Still reeling in the wake of COVID-19, many businesses are scrambling to adapt. Some are thriving in the post-pandemic landscape, while others are struggling to keep up. As governments assess the impact on GDP and the economy, many businesses face volatile markets and anticipate poor sales. Faced with continued uncertainty, now is the time to check the relevance of your existing business and brand strategy. Rebranding goes way beyond visual identity: it can help your company enhance your competitive edge and visibility, drive sales growth and increase your business value over the long term.
How does your potential rebrand fuel growth, financial performance, and efficiency; ultimately positioning your company for long-term success in a dynamic market?
Your brand is more than just a logo and tagline. It’s your reputation, your voice and your promise to customers. A strong brand identity can help you:
Evolution or Revolution? Choosing the Right Rebranding Approach
Not all rebrands are created equal. Some companies may only need a light refresh of their visual identity, while others may need a complete overhaul. The best approach for your company will depend on several factors, such as:
See part one in our series: Mergers & Acquisitions (Part 1): 5 Strategic Approaches to Branding to get a better understanding of which route is best for your business.
Your brand is important to how you’re company is perceived, but how it's managed – relative to your entire customer experience – is critically important.
Before you start rebranding, it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself some key questions:
Many management executives are too busy to properly manage a rebrand without expert help, with considerable day-to-day responsibilities leaving little space in their diaries. The financial cost implications of the rebrand will be their priority, so establish detailed cost parameters with their input.
Once you have a clear understanding of your brand, you can start developing your creative brief. This document will provide your branding agency with all the information they need to create a new brand identity for your company. The five key steps in developing your creative brief are:
When you’re working with a branding agency, it’s important to provide them with a list of all your branded assets. This includes things like your logo, website, marketing materials, packaging, and uniforms.
With physical site surveys, online self-surveys and desktop research, these assets can be easily provided to your brand agency from the very start. It gives them a clear picture of the nature and extent of your brand touchpoints so that they can be more specific with what to quote for and subsequently create. This can save a lot of embarrassment and prevent having to request extra budget later on in the process.
Identifying every aspect of your current brand identity can be the most complex task of a rebrand. Due to the sheer volume and geographic reach of branded assets, many companies wisely choose a phased rollout. This allows for ongoing progress monitoring and fine-tuning. Fortunately, experienced brand implementation partners excel at orchestrating rebranding initiatives. Equipped with expertise in strategic planning, financial management, vendor relations, and reporting tools, they ensure timely, budget-conscious delivery of consistent, high-quality branded assets throughout the process.
Identifying every aspect of your current brand identity can be the most complex task of a rebrand.
Once your new brand identity is created, it’s time to start implementing it. This can be a complex process, so it’s important to employ a brand implementation partner. A good brand implementation partner can help you:
Your brand implementation partner should work with your designers and internal resources to remove the stress of detailed operational project management and ensure that all your brand touchpoint assets transition as planned. Both physical and digital elements need consideration – building signage, wayfinding, workplace environments, fleet, workwear, administration templates, marketing collateral and online resources all need appropriate solutions to help decentralized company resources manage the governance process with clear direction and autonomy.
Seamless connections between all stages are essential. From brand strategy to brand engineering and brand implementation, each phase requires specific talent, expertise and experience in strategic, analytical, and tactical skills.
'Seamless connections between all stages are essential. From brand strategy to brand engineering and brand implementation, each phase requires specific talent, expertise and experience in strategic, analytical, and tactical skills.'
A successful rebrand can be a powerful tool for growth. By following these tips, you can ensure that your company emerges from the post-pandemic world stronger than ever.
Our team of rebrand specialists is on hand to help with your post-M&A rebrand, from strategy through to implementation. Contact us for an initial no-obligation chat.
