increase your prices to the price that finally feels reflective of the value you provide.
Improve your conversion rates: Conversion rates are the percentage of people who take a desired call-to-action, for example: clicking “Book Now” on your website, buying a product, or signing up for your email list. When your brand has been designed to speak to a specific target audience, you’ll find there will be a stronger connection with potential clients that moves them to complete an action with more speed and certainty.
Have high ROI: When experiencing all of these benefits of a rebrand, your brand, your business and your customer will feel more aligned – and this will directly benefit your bottom line. Make sure to set clear goals for your rebrand ahead of time so that you can measure their success in the days and months following your rebrand.

When a Rebrand Won’t Help:

Rebrands can be a really important step to take in growing your brand, but they shouldn’t be entered-into lightly either; rebrands aren’t a silver-bullet solution to every marketing challenge. Just look at Tropicana’s failed rebrand in 2009, to see why a rebrand is a big decision that needs to be made with thoughtfulness, planning and a strong, well-researched strategy.

Times When A Rebrand is Not the Answer:

It can’t help you fix a broken business model
It can’t make a PR issue go away overnight
It shouldn’t be used to cover up flaws or gaps in your business
It shouldn’t be an “impulse buy” (ie. buying new shoes because you’re “bored” of all the ones you have) … a rebrand isn’t about getting a serotonin hit when you’re personally feeling bored with your brand (that’s a problem that great content marketing can solve). It absolutely MUST be for the betterment of your customers, and your business.

If you have a strong following who has been loyal to your company for years or decades, you want to be careful when making changes to that kind of brand equity you’ve built (we’ll call it your know-like-trust equity). Don’t gamble carelessly with a loyal customer base.

But when you’ve done the reflection, research and planning necessary for a rebrand, it can be one of the best business moves you’ll ever make! (And yes, it can be full of fun and excitement too!)

In this blog, we’re here to provide you with some sound guidance to know when it’s time to start the rebrand process, or when a “brand refresh” might actually be a better option for your brand.

Rebrand Vs. Refresh

When our clients inquire about rebranding their business, first we rule out whether a brand-refresh might be a better option.

Here is the difference between the two processes:

A Brand Refresh:

A brand refresh can range anywhere from new brand photography, to a totally refreshed look. Talk to your marketing expert to know what makes the most sense for your business. But here are some common situations we’ve worked with:

When a Brand Refresh Is Right For You:

When you need to further develop or refine your existing brand identity
Renew customer interest
When your brand has just naturally evolved over the years and it’s time to make it more formalized with things like brand guidelines, official font choices, updated photos, etc.
When you just need new, updated photography
When you need to bring consistency to all of your various platforms
When your team has grown
When your core brand identity/brand persona aren’t changing
When the services of your business haven’t changed
When you’re making minor adjustments to your product/service offering
When you just want to adjust the look of your visual brand without changing the core personality/identity of your brand

What A Brand Refresh Could Include:

Updating your brand colour palette and fonts
Refining your existing logo
Updating your photography
Getting a new website
Revising your key messaging or writing key messaging to match the direction you’re headed in
Refining your brand identity – being more consistent, and precise in your tone and
Creating brand guidelines to ensure consistency across your company and marketing platforms
Adding new marketing platforms or content forms to your roster (ie. TikTok videos, email marketing, etc.)

*Any one of these things could be good motivation for a brand-refresh on their own, you don’t need to check off every box to warrant a rebrand. But many of our clients will often have 3 or 4 of these criteria, and in that case, we love being able to support them through a rebrand.

A Rebrand:

On the other hand, a rebrand might be the better option if you’re looking to make some wider changes to your brand and your business. Not only does a rebrand include changing the “wrapping” your business comes in, but it may also include repositioning the core personality of your brand, changing your business, and working with a different target audience.

Again, no two rebrands are alike and you don’t have to check off every box to be qualified for a rebrand, but it’s really important that you find a marketing expert who knows how to guide you through this decision thoughtfully.

When A Total Rebrand Might Be Right For You:

When you have an established brand that isn’t working for your business (or is even driving customers away)
When your brand doesn’t stand out in the marketplace from other brands
When the fundamental identity of your brand and business need to change to meet your audience’s evolving needs
When you’re changing the name of your company
When you’re switching the geographic regions you serve
When you’re transforming the entire look and feel of your brand
When you’re making major changing your product/service offerings

What a Rebrand Could Include:

A new logo
A new business name
A new tagline
New brand messaging
Changing your visual brand identity (font, colours, imagery, etc.)
New brand photography with a different feel than before
Developing a new brand identity/persona that can relate to your target audience
A totally new marketing plan (new website, new marketing platforms, etc.)
Whether your rebrand is mini or full-scale, it can help you get attuned to your target audience in a really effective way that grows your business and creates more awareness of your brand.

Does My Brand Accurately Represent Who My Business Is?

This is the most important question to ask yourself, and your team before pursuing a rebrand. If you do feel that your brand represents your business, then perhaps it just needs a little TLC with a brand refresh – updating photos, refining your brand guidelines, or tidying up your look. We are always here to help with that!

And if you feel like there is a growing disconnect between the way your brand is showing up in the world and the way your business is actually helping your customers, then it just might be time to pursue a rebrand. We can help with this too, providing you with marketing strategy, graphic design, photography, videography, content marketing and brand development services.

Conclusion:

Contact us to learn if a rebrand, or a brand refresh is right for your business. At Unger Studios, we’re happy to assist with both brand refreshes and rebrands so you accomplish your goals for your business.

Is It Time For a Rebrand?