
The objective of rebranding is to change the public’s perception of your brand without losing your essence. Rebranding can bring high costs due to website updates, logo refresh, imagery, promotional material, slogan, advertisements and so forth; however, if done right a rebrand can create a new personality, establish your brand within a different market, and impressively expand your business’ horizons.
There are plenty of motives a business might have when considering the rebrand of its product or service. So, how do you know if your business needs a rebrand? Here are five reasons it may be time to go through a rebrand:
1. An outdated corporate identity
To compete at a higher level, it’s often necessary to leave your old brand behind and update your corporate identity. If you have outgrown your corporate brand, you should definitely consider rebranding.
Amazon, for example, started as an established online bookseller and has lived up to its logo represented by an arrow that points from “a to z” which means “everything” for everyone. Keeping its core brand, Amazon has evolved and rebranded more than once. In doing so, Amazon has been able to expand and established itself within various markets.
2. You’re not differentiating yourself from the competition
You can make your brand visible to consumers looking for unique solutions by repositioning yourself, thus benefiting from your unique value. That is to say, if you wish to differentiate your product from the competition, you must focus on your uniqueness.
An example of this is the Microsoft Logo, which was updated with simple graphics and color to reflect that it belongs to a modern marketplace and keeps competing with companies like Apple and Google.
3. Your business strategy has changed
It is common that business models change, and when they do, so must your brand. It is common for a company’s objectives to change with time. Some aspects that may lead a company to evolve may be unexpected market opportunities or changes in technology or you’ve decided you want to reach a different kind of customer. More often than not, a rebrand will be necessary after a business’ strategy has pivoted.
A clear example of a bold strategic move is the one done by IHOP, temporarily changing its name to IHOB. The chain replaced the emblematic “P” to a “B” which stands for International House of Burgers. What seems like a temporary rebranding, aims to offer more options to its customers throughout the day, not only breakfast but the relaunch of its new line of burgers.
4. You want to reach a different kind of customer
Let’s say that for years your brand has been marketed to an older male demographic, but now you want to reach the younger male demographic and decide to rebrand. Most likely you would have to do a logo re-design incorporating a new slogan that speaks to your target market.
Walmart is an example of an updated brand image; their logo used to be all capital, sharp-edged shaped, dark blue colored letters and it was improved with the use of lower-case, soft-edged, lighter blue letters; which represents a “family-friendly” concept vs. the “business-like” image it previously had.
5. You need to change your positioning in the market
In other words, situate yourself in a place that helps your business to be perceived as different: you may want to show your environmentally-friendly approach e.g., Starbucks and its use of green on their logo or you may wish to innovate, or have the best design.
The added value proposal should be based on a difference that matters to your target market.
You may keep selling the same product or service, but at the end everything changes, your competition, the market and its demands; and with this change, you cannot remain static, you must adapt.
As Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
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