Navigating a Rebrand in 5 Easy Steps

Strong, recognizable branding can, in many ways, do as much for the marketing of your products or services as pages of website or brochure copy. Having a well-conceived, well-executed, and consistently applied brand can be critical to your organization’s success.

That said, even the most iconic brands have changed over time as needed to keep up with an evolving market, to attract a new audience, etc. While the thought of rebranding may be daunting, the process can be fairly simple and straightforward if approached properly.

Mountain Dew logo throughout the years

The Right Way to Refresh a Brand

Below are five time-tested steps for breathing life into a tired or outdated brand.

  1. Perform a brand audit. Before you make any changes to your branding, you must be sure that you understand who your target audience is. Their demographic data can help inform the new design. You also need to know what they are looking for in a company like yours. Do they seek strength? Experience? Flexibility? A sense of humor? Their wants and needs can impact everything from the shape of graphics to the color of the text. You should also have an in-depth knowledge of who your competitors are and how you can and should differentiate yourself from them.
  2. Review a recommendation or creative brief. A creative brief takes your thoughts and those of your creative agency, clarifies them, and puts them on paper. It helps ensure that everyone involved with the project understands its goals and the process for achieving them.
  3. Discuss initial messaging and positioning. Before the visual aspect of your brand is revised, you must be sure that decision makers are in agreement about what message(s) you are trying to communicate and how you want to position your offerings in the market.
  4. Select your logo, fonts, etc. This step in the process is the one people feel is the most “fun.” However, it’s important to note that a successful brand is the one that most effectively meets your business objectives not necessarily the one that your internal team likes the most. As your agency will explain, while branding is an art, it’s also a science, and both of these aspects must be considered if you are to come up with a powerful brand.
  5. Develop a rollout strategy and then execute the launch. The same kind of time and effort that goes into crafting your new branding should be expended in planning for and executing the launch. Your agency should drive this process.

No Substitute for Branding Expertise

The developing of branding that grabs attention, increases recognition, and establishes (or reestablishes) your organization as a key player in your market is something that shouldn’t be left to chance or uninformed preferences. Working with an agency like Sutter Group that has the experience to know what works and what doesn’t, and the skill to execute on your brand strategy ensures that the process will be efficient and fruitful.

Is it time for a rebrand? Drop us a line.