Branding…Branding is a key strategy in finding success in your company. Sharp branding shares what your company does, how you do it, and why. Branding is a subtle, yet powerful, tool that should encompass planning, forethought, and specific choices. It’s much more than a name and logo – it’s the whole persona your business exudes, and your brand is what your customers connect with. And is a brand a forever piece ingrained into your company? Once you create that persona is it written in stone? Of course not, and a key part of branding is, well, rebranding. Read on for some key info on how to rebrand a company.
What is rebranding?
According to Crowdspring.com, rebranding is the marketing strategy that incorporates a change in a business’s image. It can consist of developing a new name, symbol, logo, and other related parts of the brand. Rebranding is initiated to create a new and differentiated brand identity. This is essential to changing times, fluctuating audiences, and keeping brands relevant.
Companies may rebrand when they see their current brand is not working well or as well as it used to. They may see a new audience segment to target and want their brand to encompass the new target as well as the old. Rebranding may be necessary when your first attempt at branding didn’t work as well as you would have liked, or you may have an established brand but would like a current update to stay relevant to your customers and keep up with the competition.
What is brand identity?
Brand identity is the persona that your company portrays to the world. It’s all the components of your company melded into a solid, cohesive brand; it’s your logo and audio ads. It’s color schemes and packaging. Brand identity is the face that your company shows to all its customers, potential customers, and everyone else.
It’s often useful to look at an example of a great brand. Why not talk about Apple? It’s one of the most recognizable and successful brands around. In fact, so many Apple customers are so loyal due to branding that they’ll be lifelong Apple users. Business2community.com shares an excellent study on brand identity and why Apple is so successful. Here is some information we garnered from that piece.
- Apple touches on emotion with innovative and appealing techniques.
- Apple strives to make things easier for its customers so its branding is more about customers than about the product itself.
- The logo is one of the most well-known logos around. And it is simple, clean, and innovative, just like the product. In fact, the logo speaks for itself so the rest of the packaging and products can be kept minimally clean and simple, too.
- The advertising, website, and product packaging are all minimalist and clean, just like the products themselves. These parts of the brand stay true to the logo and products to create a cohesive brand that has morphed into a culture.
Other components of brand identity
No matter how big or how small a company is, it needs a brand. Think about social media and what visual components of accounts draw you in. That’s branding, or brand identity. If you resonate with a color scheme or aesthetic of a company, that’s their branding. Branding is all the visual components and elements that you see in a company. This is the color palette, the visual design, and the logo. And this can incorporate blog pages, social media, packaging, and of course, product. It all should be cohesive and relevant and speak to the audience. When a brand works, it works. And when it doesn’t, well maybe it’s time to rebrand.
Why should a company rebrand? Why is it necessary?
There are essentially two cases when a company should rebrand. One is when the brand just isn’t working. The other is when the business wants an update, just like someone may redo their living room. They want something more visually current to reach more of an audience, to keep the customers they have, and keep up with current aesthetics and values.
When the brand isn’t working
Perhaps your business is new and you spent a lot of time on your product or service. You post every so often on social media, have a Facebook page, and put together a logo that looks pretty nice. You even have a stack of nice, little business cards with that logo, your name, and contact info. However, your company just isn’t taking off as well as you’d like it to, and sometimes, you’re even a little embarrassed about those business cards. They’re just not you. It may be time to think about your brand and maybe rebrand it.
Perhaps your brand isn’t working due to a lack of consistency throughout (your cards don’t match your website) or your aesthetic just doesn’t stand out. Maybe it doesn’t really convey what you do or why you do it, so it could be time to rebrand. Think of it as a new start, a time to consider all of the pieces and parts and how they work together.
When the brand needs updating
Have you ever been driving somewhere, maybe a smaller town, and you see a fast-food restaurant with a sign from 30 years ago? It makes you pause, right? Companies update for a reason. Maybe they just don’t want to look dated or maybe it’s something bigger like there was cultural appropriation or a problematic component. We see fads in design, and maybe your tried and true brand just looks old, like 1980’s countertops. We all like a little update, a new hairstyle or new wide-legged jeans instead of those skinny ones. Your brand is probably craving it, too. Rebranding can breathe new life into your business and make it shine once again.
So don’t be ashamed or afraid to rebrand. If done right, it can do wonders for your business.
Facebook rebranding to Meta example
Let’s take a look at this extremely relevant and current example of Facebook rebranding to Meta. Are you asking, “What??” Well, Facebook the app isn’t going anywhere, but Facebook the company is. Not really going somewhere, but it’s rebranding to Meta. Up until this new rebranding, Facebook was not only the social networking app we all know and love (or hate), but also the parent company to that app and many others, like Instagram and WhatsApp. Yes, the app Facebook will stay, but the company is rebranding to Meta. This will encompass much more than the social networking sites on the internet, including all the foreseeable, amazing transformations we are going to see in the coming years on the internet.
With this rebranding, Meta can open up to many other ventures without being so tightly interwoven with just Facebook. It’s a smart, timely move for the company. And it’s not the only one out there rebranding.
Other companies and rebranding examples
We all love a donut every now and then, right. And a cup of coffee to go with it, eh? That’s why Dunkin’ Donuts is now simply Dunkin’. They offer much more than those creamy, custardy, cakey donuts, so their new name doesn’t put limitations on their brand.
GoDaddy changed their brand look to incorporate a new logo – a G intertwined with an O that resembles a heart. It speaks to the personal, human touch that GoDaddy wants to offer.
Toyota simplified its logo, too. They’re not the only company to take some of the complications out of the logo and go minimalist. It speaks to that recognition brands are striving for; you know, you’ll recognize it when you see it without being told.
We are seeing clean, minimalist, simple logos now, and that’s what people want. Take away the confusion, the pigeonholing, and the busyness, and you can be left an understated, but powerful brand that will win you new customers and keep the old ones, too.
Step by step of a successful rebranding and how to rebrand a company
When you are ready to rebrand, maybe you want to get rid of that 1960’s font or the 80’s color palette, think about what will work now. In fact, a great way to do this is with a professional branding and design team. They will know what’s current, what’s working, and what’s good for rebranding.
Once you have a team, think about these things:
- What is working in your current brand and what needs to go?
- Can you do some target tests to see what your audience gravitates to?
- What’s the competition doing?
- Have your core values changed? Maybe your principles are different or you’ve added a new mission
- Is there anything problematic with your current brand that could be offensive?
Maybe it’s time for a simple update or maybe you need a complete rehaul on your brand. Regardless, remember that your brand is the face of your audience. You wouldn’t give a presentation in your pajamas with unwashed hair, or in a t-shirt that may offend or exclude someone, would you? And if your business has a playful, fun tone, you may want to wear those bright colors and comfy clothes instead of a formal suit. You should match your brand and your brand should match you. Sometimes it needs a redo.
Let us help
At Bunny Studio, our pros would love to help you rebrand. Whether it’s a new color palette, a new website, an updated logo, or name, we’ve got you. We can help figure out what it is you need and create just what you want. Don’t overlook your brand; it’s too important to the success of your company. Whether your company consists of just you or it’s a global organization, it needs a face that speaks to what you do. Let us help. Our Bunny team is always ready to chat, so just reach out to us here, and let’s get your brand rebranded.
