Rebranding is a normal part of a company’s evolution throughout the years. Just as it is natural for people to change their look, their ideas, and goals in life as they grow older. At its core, a business may still be the same one as it was 5 years ago, but 5 years on – the business may find itself in a new environment, talking with very different people, and customers who matured right along with them.
There is no standard rule of thumb on how often a company should rebrand itself. There are a variety of factors such as how quickly your industry has changed, what kind of competition you have, how established your brand is with your customers, and how your company has evolved over the years. Every company should remain open to evaluate their brand frequently in order to make sure that their image and their key values continue to accurately reflect who they are as a business, their service, and who they serve.
Mastercard logo update (2019)
Every business evolves and they evolve in a variety of ways. Maybe the company has expanded, adding new markets, and your brand needs to reflect this change. Maybe the business has first started out in a very general industry and it has now changed into becoming a niche industry. Or, perhaps you want to tap into another market – in this case a rebrand or development of a sub-brand in relation with the main brand could be in order. All these circumstances need to be recognised and evaluated in order to better represent your key messaging that matches with your product or service offerings.
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Pizza Hut logo update (2014)
Almost every industry and market is shifting gradually. Perhaps your company hasn’t evolved, but it needs to in order to keep up with competition. These constant market shifts and the rate at which people are receiving communication from the brands that they subscribe is increasing rapidly. Consumer behaviour is always changing and companies that don’t adjust can trail behind its competitors and find it difficult to catch up. Examples of companies that ignored this change and suffered the consequences include Blockbuster, Kodak, and MySpace to name a few. A well-thought of rebrand can not only change how your customers see you, but also how you see yourself and what to do. Companies that are able to see this consumer shift in their industry can adjust their brand proactively are the ones that prosper the most.
Being in touch with your brand, your customers, and your industry is advantageous when considering a rebrand. If after conducting an assessment of your company, you think your brand no longer matches your company, the next step would be to determine what aspects of your brand needs to be updated. You may need to evaluate the following:
- Maybe your messaging is effective but your look is outdated or unpolished. A facelift such as a stronger logo, change of colours, new typographic treatment, etc.
- You may find that your brand identity is working for your brand, but your messaging isn’t targeting or resonating with your customers. In these types of situations, its a good investment in repositioning your brand in order to better reach your customers.
- Sometimes you find that both your brand positioning and brand identity don’t cohesively mesh that it doesn’t help grow your business. You might need to consider doing a complete overhaul of your company such as its name, messaging, image, etc. in order to stay relevant in the market.
An effective brand in its respective market is a firmly placed stake in the ground. When you update the brand identity, feel and messaging of your brand, you are signalling to your customers what they can expect from your company going forward. So you have to be sure that what you are presenting to your customers accurately depicts who you are and where your company is going.
