Most companies and people don’t understand the time and effort that it takes to Re-Brand an organization.
Not to mention the dollars and resources involved.
At some point during your brand’s life cycle, or evolution, a “Re-Branding” will be required.
The reasons for this exercise can be varied:
Change in direction – The brand is evolving or adapting to new market sectors
Competitive pressure – Competition has moved into the marketplace.
New breath into an old Brand – It’s time to update the graphic brand presence
Change is good – As they say, change or die!
Once the decisions have been made to go ahead a few quick determinations need to be made for a go forward plan.
Short term/long term strategy – This must be developed in order for business to keep moving forward – the business can’t come to a stop.
Get buy in – Bring your stakeholders and brand ambassadors together and keep them in the loop – ownership will build pride.
Connect with Key Accounts – Don’t be afraid to include your key clients in your thinking – their input and “buy-in” will be important.
Launch – make sure you celebrate your success at some level.
Once you’ve completed your homework – the actual re-branding process can start. Some of the steps required for a successful brand launch follow:
Market review – Make sure you understand your marketplace and how you fit in, there may be greater opportunity than first realized.
Service offering review – Review your product range – have you got the new and required services and products to hold your current clients and attract new ones.
Target audience – It’s important to understand you current target audience plus focus on new and expanding audiences – new business, is the lifeblood of any company.
Turn the ship – Be prepared to deal with new information, you may need to point the company in a different direction to take full advantage of a marketplace.
Define your position – review and define your brand position – it needs to make sense with your audience/marketplace and audience.
Discover your POD – What makes you different, why should I buy from you – this needs to be clearly articulated and defined.
Graphic Identity – Now you can start the Graphic interpretation of the brand, make colours and images work to your advantage.
Get the word out – Let the world know – don’t be shy!
Stand for something – Don’t forget to stand for something – it’s important for audiences to associate you with something they need.
Keep on Target – Make sure you keep your message clean and to the point.
With all this in place it will be difficult for you brand to fail – this type of re-brand or brand evolution will be welcomed by the marketplace – encouraging them to engage with the brand or product. This always equals more revenue.
If you would like to view The Anatomy of a Re-Brand in slide-deck form:
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