If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that we preach consistency, consistency, consistency!
A consistent brand experience, for a targeted buyer, in their language, across all 7 major touch points (Logo, Color, Typography, Voice/Personality, Photography, Info Hierarchy & Positioning) is the bedrock of any trustworthy and compelling brand.
Why then would you EVER rebrand your company? Wouldn’t that just throw everyone off and force you to rebuild your brand equity within the minds of the consumer from scratch?
This is the question that is on everyone’s mind lately! We are in an era of rebranding and rebirth, and it seems like all of the major Fortune 100 corporations are trying on new outfits every other day of the week! Here are a few organizations that have rebranded recently…
- Phillip Morris to Altria
- Southwest Airlines
- 7 UP
- Pitney Bowes
- Electrolux
- USA Today
- Boston Chicken
- The New School
- Dominos
- Microsoft
- Gap
- Tropicana
- Starbucks
- BP
- Old Spice
…you get the picture.
So why did they do it, and when is it time to rebrand YOUR company?
- There are 4 scenarios when it is DEFINITELY appropriate to rebrand. The first would be to distance a company from a bad reputation or disaster. The infrastructure of a company might have value and plenty of revenue, but the brand could be weighing down that value. In this case, the brand is diminishing the company’s ability to improve on a poor record. Companies that have taken this route include BP and Phillip Morris (to name a few).
- Perhaps the most wide-spread reason to rebrand is to remain relevant! Sometimes a company’s logo, at the moment of creation, embodies the style of a certain decade. So, much like you don’t expect to see a 70’s era hippie at an 80’s punk rock concert, neither should a company with a dated visual identity expect to compete against a modern counterpart. If you want to remain relevant, and appear to be on-top of the best practices within an industry, you’ll need a brand that matches your intention. Companies that pride themselves on relevant branding include both of today’s examples, 7 UP and The New School in NYC. They also include The Gap, Starbucks, Old Spice, Microsoft (of course a tech company would want to remain relevant!), USA Today, Electrolux and Pitney Bowes.
- Another reason why a rebrand is in order is if your company has expanded beyond or out of its original mission. Some companies, such as Dominos, don’t JUST serve pizza anymore, so they wanted to drop the association. Another organization, Boston Chicken, who wanted to appear to be MORE than just a chicken company, rebranded to Boston Market! Who knew? If it is time for your company to take a closer look at your brand’s growth strategy, head on over to our contact page and drop us a line!
- The last, and most important reason to rebrand, and one that EVERY SINGLE COMPANY above has gone through, is to shed an original, poorly designed identity, for one befitting a fast growth, successful organization. Every company goes through this… when they start out they simply can’t afford good branding, it isn’t the focus and it isn’t the expertise of the founder. So, they wait until they can hire the big guns to give them clarity, cohesion, and a compelling approach. This is exactly what BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE excels at, and if you’d like our help taking you from successful to REALLY successful, just use our contact page. We’ve made miracles happen for all of the companies on our portfolio page and we’d like to work with you, too.
