The rebranding cannot be programmed but can be foreseen.
The warning signs that tell us that corporate rebranding is now necessary often come to us copiously, but resistance to change is almost always lurking. Here are some rules that help us to understand when the time has come to change your brand identity.
1) Rebranding signal can come from the change of your target
Apple’s greatest success coincided with the redesign of the Brand. Always an apple but no longer with the rainbow but very hitech and technological
Is that all it takes? No, of course not, but the target group had changed and the rainbow of peace was no longer in tune with the market. Probably it took a lot of courage and intuition that sometimes our companies don’t have. The details are important, an old character ages the company, an obsolete color makes it sad or belittles it. In the market there are cycles, let’s call them fashions even if they are not fashions. Remember when in the 80’s all kitchens suddenly became yellow? And when the Total White trend arrived and now the Natural one, etc.. Whether you call them fashion or trend or change, it makes no difference, the world simply changes and your company with it. Why shouldn’t your brand change? Ah yes, maybe because it’s exhausting or expensive. But do your customers care if it’s tiring or expensive for you?
2) The signal of Rebranding can come from the change of your company philosophy
Time is an indicator that can help us to avoid settling into habits that can turn out to be soporific. A good rule of thumb is to surround yourself with good people and schedule an annual meeting to take stock of the situation. Print your company logo in Fto A3 and then that of your direct competitors and hang it on a wall. You will immediately notice if any of them has adjusted the image, if it has renewed the fonts, the colors, if it has rounded the shapes or deconstructed the logo. Do not remain tied to your old schemes and always ask yourself why.
3) The Rebranding signal can come from the market and does not spare anyone
Every company has to deal with the market, even ours had to do so. In over 30 years of activity we have not been immune from changes and I show you how. Our previous brand was created in the 80’s and had the objective of presenting a solid agency with feet firmly planted on the ground. Its structure was based on 2 parallelepipeds in dark red and anthracite grey.
Without realizing it, we found ourselves in the new Digital and Social era. The market became liquid, the demands were dynamic and our brand no longer represented us. We were able to hear the wind change and we changed the Brand, the corporate identity, the brochures, the website. And then the game was over, the agency regained energy.
4) Rebranding signal can come from within the company
You must have had your colleague, manager or agent throw it in there: “well, of course we’re doing so badly, look at how our competitors present themselves” or “we have a brand that looks like my grandmother’s, I’m ashamed to go to customers with this business card” or “we had the brand of that company” How many times have you ignored these signals by answering “we’ve always done well like this, what does the company brand have to do with it” or “yes, and then who tells us that it’s a matter of company image.
5) The Rebranding signal can come from outside the company
You will hardly find a person who will explicitly tell you that you have an obsolete but sometimes understood company brand. One day I was at a meeting and next to me I made friends with another supplier. We exchanged the business card and he trimmed me an unlikely card made with those vending machines. He almost offended my advice to redesign the whole thing and told me this sentence: “When you do the turnover I do with my number of employees come and tell me what I should do”. Needless to say, this phrase was addressed to me before the 2007 crisis and now this company no longer exists. The signs can be very different and difficult to interpret because often the pace of every day distracts us and does not leave us time to verify the changes that occur in society.
If you think you have a bit confused ideas and you want an analysis of your Brand Identity, call us. 028435443 or click here and fill out the form, you will be contacted for advice.
