When creating a brand, its important to be consistent with everything; consistent look, consistent product, consistent services. Once your company has an established brand, one that everyone knows and is use to, it’s very difficult to just come up one day and re-brand. But, if done right, re-branding can be the answer to a company needing a jolt.

Last year, Tropicana decided to re-brand their struggling product. So they went out, changed their logo, changed their image (the clever orange with a stripped straw image), and changed their packaging. So what happened? They had to change it back. People where so turned down by the new look, they where questioning if it was the same orange juice. They where confused by the new labeling system and even the new round cap (which I kinda liked) got some back-lash. Another problem they had was that they didn’t advertise the new look to their customers, letting them know about the change. And a complete overhaul is never a good thing with a brand with so much history.

Interesting enough, Pepsi (who is run by the same people as Tropicana) decided it was time to re-brand as well. But instead of completely changing what worked so well for them over the years, they took what they had and updated it. They kept their look consistent with what was there before, but made it fresh to attract new younger customers. What also helped was that they put out an ad campaign, letting people know of the change. Their transition toward the new look went a lot more smoothly.

Design can make a big difference in the way a company is viewed. And by these examples, it can be the deciding factor in how a company moves forward (a little marketing doesn’t hurt either). Whether you’re starting up, or moving forward, building a brand can help your business succeed, as long as you remember to be consistent.