Change is an aspect that everyone deals with in life. People grow out of their clothes and change their preferences as they age. The same is true for your business’ branding. Over time, it will need to rebrand.
There are various reasons to rebrand. Sometimes, they may be brought about by external factors, or they may come from a shift in the company vision. In this article, we’ll go through the different situations that may require you to start working on rebranding strategies:
1. If you are going through mergers
Mergers are agreements that unite two companies of approximately the same size into one new company. These are commonly done to expand into new segments or widen the company’s reach.
Rebranding is necessary after mergers considering that you will be joining forces with another distinct brand to create a new entity. You will have to discuss the rebranding among the directors of both companies to agree on the name and the logo that will be used moving forward.
There are many ways to rebrand after merging with another company. You can form a compound name by combining your previous names, keeping only one of the two, or even producing a new name altogether. There are no restrictions as to how you will change your name and logo, as long as both parties agree on a branding that best showcases both of your best qualities.
2. If your company is being acquired by another
Acquisitions are similar to mergers in the way that they involve consolidation of companies or assets. However, the difference is that, in acquisitions, your company is being purchased by a bigger entity. Because of this, your freedom to rebrand will ultimately depend on your power and influence after the purchase.
3. If you are undergoing a change in management
Companies also reinvent their branding after the appointment of a new marketing director or CEO. The new logos and marketing schemes are drawn up to celebrate the new face of the company and its new direction.
One popular example of this is The Huffington Post, which went through a rebranding after Arianna Huffington stepped down and Lydia Polgreen assumed the editor-in-chief role in 2017. After this change in management, the company changed its name to HuffPost and its website design was also reconstructed to reflect the recent internal changes.
4. If you need to overcome negative perceptions
Various factors can put a wrong or negative image on your brand, such as bad marketing, inconsistent messaging, or poor product and service quality. When this happens, your company will suffer from serious blows to its reputation. Oftentimes, if a company has hired one of the top online reputation management companies to handle this perception for them, it may be salvageable to an extent.
But if you want to overcome this hurdle, doing a total branding overhaul is a smart strategy to free yourself from negative perceptions and reposition yourself in your target market’s minds. In fact, even the reputation manager might provide the same suggestion to keep the company going. Keep in mind, however, that along with giving your company a fresh new logo or name, you must also work on innovating current processes to make sure they reflect the updated brand.
5. If you feel your brand is becoming outdated
You must always work on keeping your brand relevant in these fast-paced and dynamic times. Take it from famous brands like Starbucks, Apple, and BMW, who have all been around for many years. Over time, they went through multiple rebranding stages to stay ahead in the game and provide their customers with brands that are fresh and attractive. That doesn’t mean you have to let go of all old branding strategies. Instead, you can incorporate a few new techniques while keeping some traditional marketing methods that have worked best in the past. You can, for instance, use vinyl lettering and stickers to promote your business by putting them on your business fleet, along with employing digital marketing strategies to influence all types of customers.
Conclusion
Your branding may work perfectly now and reflect your company’s story and mission accurately, but there will be circumstances that will require you to give your company a new look. If you can relate to any of the situations described above, it may be high time for you to start working on a new rebranding strategy. Also, if your competitors have rebranded recently, that’s another reason for you to update yours to stay relevant in the competition.
Do you think that your organisation needs a complete makeover? Our Australian experts at Label & Mint has got you covered! We know how to take care of your brand and we will provide other relevant digital experience services so that you can focus on growing your business!