7 Signs It’s Time to Rebrand Your Business
If you’re reading this, it’s likely because you’re wondering if a rebrand is right for your business.
You may find that your current brand identity doesn't accurately represent who you are anymore, doesn't make you stand out from the competition, or doesn't have the same impact on your target audience as it once did. Rebranding can help with these issues, but how do you know if that point has come?
Let’s figure out how to recognize when it might be time for a rebrand (and make the transition as smooth as possible).
Here are seven signs a rebrand is best for your business to grow and reach your brand vision.
Burberry's rebrand in 2018 is geared to appear to the younger generations.
Yves Saint Laurent rebrand to Saint Laurent - Paris
1. You're launching a new product line or shifting business models
If you were a fan of Dunkin Donuts, your world was rocked when the company renamed itself “Dunkin.” But why did they do something so drastic?
In recent years, Dunkin Donuts has expanded its offerings to include not only coffee and donuts but also things like bagels and oatmeal that have very little to do with their famous doughy treats.
If you're launching a new product line or shifting business models, be prepared for some rebranding efforts. Allowing customers to connect the latest product and your company is more than just good marketing—it's a way of ensuring repeat traffic from existing customers and making it easier for potential customers to understand what you're all about.
2. You're expanding to a new or broader set of audiences.
You need to rebrand if you're expanding to a new or broader set of audiences.
Different types of audiences have different personalities. They expect other things from the brands they engage with and respond better to specific marketing tactics. A brand looking to expand into new markets needs to find ways to correspond with those expectations and needs.
For example, A blue elephant logo has been chosen for the rebrand of the nature-focused TV channel Animal Planet, which is aimed at attracting broader audiences.
A fresh logo design that will translate globally.
If your business is revamping its brand positioning, it's likely because you're also expanding your target market (geographic, demographic, or psychographic). In this case, your brand must be consistent with the tastes and expectations of these new customers or clients—otherwise, you may lose them right away. If your current brand isn't attracting the right audience for your business's goals; it has failed.
But, how will you know who is the “right audience” for your business? Download our free branding workbook to get started on defining your target market.
FREE WELLNESS BRANDING WORKBOOK
Simple but effective exercises to kickstart your branding now with the right foundations.
Photo directly from Animal Planet’s facebook page.
3. You're failing to differentiate yourself from the competition.
You have a hard time articulating the value of your business. When people hear about your business, do they understand what makes it unique?
Sure, you may have a nice logo and website, but if everyone else has the same product and does it cheaper or better than you, it's not enough to separate yourself.
A company likes to differentiate itself from its competition by having a unique selling point (USP). USPs are those things that set your business apart from the rest. For example, the barista at Starbucks knows all of his Frappuccinos are brewed using fresh ingredients because he can tell just by looking that they're fresh-baked instead of store-bought frozen ones. He can do this because he cares enough about Starbucks as a brand to differentiate himself—and us as customers—from all other competing brands. So becoming a leader in your industry requires having an identifiable USP; otherwise, people will not know who you are or how good your product(s) actually is.
A strategic and visual rebrand for Pai skincare,
New packaging design and third-party certification are key aspects of rebranding to differentiate the brand from its competitors. Third-party certification helps to establish the legitimacy of the company's claim to be a greener alternative to its rivals.
Pai's product names have been modified to convey a narrative as part of the rebrand. Thistle Moisturizer, Brown's first-ever innovation, has been rebranded as The Pioneer to reflect its role in the company's beginnings. Pai successfully articulated their brand narrative and objectives.
Photo directly from saladcreative.com
4. You're struggling to raise your prices or be in the premium market
Several brands have successfully rebranded when they needed to raise prices or compete in the premium market. Some examples are Google and Nike, which have grown their price points while maintaining their branding strength. In addition, Subway, Starbucks, and Mcdonald's have all gone through rebrands, tying their new campaigns to packaging redesigns that made them a lot more competitive in terms of brand identity.
New identity looks cleaner and it disassociates the cheap image Subway had before.
Why do businesses need to rebrand? Because they need to create value for their customers to grow. If you look at Forbes’ top-100 most valuable brands list (in 2019), you’ll see companies like Apple and Amazon on top, both known for being good at creating value for consumers.
Rebranding isn’t just about increasing your price point—it’s about creating something that looks premium, feels premium, and provides an experience that customers deem worth paying a premium price point for.
