When is it Time to Refresh Our Branding?
It’s inevitable… one day in the future, the beautiful logo, website, marketing materials, and packaging you created when you started your business, the branding system you loved so much when you laid eyes on it all, will begin to feel stale and tired. What changed? As time passes, so do our preferences. Humans crave novelty. It’s normal (and advisable!) for a company to update its branding after 7-10 years. If you’ve been considering a rebrand, here are some things to keep in mind!
Reasons why you might want to update your logo or branding:
- Reinvigorate your brand to be current with customer trends and sentiments
- Reposition yourself in your marketplace to attract new customers or employees
- To craft a new foundation for your marketing going forward
- Begin a new narrative If there has been a negative association with your brand
If you know the day has come, it’s time to implement a rebranding strategy. The goal is to use visual elements to create an innovative and engaging expression of your company’s voice and values. Where should you start? Your logo is the essential first step. We’ve written a two-part blog about the importance of a logo; if you are looking for some direction, click here for part one and here for part two. Here are some logo changes companies have made to freshen the consumer’s impression of their brand:
If you have taken the time to consider and determine what you want to express through your logo, the time has come to decide how dramatic you’d like your update to be. Maybe all you want is a simple refresh by just updating the color of your existing logo. Or, you can give yourself an entirely brand new feel for your brand with a new logo font and/or a new icon. Bear in mind that the bigger the change, the bigger the impact will be!
How do I decide what my new logo color will be?
Each new season when you walk into a store, the products on offer are in new shades to encourage us to buy again. Your blue t-shirt from the spring doesn’t seem quite right in fall, although it appealed to you so strongly when you purchased it. It is a really good idea to update the color of your logo to something that will feel fresh and appealing to your customers.
The “right” color is entirely up to you, but be sure you pick a shade that is current and fresh. If a color change is all you need, you can find out about colors that are currently trending from sources such as Pantone, ColorPalettes.net, coolors.co, or by doing a Pinterest search for trending color stories. It is strongly advised that you keep your logo simple by choosing just one or two colors.
I want to establish a whole new image for my brand, how do I get an eye-catching new font and icon for my logo?
When a brand you’ve long been familiar with changes its logo to something new, it creates buzz and initiates new conversations about that business. If you have a logo that is solely verbiage, making a font change can make an enormous impact. This is also true if your logo involves an icon or image; updating the styling or switching to something new altogether will have a powerful effect.
There are plenty of online resources to hire a graphic designer to create your logo. As we previously said in the aforementioned “Importance of a Logo” blog, a great logo is worth the investment! Fiverr or Upwork are two online logo design options, you could contact individual graphic designers directly, or if you work with a full-service marketing company such as ours, you are able to utilize their internal design resources and expertise. We’d be happy to help you select the perfect logo to express how you’d like to represent your business!
You’ve got a fabulous new logo! Now what? Step two is to make sure your rebrand is creating a cohesive branding strategy.
It’s time to identify the other ways you want to express a branding change for your business. It is vital to implement it consistently across all of your company’s internal and external branded collateral, signage, and anywhere you are present on the internet & social media. Will you redesign your website with new content to accompany the new logo? (This is a great moment to make any improvements to your website’s functionality and usability!) Should you create a new brand tagline or slogan? Will you change the style of your product packaging or labels?
All necessary updates need to be thought out in advance, selected, and implemented before you go public with your rebrand. Test and check out all aspects being updated internally first. It is a best practice to make a branding transition all at once. If you have your new logo all over your website and social media, but your product packaging is still the previous version, this will create confusion for your customers and lessen the impact of your rebranding effort. When you launch your new look, it should be effective immediately!
All your business’s materials and media presence are ready to go! It’s time for the big rebrand reveal.
Some ways to unveil your new look are press announcements, email campaigns, social media campaigns, and advertising. Whichever channels you choose, schedule your announcement to occur all at once on all channels. Maybe you create a new hashtag relating to your rebrand for your followers to use and garner attention. You could offer a sales promotion in conjunction with the new launch. Or create some new swag items appropriate to your industry to give away, proudly emblazoned with your new branding! There are numerous ways to draw attention to your exciting new look, have fun finding options that speak to your brand’s unique perspective!
Bringing a rebranding strategy to market takes thoughtful planning, investment, and energy. The results of a good rebrand can bring considerable benefits and growth opportunities to your business! This is a chance to write a new story for your customers, what do you want that story to be?
What Next?
Need help creating an impactful rebranding story? We can collaborate with you to create a plan from start to finish! Contact us to find out more.
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