Is your image starting to feel a little stale in today’s market? How do you know when it’s time to rebrand your business?
If you find consumers are drawn to your competitors modern and trendy logos, streamlined brand and snappy sales pitches, you may need to freshen up your brand and reposition yourself in your field.Perhaps your business has expanded or started moving in a different direction. Your brand needs to represent your company in present and future, while efficiently communicating with your consumers.
You may have noticed you’re beginning to lose your Google rank in preference to more speedy, optimised and responsive competition. If you’re staring down the barrel of a new web design, you’re going to need a great creative team on your side, so it may be your opportunity to dive headfirst into a more comprehensive brand refurbishment.
While many businesses are excited to start on a beautiful new website and modern logo, many are not prepared for what a successful rebrand entails. Established businesses need to be careful not to loose their existing customer base, or cause confusion around their identity. A rebrand needs to be thoughtfully and extensively marketed, and consistent across all advertising mediums. If you change your business name, you’ll need a new website domain and a trusted SEO and digital marketing team to help you preserve your spot on Google during the transition. Well executed rebranding is neither a fast, nor cheap exercise. Businesses need to be ready to embrace the change; because when you’re embarking on a full brand facelift...
EVERYTHING has to change.
- Overhaul company culture, message and goals.
- Refine business plan, objectives and future opportunities
- Legally update company information, business name and trading name if applicable.
- Refresh all sales copy, web and print content, and company slogans or jingles.
- Change all print materials, business cards, flyers, letterheads, quote forms and invoices.
- redesign signage including any vehicles, billboards, posters and a-frames.
- Manage image on all external advertising mediums, including website directory listings,
- Reprint company uniforms and promotional items
- Update digital presence, all social media accounts and email accounts
Over the years we’ve seen many examples of hugely successful rebranding campaigns and disastrous rebrand failures from some very big names. It’s important to understand why the successes work so well, and what went wrong with those that didn’t. So, you’re prepared, informed and excited to embrace the challenge and possible risks, let’s do it! Where do we start?
Rebranding the vision and the purpose
This is arguably the most important step. What is the problem you’re trying to solve? Consider what makes your brand instantly recognisable, or what makes consumers instantly want to gag. Do you have an ‘aeroplane jelly’ style jingle that just has to go? Identify elements about your current brand that can be salvaged and adapted. Discuss with designers and marketers at length about current trends, the direction of your company, and what you hope to achieve from your new look and feel.
Consider all the possible costs of a rebrand
Have a firm grasp of your rebranding budget. Take into consideration the cost of developing and promoting your new brand. You’ll need to market to your consumers prior to launch to inform them about what’s changing within your company. During and post-launch, your marketing campaigns will need to be consistent and ongoing. The bottom dollar will help you determine just how far you can afford to change.
Realistic timelines and consumer consideration
A rebrand won’t happen overnight, you don’t want to suddenly disappear, then pop up elsewhere with a new name. It must be a careful and deliberate process which promotes the shift at the right times. For businesses with a strong existing customer base, you may be able to involve your consumers in the process. Perhaps customers can help you decide on your new logo design, or vote on their favourite slogan. When it comes time to launch, your existing customers should already be prepared, and excited about what you come up with.
Plan your social media rebrand early. It may be trickier than you think. Facebook for example, don’t like to allow a company name change for pages with 200+ followers. This is aimed at protecting followers from being ‘sold’ to another company. You may need to apply for a rebrand, which can take several days or even weeks.
Marketing your new brand
If you’ve changed your website domain and business name, past or existing customers may be Googling your old brand for quite some time. It might pay to invest in some Adwords pay per click campaigns. Use your old brand name as the keywords, and focus the copy on your new identity: Title: “New brand - formerly old brand.” We’re excited to announce we’ve evolved,” or something similar to get the message across.Promote your new brand wherever possible. Announce the launch everywhere; to all customers, suppliers, friends, strangers and enemies. Make sure any partners are aware of the change and have your new logo and pitch, to update on their website or marketing materials.
- Email announcements (several)
- Press releases
- Social Media paid advertising
- Grand re-launch event
- Promotional giveaways and street marketing campaigns
Follow your rebrand very closely after launch
Be prepared to feel a little anxious throughout this process. While it’s exciting, it’s also daunting, sometimes risky, and definitely costly when not handled carefully. It’s important to keep evaluating the success of your rebrand. Communicate often with your consumers, eavesdrop on their social media comments, listen wherever there are new and old brand mentions online. A great digital marketing team will help you monitor consumer engagement and behaviour on your site, and significant actions or reactions by search engines, or users on your social channels.If you tread carefully and engage a professional rebranding partner from the onset, you should enjoy your new direction, fresh new image, and most importantly, a great return on your investment. After all the blood, sweat, tears and dollars you’ve shed, your brand needs to work for you.
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Anchor digital are a crew of strategists, creatives, coders, account managers and techs. We are a web design, SEO and digital marketing agency powered by your business goals. With Anchor in your corner you can expect tailored expertise and measurable results. Our portfolio says it all. Our business model is simple: Consult, Create, Convert. Through close collaboration, accountability and total transparency, Anchor combine the forces that set your digital brand sailing. From the ground up, we’re your partners in the climb.
