Rachel Muscat-Rahmé, general manager at The X/OVER Agency, explains the benefits to top global companies of rebranding, and asks when the time might be right for your organisation to do the same.
Your brand’s identity is the primary, visual communicator with your clients. It is the first touch point they have with your brand and can often leave a lasting impression on their interpretation of your products, values and even market dominance. What your brand was modelled from in its original conception, versus what your company’s vision is now, may be disconnected, and could be damaging your reputation with potential new clients.
As all creative, branding and web design Sydney agency experts would agree, while it can be a daunting task, particularly with physical products and print collateral, the value of a rebrand, in almost all cases, outweighs the expenditure in resources and financial contribution. Even global, conglomerate powerhouses like Coca-Cola, Meta, Adobe Creative Suite and Mastercard have braved the process, building on their existing, powerful heritage in market to deliver a new identity that showcases the new values and products introduced within their business.
Some companies even make a habit of it; Apple has rebranded three times. Starbucks? Four. And Pepsi takes the cake an impressive 11 times. The result? Consistent delivery of relevant, innovative products that remain front of mind with their consumers, building on brand loyalty, increased revenue and growth, and keeping up with the (design trend) Joneses.
The above notwithstanding, a common question asked by our clients is when is the right time to rebrand? With a bit of experience up our creative sleeves, we can say with absolute surety that the time is nigh when your business vision is no longer accurately communicated by its visual identity. There are a few variables that can determine whether it’s time to take the plunge, the most common of which we explore below:
Change in audience targeting
Typical examples of a shift in target audiences can include transitioning from SMEs to Enterprise clientele, business types such as brick and mortar stores to SaaS or B2B to B2C. A change in audience can occur through company growth and credentials, change in business strategy or tackling a new revenue opportunity.
Introducing a new product range or change in product delivery
In a shock to no-one, Covid brought about the greatest pivot in business models for companies around the globe. Suddenly, if your product was not available online, it might as well have not existed. This caused a fundamental change in how businesses offered their existing products, and rapid inclusion of new products to follow consumer behaviour, which in turn, also meant that their new business model had outgrown their existing identity.
Internal culture change
As a key determining factor in our younger generation entering the workforce, company culture and values are a critical component in their choosing a workplace. Due to this, many businesses have made it a priority to make their culture known, supporting charities, promoting healthy work life balance, and implementing team building activities to keep the daily grind fun and exciting. When uplifting such a critical component to your internal business, to ensure your future team are aware, it’s only sensical that your outward facing brand supports this.
As we all know (and if not, welcome), a true brand identity is more than just a logo. So, when considering the new face of your business, and all of the components that contribute to your engaging a rebrand, be sure to consider all facets of your identity to be up for grabs. To deliver a true rebrand that has a lifespan worth the investment, you need to be open to change, as gradual or as sizeable as needed, whilst staying true to the components that hold onto the relevant heritage of your core values and passions.