When is a good time for a brand refresh?

The Right Time For A Rebrand: Hitting The Refresh Button

When it comes to deciding the right time to either refresh your brand or commit to a complete rebranding overhaul — there are no easy answers. After all, your brand is the most powerful marketing tool you own.

A successful refresh or rebrand relies on an established formula: brand strategy, a proven process, and great design. The winning formula might be out there for all to see, but getting timing and execution right — that’s the tricky part.

So before you ‘re-do ‘anything, you might like to take the following into consideration.

To refresh, or rebrand? That is the question

So what’s the difference between a refresh and a rebrand? Well first off the bat, simply tweaking the company logo isn’t going to cut it for either. Both run deeper than minor cosmetic changes — even if the changes are subtle ones.

Home improvement offers a useful analogy. Think of a brand refresh as choosing a new colouring scheme, giving the place a fresh coat of paint, and adjusting the overall look, feel, and ambiance.

In contrast, a rebrand is like a complete refurbishment. Stripping out and re-modelling what’s already there and replacing it with something new — new UX design, UI design, website design, website copy, target audience, niche: even down to updating or changing your products and services.

Whichever you decide, you’re going to need a well-developed brand strategy, and if that’s not your area of expertise, it might be time to make use of a brand consulting specialist to help make your organizational change.

Signs it’s time to change

Ready to go? A word of caution before you begin this journey. Before you commit, it’s not enough to think you need a refresh or a rebrand. You’ve got to know.

You’ve got to have a good reason to hit that refresh button. Because once those changes are made, there’s no option to undo. So how will you know? What are the key indicators?

It’s time to have an open and honest conversation with the voice of your brand. Think about it like a relationship breaking up (amicably):

It’s me, not you. I’m not the same person (organization) I was when we first met. I’ve changed (grown). Things have moved on (business has developed). I’m a different person now (products and services have evolved). I’m moving in different circles now (different customers and competitors).

You’re unreliable. You say one thing one minute (online) and a different thing the next (offline). I’m getting mixed messages (online and offline messaging is misaligned).

We’ve got different friendship groups. You don’t make any effort with my friends (the website’s not reaching the right users). You’re not reaching out to them, and they’re not reaching out to you (the website’s not getting many conversions).

Realizing the potential of refreshing or rebranding

Now you’ve got your reasons, what can a refresh or rebrand do to help? What’s going to change? How is what you do different from your competitors? Why are customers going to pick you over a rival?

Investing in a brand refresh can:

• Highlight your unique position in the market by setting yourself apart. Demonstrate your expertise by differentiating your brand as an industry leader.
• Ensure you’re going to be better aligned with your core customers and their values.
• Re-focus and promote different aspects of your business, helping you to connect with new customers, and potentially drive more sales.
• Clearly set out what your business offers, who you offer it to, and how you offer it. Your website is the showroom for your organization.

Time To Hit Refresh?

When you know it’s time for a brand refresh / rebrand, what are your next steps? Good questions lead to more questions. Thankfully, we’ve done the questioning for you.

Step 1: Brand Audit

First off, you’ll need a brand audit to reflect your current position:

• What issues is the brand facing?
• What are your brand’s strengths and weaknesses?
• What is your business personality, image, vision and values now?
• What are your objectives and goals for the new brand?
• What is your niche? What are the things that set you apart from your competitors?
• Who are your target customers?

Step 2: Competitor Analysis

Once you know your brand it’s important to get an understanding of where it sits in the market:

• Who are your competitors and how are their brands doing?
• What’s good and what’s not about what they do?
• What’s the current industry trend now?
• What might your industry look like in the future?

Step 3: Refresh Your Brand

Summarize your findings from the previous steps and start working on your brand refresh.

• See the visual: how are the logo, fonts, and colour palette going to change?
• Hear the verbal: does your copy have a consistent tone of voice across multiple platforms?

Step 4: Schedule Your Rollout Plan

After you’ve tested your design, it’s time to update your brand book or brand guidelines.

When your brand refresh is complete, ensure you apply it evenly across your online and offline presence — all mediums and channels — introducing it to your teams and customers — so that your new brand visuals and messaging reach across every touchpoint in your business. Your new brand should be consistently rolled out across.

Thinking about a brand makeover? Need expert advice from experienced professionals? Our team combines brand and website design specialists, copy and content marketers, and certified Webflow developers. If you’re a small business owner — whether you’re based in Vancouver or Vaalwater — looking to refresh or rebrand, you’re in the right place. Get in touch with Khula today.

Originally published on www.khula.studio