If that seems somewhat unclear, it\u2019s because many people are unclear regarding what differentiates a rebranding from those less intensive efforts. Numerous companies and trade publications refer to a redesigned logo or an attempt to expand to a different audience, for instance, as rebranding. Brand marketing experts, however, insist that a rebrand is much more.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you\u2019re in need of, or aspire to tell, a new story to the world, that\u2019s a rebrand,\u201d says Jason Cieslak, President, Pacific Rim<\/strong> for brand strategy firm Siegel+Gale. \u201cWhen you\u2019re communicating what\u2019s changed, what\u2019s different about what you\u2019re doing in the world, and why people should care.\u201d<\/p>\n Jim Heininger, Principal <\/strong>of agency Rebranding Experts<\/strong>, has a more formal definition: \u201cWe believe rebranding is the deliberate and systematic process of creating an inspired, forward-facing organization ready to grasp opportunity through the alignment and dynamic portrayal of your unique differentiators to customers. Rebranding means updating or repositioning your core customer promise, the essence of what makes you different.\u201d<\/p>\n Rebranding Experts offers a simple matrix to distinguish a rebrand from a redesign or a repositioning:<\/p>\n Given all that it entails, the decision to rebrand is not one to make lightly. \u201cIt\u2019s not like putting a Band-Aid on,\u201d says Roger van den Bergh<\/strong>, a founding partner of brand identity design firm Onoma<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s a very structural process. It requires time and discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes legalities mandate a rebranding\u2014another organization might already have copyrighted similar names or visual elements, say. Or if a company is planning to go up for sale, \u201cthey can use corporate identity as a tool to improve its perception as an attractive proposition,\u201d van den Bergh says.<\/p>\n Other times mergers, acquisitions, or spin-offs necessitate creating a new brand from the remains of the previous one. For instance, after the US team of global coaching corporation BPI Group completed a buyout, Rebranding Experts \u201cworked with their leadership team over months to distill their core brand promise: that good coaching helps ignite bolder futures,\u201d Heininger recalls. From there they came up with the name Bravanti, a fusion of brave and avanti, \u201cto go courageously forward,\u201d he says. \u201cIt struck this emotional note with them that this is how they want to be perceived, and it stood for something that was never expressed within that industry.\u201d A new visual identity, featuring colors as bright and bold as the futures the company promised, accompanied the rebranding, as did the expansion of its services.<\/p>\n A related reason for a rebrand: \u201cWhen a company decides it\u2019s going in a new direction,\u201d Cieslak says. \u201cMaybe you\u2019re creating a new breakthrough product that changes how the world perceives you.\u201d He adds that rebranding can also be \u201ca powerful tool for recruitment and employee retention and attraction. Brand is not just for customers.\u201d Think of the U.S. Army\u2019s \u201cBe all you can be\u201d messaging, which it recently redefined as part of its 2023 rebranding. According to its revamped website, you can now \u201cserve your way\u201d and \u201cbe part of the Army\u2019s well-rounded force while pursuing your unique career and life goals,\u201d accentuating flexibility and the \u201cwhat\u2019s in it for you\u201d selling proposition.<\/p>\n And of course, businesses turn to rebranding when they need to increase revenue and believe that the audience\u2019s perception of the brand is the reason sales have stalled. For a rebranding to succeed, however, it\u2019s not enough to simply \u201cbelieve\u201d that brand perception is the reason. There must be data to back up that belief.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s imperative before you do anything that management and marketing agree as to why they need a new corporate identity,\u201d van den Bergh notes. This is why research\u2014intensive and extensive, internal and external\u2014is the foundation of a successful rebrand. \u201cOne of the initial steps is to understand what your brand stands for and what is the end result your customer will experience,\u201d Heininger says.<\/p>\n Too often, what a company thinks its brand represents and what its target market thinks the brand represents are two distinct things. In fact, sometimes even the C-suite and the rest of the staff have differing perceptions. Alternatively, the organization and the audience might have the same perception of the brand\u2014but it\u2019s not one that appeals to the audience or fills a gap in the marketplace.<\/p>\n Only after analyzing the market landscape and competitors, conducting audience segmentation, undertaking customer research, and surveying employees can a business gain a clear, data-based picture of what it stands for, what others think it stands for, and what it should stand for going forward.<\/p>\n Once an organization begins strategizing, however, it must look beyond the face value of the data. When it comes to the new positioning and messaging, \u201cit\u2019s not just the facts and the product benefits but also the emotional connection,\u201d Heininger says. \u201cThat allows you to redefine your customer promise, make it more relatable and relevant for customers going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n For instance, during the research stage of the YMCA\u2019s 2010 rebranding, Siegel+Gale found that roughly two-thirds of people surveyed felt the quality of life in their community had declined during the previous year, and only 51 percent were optimistic it would improve. The YMCA took this to indicate that it needed to make clear its offerings extended far beyond swimming and gymnastics. Subsequently, it not only unveiled a new logo and shortened name (according to its marketing materials, \u201csince everyone already calls us \u2018the Y,\u2019 let\u2019s do the same\u201d) but also reframed its offerings. \u201cWe are simplifying how we describe the programs we offer so that it is immediately apparent that everything we do is designed to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve health and well-being, and support our neighbors and the larger community,\u201d the Y stated in a press release. Today on the Y\u2019s website, children\u2019s classes and camps fall under \u201cyouth development,\u201d in which they \u201chelp young people to grow into healthy, thriving adults.