Should My Company Rebrand?

Posted on March 29, 2019
By Theresa Chiechi, Designer, Illustrator, Writer

To rebrand or not...that is the question.

Determining when or why to rebrand is an age old marketing dilemma. This article will hopefully shed some light on whether rebranding is a wise idea.

There are few things in life that are constant. Whether it be your own fashion sense, political views and ideologies, or what your favorite breakfast cereal is, as time passes and evolves so do the various elements in your life.

This change and evolution is no stranger to a company's brand and there are times when the decision to revitalize your image will help you keep up with an increasingly dynamic marketplace.

Though you may recognize that change is necessary to keep a brand fresh, it’s not always easy to recognize when to make that change–or even if you should be making that change.

Even after deciding to make a change it’s important to note that rebranding often involves a lot more than just updating an old logo. Of course your company logo is an important part of rebranding and one of the early stage starting points but most importantly is to understand why you want to rebrand.

Where do I begin?

As mentioned, rebranding is not just updating your logo. The first place to start is to dust off your business plan and update your mission and company vision. What is your value proposition and what message is it that you want to convey. It is also a great time to take a look at your competitors to see what they are doing. It is also helpful to look beyond your industry from an aspirational viewpoint to notice who is doing it right. Subaru comes to mind as a poster child for a company that understands the importance of getting their brand right. Subaru = LOVE.

Here are some key considerations before rebranding.

You want to stand out from the competition.

It can feel as though that no matter what market or industry you are in, there are countless competitors out there trying to do the same thing as you. Companies who aren’t careful to set themselves apart will fail to capture the attention of a potential customer.

You’ve heard the old cliché, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”? Sadly, it’s the complete opposite when it comes to how a customer will regard your brand. If your logo is generic or your company website relies too heavily on recognizable stock art you will be severely hurting your chances of drawing in the crowd you want.

If you think you might fall into this category, have no fear: rebranding is here! This is your chance to show the world what makes you different and unique from your competition.

You want to modernize an outdated look.

Remember that haircut you used to rock in middle school? The one where you thought you looked so cool and hip? Yeah, that one. Also the haircut that if you were to show the youths of today it would have them crying, “did you really used to have that??”

The same effect can, and probably will, happen to a brand. Certain visual styles may be all the rage now but will sadly look outdated and tacky ten or twenty years down the line. Take a quick stroll through google images and search up any logo from the 90s and I guarantee it will make you cringe compared to today’s modern design sensibilities. This could very well happen to certain elements we consider visually appealing today.

If a company brand or logo looks outdated it’s going to give the viewer the impression that your brand has not evolved with the times. It will imply that you are not working with the latest technology or information which will lead the viewer to seek out someone else.

You want to evolve like your business.

If you’ve been running the same company for many years chances are that the services or products that you’re providing now are not the same as when you started. As time passes, the scope or focus of your company will evolve. If your company has changed so much that the branding no longer reflects what your company has to offer, it might be time to consider a rebrand.

You want to shake-off a negative reputation.

Companies are run by humans and humans are reliably known to make mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes can be severely damaging to a company's reputation. A negative association can be hard to shake but sometimes rebranding is just the cure your company needs.

Brand missteps can be fatal…. And costly.

We discussed a lot of problems that your company may need to address but it’s important to consider if there truly is anything that needs to be fixed.

Rebranding can be great for a company that needs it but if rebranding isn’t what the doctor ordered, it could actually hurt your image.

Take Gap for example. Back in 2010 Gap redesigned their logo, swapping out their simple and elegant logo for a less sophisticated style.

Perhaps it was a move meant to keep up with the flat design trend of the time but whatever the reasoning the response to this change was met with a huge backlash. A backlash so big that Gap changed their logo back to way it was within a matter of days.

Or another, more recent example can be found with Weight Watchers. The popular weight loss and wellness company was struggling to bring in new members so in a hasty attempt to draw in new crowds, they changed their well-known name and logo to “WW”. The change did not resonate with consumers and in turn came with a huge loss. Weight Watchers is now predicted to have a 10% drop in their membership.

Rebranding for the sake of rebranding is not a wise move. Though change is sometimes necessary, it’s not something everyone is comfortable with. This discomfort can be magnified if the change implemented is deemed un-called for.