What to consider when rebranding

Rebranding can be an exciting and sometimes even romantic notion. Unshackling yourself from your past image, starting afresh and having a sense of that excitement that came when you first started your company. However, rebranding is not a decision that should be taken lightly. It is not always the case of ‘unshackling’ yourself, but more a case of removing all those foundations that have got you and your company to the heights that it is now.

There is also the level of rebranding you wish to undertake. Perhaps it is a complete overhaul of your old company and starting with a new everything, from logo to mission statement. Or it can be extremely minor, such as tweaking a small part of your aesthetic. The motives for rebranding can vary. There perhaps might be a stagnation with the current brand, commercial success is dipping or perhaps it is a simple case of wanting to stand out from the crowd. It is also important to consider the cost of the rebrand, for large companies, rebranding is costly simply in the sense of having to change every individual logo or something of a similar nature. For example BP went through a rebrand and changed their logo back in 2008 and this is believed to have cost over two hundred million dollars.

No matter how big or small the rebrand is brand tracking can help show you what sort of direction the rebrand should take, or if rebranding is necessary at all. Brand tracking can basically tell you, where your brand lays with your competitors in terms of stake in the market, but also in terms of customer’s opinions and views of your brand. This can help show you where your company’s strengths and weaknesses lie and can show you the direction which your rebrand should take, while also just as importantly, showing you where your rebrand shouldn’t take you. If you are not sure whether to rebrand or not, something along the lines of brand tracking should be your first stop. Without this sort of information you are trying to do quite a complex maneuver on a living business, without the necessary information at your disposal. Brand tracking can also show ways in which changes can be made that are not so drastic and costly. For example, there may just not be enough brand awareness of your brand amongst customers, rather than there being something necessarily wrong with it.

Author: Oliver Curtis

Hi there. I’m Oliver. I’m just a young boy from the outskirts of… Okay, that’s a lie, I’m not a young boy anymore, although I certainly feel that way at heart.