\u201d In addition to providing fitness classes, \u201cthe Y also collaborates with community leaders to bring healthy living within reach of all people.\u201d The rebrand resulted in a sixfold leap in web searches and a significant increase in donations, among other benefits.<\/p>\n With its rebranding, the Y made sure to retain the elements its audience appreciated\u2014it didn\u2019t cancel swimming and gymnastics, after all. \u201cYou need to work from the strong brand equities you have,\u201d Heininger notes. \u201cLet go of the weaker elements. Work from the core and determine how to make it work for the future without alienating all the customer loyalty you had previously.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Y always represented accessible programs to benefit the community, the research indicated how the organization could hone its mission and, just as importantly, better communicate that purpose. Research guided the strategy behind the rebrand, which in turn informed the brand positioning and messaging, all the way down to the elements of the visual redesign, which van den Bergh calls \u201cthe icing on the cake\u2014simply translating the strategy.\u201d Or, as Cieslak puts it, \u201cDesign is hard to miss, which is what makes it a strategic tool. But it\u2019s just a signal; the story is something different.\u201d<\/p>\n Cultural Shifts<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s not enough for the CEO and the president of marketing to sign off on the strategy. \u201cIt should be very clear from the management perspective and the employee perspective that everyone is on the right page and there\u2019s a cohesive approach to this exercise,\u201d says van den Bergh. Expect a fair amount of debate before the strategy is approved and communicated\u2014this part of the process is a major reason a rebranding typically takes 9 to 18 months.<\/p>\n And once the strategy has been approved, \u201cthe next challenge will emerge: the implementation,\u201d van den Bergh continues. \u201cThat\u2019s usually the phase where it goes well or it derails.\u201d<\/p>\n Arguably the biggest cause of rebranding derailments is failing to ensure that the organization\u2019s culture changes in keeping with the new brand promise, positioning, and offerings. \u201cThe best brands in the world are built from the inside out,\u201d Cieslak insists. \u201cA big mistake companies make is they don\u2019t focus on the inside of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s cultural shift under Satya Nadella, who became CEO in 2014 and chairman in 2021, is considered a textbook example of a corporation that successfully changed its culture to serve its rebranding. To reposition itself as a customer-oriented rather than technology-oriented organization, Microsoft sought out customer feedback earlier and at multiple points throughout the product development process; introduced weeklong \u201chackathons\u201d that brought together employees and interns throughout the organization to innovate together on concepts of their own choosing; and to facilitate greater agility, emphasized internal networks over divisional silos. According to global executive search firm ChapmanCG, \u201creward and performance were also linked more to business impact versus activity, looking at what employees were achieving and how they work with others.\u201d<\/p>\n And while many organizations focus on communicating the elements of their rebrand to customers, prospects, and the media, they fall short in ensuring that members of the team understand it. One all-teams meeting and a handout are not enough. For one thing, it\u2019s impossible to communicate the rationale, causes of, and expected effects of a rebrand this quickly and easily. For another, if employees are simply presented with the rebrand as a done deal and sent on their way, they\u2019re unlikely to feel fully committed to it. It\u2019s important to invite and respond to their feedback throughout the process, beginning with the research stage. They\u2019re the ones ultimately responsible for communicating, via words and actions, the rebrand to its audience, so a rebrand cannot succeed without their understanding and buy-in.<\/p>\n Organizations too often expect their rebrands to receive a universally rapturous reception. \u201cExecutives think it\u2019s a big deal and the world\u2019s going to change and the world is waiting for this, and it\u2019s not,\u201d Cieslak says.<\/p>\n At the same time, \u201cso many C-suite executives are afraid to be bold and be something different,\u201d Cieslak adds. Numerous companies get cold feet and rein in their rebrands, until the result is little more than a shadow of the original strategy, with the visual redesign the only apparent element.<\/p>\n Siegel+Gale\u2019s rebranding of CVS Caremark to CVS Health shows the importance of going big and following through. As part of its commitment to provide health and wellness services beyond filling prescriptions, in 2014 CVS stopped selling tobacco products in its more than 7,400 stores across the United States. CVS estimated this would cost the company $2 billion in annual revenue, which translated to about 1.4 percent of its previous year\u2019s revenue of more than $139.3 billion. Instead, the positive press and social media buzz the decision generated, along with the expansion of its walk-in medical clinics, smoking-cessation programs, and other offerings, resulted in a 5.5 percent increase in same-store sales year over year, more than making up for the lost tobacco sales. It also demonstrated that the accompanying visual redesign, including the introduction of the \u201chealth heart\u201d logo, truly represented something core to the improved CVS. \u201cIt was a strategic move to shift their business,\u201d Cieslak says. \u201cIt also made other healthcare-delivery people rethink their businesses and their value propositions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCompanies aren\u2019t aspiration oriented enough when it comes to rebranding,\u201d Heininger says. \u201cYou want to lean into it and create a brand that\u2019s going to support your growth for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Or, as Cieslak puts it, \u201cWhy spend the money and time inherent in a rebrand just to put out a whimper?\u201d<\/p>\n This article originally appeared in FULL CIRCLE as syndicated content and is subject to copyright protections.<\/em> All rights reserved. Image(s) used under license from Shutterstock.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,68],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-full-circle-q1-2024","8":"category-full-circle"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Why and When of Rebranding<\/h3>\n
\n
Research Begets Strategy<\/h3>\n
Fortune Rewards the Bold<\/h3>\n