The choice to embark on a rebranding effort can be a fraught one for organizations. When is the right time? What are the right reasons? How do we get everyone on board? Before you launch into this critical initiative, take a closer look at the “why” for your organization.
Ten years ago, you headed up an initiative at your organization to define and build your brand. It took a fair amount of work to build your case for making an investment you knew wasn’t going to pay off immediately, but you convinced your colleagues that having what you mean, and what you promise out there ahead of your more tactical efforts would ensure a better reception for those efforts. Any “push” marketing and sales initiatives would also be more effective, within the “pull” context a stronger brand would afford.
Working with a consultant, you assembled a cross-functional team, conducted a small online customer survey, got input from your colleagues, defined brand attributes you wanted to be known for, and developed a convincing positioning statement and some top-line messages. With this work in hand, your consultants tuned up the logo your founder and CEO had originally drawn on a napkin, developed some directions for the use of type and color, and provided guidelines for you to make some needed print pieces in house. You worked with other collaborators to launch a new website.
For ten years you’ve been reinforcing that work. Lately, however, people are starting to stick their heads in your office and suggest it’s time to rebrand. You’re getting comments about your brand like, “it’s tired,” “out of date,” “time for a change,” “have you seen what the competition is doing?” These comments clearly express some dissatisfaction, but they’re a little too fuzzy to act on. You want to make sure that if you’re going to embark on another branding initiative, you’re clear on the problem you’re solving.
Fortunately, there are some parameters by which you can measure your need for a rebrand, They’re ordered below by the amount of effort (least to most) you’ll need to effect change. Drivers for rebranding can be external or come from within your organization: do any of these sound like you? If not, then perhaps your brand is not the problem… even if your CEO thinks it is.
1. Your communications—print and digital—don’t look and sound like you.
Your offerings are solid and relevant—and you get good feedback from customers once they’re on board—but connecting with prospects is getting harder. The messages you’re putting out there aren’t telling your story effectively and you have to apologize every time you slide a brochure across the table or give someone your URL. Your print and digital materials—perhaps even your logo—are underselling, or even subtracting value from, your offerings. Updating how you express yourself verbally and visually is in order.
2. You’ve evolved, but your brand hasn’t.
Your organization is in the forefront. You’ve continued to innovate, but how you’re understood lags behind, and those out-of-date perceptions are dragging down both mindshare and market share. The good news: you’ve a vision, model, and value that can inform evolved messages, visual expression, and a refreshed brand. Do it.
Drivers for rebranding can be external or come from within your organization: do any of these sound like you? If not, then perhaps your brand is not the problem… even if your CEO thinks it is. (Check out the other article in this series if this is the case.)