5. Your brand feels outdated and no longer embodies your mission
When you're trying to grow and evolve with your audience, don't forget that your brand may need a little growing up.
Your brand is not creating the desired perception. Is your brand generating all the feelings you want your customers to experience? If, for example, you run a children's clothing company and your logo looks like it was designed for a law firm, that may be a sign of dissonance.
Sometimes, even the most successful companies globally realize that their brand needs to grow and evolve. Take Airbnb, for example, the company's multicolored logo (which was designed by the founders) was seen as outdated and not representative of the company's mission.
A fresh visual identity that conveys belonging, adds meaning and character to their brand.
Airbnb enlisted a professional design firm to help them create a new logo, which is more minimalistic and matches today's design trends better than their old one. To communicate the idea of belonging anywhere, a symbol was created—the Bélo. Airbnb wanted this symbol to transcend language and culture, and be recognized—even shared—anywhere in the world.
The rebranding of Airbnb will not be complete without the refinement of the company's brand personality. Their 'Live There' campaign wonderfully reflected the 'Excitement' personality's carefree, young, and enthusiastic attitude. Find out your brand’s personality with our Free 2-minute quiz that will give show you your characteristics and how you can use that in the way you do business.
6. You've outgrown your current brand identity.
The world has changed, and so have logos. Brands in the digital age are making sure that their identities are versatile, modern, and even playful. We are in an era of the digital world, and luxury brands seem to accompany this well.
In recent years we've seen luxury brands shifting toward logos that are more versatile and modern (and even sometimes simplified)—from sleek serifs to bold sans serifs: Balmain went from a delicate font to a bolder version with a thick monogram; Yves Saint Laurent went from its familiar interlocking "YSL" to a simple two-color sans serif; Burberry went through numerous iterations of its logo before settling on its current sans serif typeface with the classic Burberry pattern embedded within the letters.
The versatility of these newer designs allows them to be adjusted to fit various screens or platforms, eliminating scalability issues (a problem that was very relevant in an era when the only places we saw these logos were on products and in print).
7. You're not confident in showcasing your brand
You lack confidence in your brand. Do you ever hesitate or feel uneasy about using your current branding or showing off your website (and so on) to new potential customers?
The first impression lasts. In an age where people can discover businesses through social media platforms, search engines, and other online platforms, visual identity is more important than ever because that’s the first thing people will see and judge if they should go to the next step (or not).
Click the image to see the full branding project.
Your visual identity should create a strong connection with your target audience. If they don't see themselves connecting with your business instantly, it will be harder to encourage them to buy from you. Building trust takes time and effort but developing a certain aesthetic will make them feel like they know you better than when they first got in touch with you. All these things help in creating loyalty among consumers who come back again!
Consistent brand look and feel are essential throughout all of our online platforms - website, Facebook page & Instagram account - because this helps build trust so we need consistency across these channels for our customers. If you’re a solopreneur, social media templates will help you a lot in having a consistent look and feel throughout your social media account. By having customized post templates, you can focus on creating content than spending hours everyday designing for your business.
Rebranding is realigning your brand foundations to your new and bigger goals.
Rebranding is realigning your brand foundations to your new and heftier goals. It's an opportunity to re-energize your brand and breathe new life. It's a way to transform your business and shake up the status quo.
You've probably already realized that your current branding isn't working for you if you're considering rebranding. And that's okay! Your brand is like a fingerprint—it evolves as you do, and it can change based on what makes sense for your business at any given time.
You might have come to this conclusion. After all, you're growing because you've pivoted somehow or need a fresh start. Whatever the reason, it's all good! With the rebranding, you get to take control of that change and determine how your brand changes with you.
Want to see some more branding examples as an inspiration for your brand? Check out our branding works here.
Redd Creatives can help your business be a standout brand that will put you in the limelight in your niche. We are a branding agency specializing in developing purpose-driven and stand-out lifestyle brands through strategic branding.
Whether starting from scratch or scaling your business, we will work with you to strategize and design the best roadmap for success to reach your vision and goals. Contact Redd Creatives here to have a free consultation call.
AUTHOR - GHIAN RED of REDD CREATIVES
BRAND DESIGNER & STRATEGIST
A branding expert who is passionately focused on transforming wellness businesses through effective strategy and experiences. Working with global, small to large businesses, she makes sure that each detail and decision is carefully made to ensure each clients’ success to grow and scale their brand with ease and clarity.
