When and how to rebrand your business.
Having a strong brand that reflects who you are and the customers you attract is the foundation of everything you do in your business, and getting it right is so important. But as trends change, consumer preferences shift, and new competitors constantly emerge, how do you know when it’s time to give your brand a facelift and how should you go about it?
Knowing when it’s out with the old and in with the new.
Knowing when it's time to rebrand can be a difficult (and game-changing) decision for your business. If your brand feels a bit tired, has lost its spark, your target audience is no longer tuning in - it might be time to get to work.
There are many reasons for rebranding - just some of these include:
You’ve changed your product offering: It could be that your company has changed, you may have changed your product offering and your current brand identity doesn’t reflect who you are anymore.
Your logo looks DIY: Perhaps when you were starting out and it just wasn’t feasible to invest your limited budget into your brand. Your logo might look a little bit like something you put together over a few wines on a Friday night, we get it. But as your business grows its time to invest in great design and creating a logo that sets you apart.
You’re not getting the engagement you used to: if your brand equity is diminishing and you’re just not getting the engagement you once did, a rebrand can help you bring new life and excitement to your visual identity.
Your brand no longer aligns with your vision: Brand perception is crucial, and if it’s not aligning with your business and its mission, vision, and values, it’s time to rethink things.
So you’ve decided it’s time to take the plunge. That was the easy bit! Now for the hard work, let’s get your brand back in business.
Assess your current brand image.
Before making any changes, you need to have a solid understanding of where your brand currently stands. Conduct a comprehensive audit of your brand's visual identity, messaging, and market position.
Key steps:
Analyse your visual identity: Take a look at your logo, colour schemes, typography, and overall design aesthetic. Are they consistent, modern and fit the ‘vibe’ of your brand? What do you like about them and what do you want to change?
Evaluate your tone of voice: Review your brand’s tone of voice across all platforms. Does it align with your target audience? Are you speaking in a way that your audience relates to? Is your brand voice too formal, too casual, do you use humor or are you quirky?
Consider your current brand positioning: Assess how your brand is perceived in the market compared to competitors. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Positioning maps are a great way to visualise where your brand sits compared to its competitors.
Define your rebranding goals.
Clearly outline what you aim to achieve with your rebranding efforts. Whether it's attracting a new audience, updating your look, or re-aligning your brand values, having specific goals will guide your strategy and keep your efforts streamlined.
Common goals:
Modernising your brand’s appearance.
Expanding into new markets or demographics.
Enhancing brand loyalty and recognition.
Reflecting new company values or products.
Jot all of your goals on a piece of paper - this will help you to keep on track and give you a reference point to look back on as you make decisions about your new branding.
Creating your new visual identity.
Your visual identity is often the first impression customers have of your brand. Refreshing it can breathe new life into your brand and attract attention from both new and familiar customers.
Steps to take:
Logo re-design: Work with an agency or graphic designer to help you bring your ideas to life. Research other logos you like and put together an inspiration board to help you and also provide direction to your agency or designer. Also don’t forget to include enough variations of your logo to use across all your marketing material and platforms, for example - you will need your logo in colour, black and white as a minimum. You’ll also need an favicon for your website. Always get a high resolution version of your logo for printed materials, as well as different formats such as a .jpg and .png
Colour palette and typography: Choose a new colour scheme and fonts that resonate with your refreshed brand identity. It’s important to consider primary and secondary fonts and colours that give your brand design flexibility and longevity. Give thought to font styles, do you like serif or sans serif, or a combination of both? Here at Flaunter we use three different fonts for our branding, a serif (often used in headlines), a sans serif (used for large blocks of text) and a script font for special highlight areas.
Do a stocktake of all of your collateral: A rebrand is a big deal - and you’ll need to carefully plan out all of your marketing material that will need to be updated. Think business cards, catalogues, flyers, merchandise, sales presentations, signage, even things like invoices. Anywhere you have a logo will need to be taken into consideration, and you’ll need to have some budget allocated to reprint what you need to.
Website and social media: Updating your digital assets is much easier (and more cost effective) than updating physical marketing materials and collateral. Ensure your website and social media profiles reflect your new visual identity. Find a time to update these all together - it’s best to do this at a quiet time for your business, for example on a Friday night or over the weekend. Make sure everything is perfectly in place before you announce your new brand to your customers.
Update your brand guidelines: Wrap all of the work done on your new brand into an easy-to-use brand guidelines document. This will become your reference point for any new designs that you create going forward and should include logo use guidelines, fonts, colours, creative layouts and even photography styles. You’re creative agency can help you with all of this so be sure to include a final guidelines document in your brief.
Revamp your messaging.
Your brand's voice should evolve with your visual identity. Craft new messaging that speaks directly to your target audience and aligns with your updated brand values.
Tips:
Brand story: Rewrite your brand story to highlight your evolution and future direction. This resonates with many consumers as it shows a human element behind the brand. Write your story with authenticity so that you can build a genuine connection with your customers and followers. You can upload this to Flaunter and share this with thousands of media that can connect with your story.
Taglines and slogans: Create new, catchy taglines that encapsulate your brand’s essence. These need to be simple, memorable and effective. Think about your social media posts, call-to-actions, advertisements etc.
Content strategy: Develop a content strategy that reflects your new messaging and engages your audience. Update your social media bio’s and about pages on your website to reflect your new messaging.
Leverage Flaunter
Flaunter can be a powerful tool in your rebranding strategy. This platform connects brands with media and influencers, helping you gain the visibility you need.
How Flaunter Can Help:
Media coverage: Flaunter allows you to distribute your press releases and brand assets to a wide network of media, stylists and creators. This is an essential tool for announcing your re-brand – providing media with a perfect opportunity to promote your new shiny brand. Who doesn’t love something new?
Influencer partnerships: Use Flaunter to connect with influencers who align with your new brand image. Influencers can amplify your rebrand message and reach broader audiences.
Asset management: Flaunter’s digital showroom makes it easy to manage and share your updated brand assets with media and collaborators. This streamlined process makes managing assets easier than ever before.
Launch a rebrand campaign
A well-executed rebrand campaign can generate buzz and excitement around your new identity. Plan a strategic rollout that includes teasers, launch events, and continuous engagement. This is your chance to leave a lasting impression on customers and allow them to develop new ideas or opinions about your brand.
Campaign Ideas:
Teaser campaigns: Build anticipation with teasers on social media and email newsletters.
Launch events: Host virtual or in-person events to showcase your new brand.
Collaborations and giveaways: Partner with influencers and other brands for collaborations and giveaways to increase reach and engagement.
Monitor and adapt
After launching your rebrand, continuously monitor its impact. Gather feedback from your audience, track engagement metrics, and be prepared to adjust as needed. Flaunter has an insightful reporting tool that allows you to track engagement and see when your products will be featured in upcoming editorial campaigns.
Monitoring Tools
Social media analytics: Use tools like Instagram Insights and Facebook Analytics to track engagement and sentiment.
Customer feedback: Conduct surveys and gather direct feedback from your customers.
Sales data: Analyse sales data to see if your rebrand has positively impacted your bottom line.
Flaunter: Track your press coverage and reach out to thousands of media, stylists and creators.
Rebranding involves a strategic blend of visual redesign, messaging overhaul, and effective use of platforms like Flaunter. By following these steps, you can ensure your brand stays relevant, resonates with your audience and stands out.
