Ready, Set, Rebrand!
Posted on April 19, 2019
By Theresa Chiechi, Designer, Illustrator, Writer
Rebranding Essentials
Whether it’s updating an old look or rebuilding a whole new persona for your company, rebranding can be a daunting task to tackle. In this article, we will go through the things you should think about when rebranding.
We’ve covered in a previous article "Should my company rebrand", all the reasons it might be time to rebrand but now let’s get into the different ways to go about doing it.
Rebrand or Refresh?
The next step is to decide the scope of this change. Are you seeking to improve upon you brand image or to completely rehaul your look? Your level of rebranding will be determined by the reasons you are choosing to do so.
Brand Refresh
This approach is best for companies who seek to take what they have and update it as opposed to a whole reinvention. This could mean taking an old logo or website and marketing and tweaking it so that it looks more contemporary. A good example of this is Google.
The concept has always been the same and the changes to the font haven’t been that drastic. But with each update, Google’s logo grows and evolves with the stylistic tastes of the present time.
Jumping All In – A Total Rebrand
This approach is the more drastic of the two; it’s a complete rehaul to every facet of your company. You might feel the need for this radical renovation if a critical part of your business has changed. Just a few examples include merging with a new company, selling a new core product or service, targeting a new demographic, or trying to shake off a bad public image.
Take a look at Airbnb for a good example of a fresh new look. They went from playful to sophisticated with a design that is in line with present-day aesthetics.
Whatever your reason may be for a total rebrand, this effort will take a lot of planning and strategizing. Which brings us to...
Building A Brand Strategy
The more you plan and think about your branding strategy, the easier it will be to succeed in your efforts.
Your brand strategy should encompass what your business stands for, who you are trying to attract, what promises you want to make to your customer base, and most importantly what story you are trying to tell.
What does your company stand for?
Every company should have a clear objective. Why does your company exist and what does it have to offer that’s unique? Understanding this is crucial for moving forward in the rebranding process.
Having difficulty discovering your company’s purpose? Ask yourself these questions:
What problem does my brand solve?
Who am I targeting?
What sets me apart from my competition?
How do I want my customers to feel?
What story am I trying to tell?
After you’ve answered these questions you should be able to craft a narrative around your company. Then you can start to piece together what design and marketing elements will help to amplify your company’s story.
It’s time for a makeover.
The first impression a consumer will have will often stem from your logo. It needs to be memorable, aesthetically pleasing, and convey your company’s purpose all in one simple design. Sounds like a pretty tall order. It’s also a great place to start when it comes to rebranding.
When it comes to reinventing your logo, you may change the look, feel, color and/or font but it’s also important to keep it recognizable so that you don’t alienate long-term customers. Your logo needs to draw in new audiences while letting your loyal customers know that you still represent them.
Along with your logo, there are a few more design elements you’ll have to think about. Everything from the colors of your website, the fonts you choose, to the imagery you display–all of these components should mesh together so that they cohesively represent the “new you”.
For example, you might want to research what colors make customers feel certain emotions. Have you noticed a lot of fast food chains incorporate the color red into their branding? That’s because the color acts as an appetite stimulant. It’s a bold color that can be seen from a distance and preempts action, which comes in handy when you’re trying to attract hungry travelers for a quick bite.
Your message.
Once you’ve established your objective, you will be able to update and improve the message you’re giving to your clients. Your messaging should be consistent and help to reinforce your “story”. Try to create a tagline that is short and sweet, yet embodies all that your brand stands for. Figure out how to showcase that verbiage all across your website and various marketing material.
Researching your target audience
Knowing who you’re marketing to is critical, especially if you’re trying to draw in new demographics. You’ll need a clear idea of who your target audience is, so be prepared to do a lot of research.
As you’re narrowing down who you want to market your product or service to, a smart exercise is to start creating customer personas.
A customer persona is a fictionalized archetype of your target customer, created from research, surveys, and other insights you may gathered. This persona helps you understand who your ideal buyer is.
According to Hubspot, the use of personas made websites 2-5 times easier to use by targeted users, improved email click-through rates by 14%, and increased conversion rates by 10%.
The more information embedded into your customer persona the better you will be able to understand and in turn market to your actual customers.
The key takeaways
For all of you article skimmers out there, here are the important takeaways:
Identify why your brand needs a change and if you need to refresh or rebrand.
Establish your company objective and craft a story around it.
Decide which design choices best amplify your company objective.
Know your audience and the best ways to market to them.
Sources
1- https://99designs.com/blog/logo-branding/how-to-rebrand/
3 - https://www.csdesignworks.com/blog/2017/02/personas-getting-personal-with-your-customer
4 - https://www.fatrabbitcreative.com/blog/psychology-of-the-color-red-and-what-it-means-for-your-business
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