A brand refresh or a rebrand?
When approaching a rebrand you want to be clear on the reasons why you’re heading into it. Understanding this will point you towards whether you need to do a full rebrand or if it’s more of a refresh you’re needing.
Being clear on the outcome is important before investing in your brand. Any specialists you decide to work with on delivering the project should always ask you the reasons you’re embarking on it.
So let’s get clear on the difference between the two…
Revolution or evolution?
Ask yourself what the reasons are for embarking on a brand project. A brand refresh is an evolution or makeover of your current brand, whereas a rebrand is a full evolution of absolutely everything relating to your brand.
There are good reasons to do both, but making the wrong decision can be a costly mistake.
Brand refresh
You don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are several reasons why a refresh might be what you’re needing.
You’ve refined your offering
Businesses don’t stay the same, especially in the early days. If you’ve evolved to the point where you’re confident in what you offer, you know exactly who you’re targeting and are getting a constant stream of the right customers coming to you, you’re doing something right. You might just need to refine certain aspects of your brand (such as your visuals or your voice) to bring it all together into a perfectly well-thought-out package.
You’ve not really got enough assets
This is a common problem for a lot of businesses. We start out and cobble together an identity, evolve it along with our services and find we don’t have brand-specific graphics, colours, icons, photography… the list is endless. If you’re struggling to create consistent content or comms, this may well be why. You need a toolbox of assets to make you shine.
Your visuals are feeling a little outdated
Done right, your visuals should last a good while. However, things do get a little tired looking as trends change. If you’re feeling like you’re looking a little out of date, it’s highly likely that what you do has changed a little bit since your visuals last had a refresh, too. It’s probably high time they had a little update.
You don’t have your messaging or vision, mission, values written down
I’m going to caveat here that this could also be a reason to do a full rebrand. If you know exactly what you stand for but haven’t ever put it down on paper, a refresh might be in order. This is particularly important if you’re embarking on recruiting team members or growing your team even further. Doing this work often results in a little refresh of visuals or comms to bring everything together.
Rebrand
Sometimes businesses go through a complete change. This is when you probably need to go back to the drawing board. It’s about revitalising the brand and usually changing your customers perception of your business. It covers everything from positioning, messaging, visuals, marketing tactics… it often results in a name change too.
You’ve had a change in strategy
If you’ve developed new services or the direction of your business has changed, it’s highly likely you’re in need of a rebrand. You need to communicate your new direction to your audience. And your old brand won’t reflect your business anymore.
Your audience has changed/ you’re not attracting the right type of customers
Not attracting the right audience is a big red flag that your brand isn’t right. Your brand sits in the sweet spot where your business and audience connect, so it’s highly likely that it’s not resonating. The thing you need to do at the very beginning of your rebrand is to understand your audience and their needs and wants.
Your vision isn’t clear
Are your team all saying something different about what your business does? Or maybe they don’t really know what the goals of your business are? This means your customers will also be unclear. Time to define it through your brand.
You’re not growing
If you're not growing and you really want to be, it’s probably time for a change in strategy. Before even delving into a rebrand (or refresh) I understand your business strategy and goals for the future. This is a) so we know that we’re doing the right thing with your brand and b) to make sure you’re clear on the business before investing in a large brand project. If you’re not growing, it’s time for a change in your business strategy.
You’ve got new competitors
If you’ve suddenly found your market swamped by competitors it’s highly likely you need to do a piece of work to differentiate your business. A rebrand may well be on the cards.
You’ve never had a proper brand
If you’ve never worked on your brand before and and want to define what you stand for and set out how to articulate it, you’re probably in need of full brand development. The process is the same as a rebrand as it covers absolutely everything.
If you’re attracting the right customers but know there’s something missing, a refresh is probably on the cards. But if things have changed, you've never had a brand in the first place or you or your team aren’t aligned it might be time for a completely blank slate.
Ready to get to grips with your brand? Book a virtual brew with me and we can chat about whether a refresh or a rebrand is the right approach, along with the right way to tackle it.