4 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS IF YOU’RE THINKING OF REBRANDING

A new year, a new you…

This might be a time when you take numerous resolutions on a personal and on a professional level. You might have heard of a little something called “rebranding”.

At the beginning of a new year, you might question yourself about your business’s corporate identity. Do you have the right style? Do you need to refresh the colours of your brand? In other words, do you need a change to have a bigger and better impact this year?

A well designed brand, like everything else, needs to evolve to stay alive or at least keep current. Articles about rebranding usually advise of the necessity of a change every 7 to 10 years. However, there are many factors that should help you make the right decision/resolution.

First of all, you’ll need to audit your brand. To make sure you head in the right direction, our professional marketing consultants will help you ask yourself the right questions.

 

1 – WHAT IS REBRANDING?

In a nutshell, when you rebrand, you change a significant element of your brand. Sometimes, it’s your logo. Sometimes, it’s your slogan. You get the idea. The primary goal is a better communication with your audience or your customers thanks to an “update” (aka “rebranding”) of your image.

Change for the sake of change isn’t necessarily the answer though. You must be sure that you really need a change and think about the type of change you wish to implement.

 

2 – IS REBRANDING FOR YOU?

Rebranding is not a complete revolution. It’s more about evolution, in the sense that you don’t necessarily have to change everything. You don’t have to start from scratch or reinvent the wheel. Your brand just needs to evolve the right way. Even a simple nip-tuck might be sufficient. Don’t forget that people have gotten accustomed to your brand for X amount of years. Therefore, you don’t want to confuse them with an image they won’t recognize. Your new image will need to relate to something familiar (Good branding, and how to use it).

The best thing to do is to go and find professional graphic designers. Ask for their objective opinion. They’ll be able to tell you if your corporate identity is strong enough. They’ll be able to let you know if rebranding is a good strategy for you, if it’s time to rebrand.

 

3 – ARE YOU KEEPING UP WITH TIMES?

You already know that in today’s market, you need to adapt to modern customers (Going Mobile Friendly) to grow, or even survive. So the need to adapt might be why you want to rebrand.

Another reason is quite simply that you need a makeover, a more contemporary look. Let’s say you started your small business 15 years ago. Chances are your corporate image was created 15 years ago as well and now, it might be a bit dated. Things change fast in the design world. Professional graphic designers will refresh your look and allow you to be relevant.

Another reason to rebrand could be that your company isn’t the same as the one it was when you started it. You might have new product and services, for instance. The market isn’t the same anymore. You might have more competitors or more online competition. You simply have to keep up with the times to constantly reposition yourself in your market. Rebranding could help you do just that.

 

4 – ARE YOU THINKING LONG TERM?

Businesses go through natural cycles and often find themselves at a stand-still. Rebranding can give you the perfect push or inspiration to go on.

As a business owner, you’ll come, on day or another, across the following dilemma: on one hand, you need to keep your past clientele, which is the base of your business; on another hand, your audience or customer base needs to grow in order for you to survive.

A good rebranding strategy will visually link the past and the future by keeping the core elements of who you are/what your brand is and bringing it forward, into the present time. By thinking long term, you’ll continue being proud of your brand. Your business or organization will be able to thrive thanks to a natural evolution supported by a smart rebranding concept.

 

Whether rebranding is or isn’t for you today, you’ll think about it sooner or later. You’ll need the help of professionals to make sure your corporate identity is relevant and able to evolve for the better.

 

For more details, see our Branding services and our Branding portfolio.