Most businesses associate rebranding with excessive costs and multinational corporations that have time and resources available freely.
The truth is very different from that.
On average, businesses and organizations of all sizes change their brand identity every 7-10 years. It could be because they suffer from an identity crisis and believe it’s time to upgrade to newer ideals. Or may it’s just a question of vanity and they want to look and feel younger.
Either way, rebranding is like a facelift for your business and it can give you a new voice, identity and awareness among customers when done right. And thanks to the many platforms, tools and resources freely available online, it doesn’t have to be a budget-breaking endeavor.
Whether you’re planning to rebrand to keep up with changing consumer trends or to fight off market competition, it is important that the strategies you employ are cost-effective and help your business to grow.
However, there are a few things to remember before going for a business makeover.
For starters, a rebranding strategy requires much more than a basic name change.
For example, Radio Shack’s rebranding its name to The Shack was a massive flop. It failed to switch up its product line according to the new brand philosophy, which resulted in an identity crisis. So instead of the business making a profit, it ended up shutting down 1100 stores worldwide in 2014!
But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you need a huge bank account to build an effective rebranding strategy. There are plenty of things you can do that can build your business from the ground up and grab your customer’s attention without costing you an arm and a leg.
To help you successfully strategize your rebranding techniques, we have compiled a 2-part informative guide for you. The first part highlights when a business needs to rebrand, and the second part focuses on cost-effective strategies that your business should employ, which will help you give your brand a total makeover.
When Do You Need To Rebrand Your Business?
Entrepreneurs focus on creating a strong brand strategy before they move onto other customer-acquiring tactics. However, you can never be too sure when exactly your business needs to revamp.
New Business Product Lineup Mandates A Brand Refresh
Your business might be using an outdated logo design that no longer goes with the new products or services your business may have introduced.
Whenever a company decides to tap into other business niches, it is important to take up a new identity, so your consumers are aware of the new changes. This is best done by redesigning a logo that can easily be done for free through an online logo creator.
Take the example of the Starbucks logo evolution throughout the years. Started in 1971 as a brown logo to symbolize coffee, it gradually transformed its logo to a minimalistic green logo featuring the Starbucks Siren in the middle.
These changes did not just make Starbucks a globally recognized brand but also indicated the brand’s intent of entering new markets. In 2011, Starbucks shed away its external circle in the logo to imply that it will continue to tap into new markets.
Starbucks now not only offers coffee but a variety of other products like ice-cream, cold beverages and alcohol.
Similarly, a couple of years ago, Dunkin’ Donuts ditched the ‘donuts’ in its branding to symbolize their move towards a new menu that emphasizes beverages instead of donuts alone.
Re-Branding To Change Your Brand Image
At first, it may look like changing your company’s logo is just for visual attractiveness. However, you will be surprised to know the role that rebranding your company’s logo and design plays in declaring the intent of your service.
This is exactly what happened with Uber. It rebranded its logo twice in three years! The previous logo of Uber became associated with negative attention and a toxic work culture which started to tarnish the company’s image.
Uber, however, quickly realized the need to convince their customers that its lousy reputation and hostility had ended with the replacement of their new CEO. They opted for a complete overhaul of their business’s image.
Uber’s rebranding strategy started from changing their most popular visual element: their logo!
Rebranding the typography from a block-letterhead font to a simple sans serif font presented a sense of friendliness and accessibility that was absent in the previous logo. According to AdWeek, the font resonated with transportation use around the world.
This shows the importance of Uber’s new design language to reconnect with its consumers, attract new audiences and shed away the remnants of its past reputation.
Now that you’re aware of when you need to rebrand let’s see some cost-effective ways that can help you build your brand up from the ground.
Look For Partnership Opportunities
Whether you’re introducing a new product in your line or you’re entering a new industry, it takes a lot of time, money and investment to get loyal customers. However, if customers are introduced to your brand through their other favorite brands, chances are they are likely going to stick!
This is called co-branding and is a uniquely important and cost-effective strategy to increase your brand awareness. As marketing budgets are always tight, co-branding and partnership programs provide a platform for your business to grow into new markets and expand their customer base.
When Taco Bell collaborated with Doritos to create Doritos Locos Tacos, they didn’t expect the product to become the “industry’s next big thing.”
Taco Bell’s sales soar higher than ever before: they sold more than 100 million Doritos Locos Tacos in only the first ten weeks! Their demand continued to rise until the business had to hire an additional 15,000 workers to meet the demand.
Since then, both Taco Bell and Doritos have seen an increased demand for their products, with the original nacho cheese Doritos Locos Tacos still on the menu today.
Get Visual With Your Branding
In today’s digitalized world, a brand incorporates more than just the logo. It is both the packaging and the story being communicated to your customers.
Thankfully, you can now make use of free digital tools online to create an aesthetic for your brand that speaks to your audience. This includes all the visuals – from the website logo to the blogs and social media posts. After all, it is the entire brand experience that your audience will remember!
According to a study, 5-7 brand impressions are necessary for your audience to remember the brand and “connect” with it.
Designing a brand style guide is a great way to figure out your company’s unique style and to make sure that all your brand designs are following a consistent aesthetic. These are a few touchpoints that can kick start your company’s branding strategy:
Get A Logo
Just like your name gives you an identity, the logo is the face of the company. It is the first thing that attracts the eye and is one of the most important assets in making your business recognizable.
You can create a distinct logo for your business with the PosterMyWall Logo Maker. With tons of different templates and fonts to choose from, you can create a logo that will act as the jumping point for all your other visuals.
One great example of how a logo can inspire a generation is from Apple. In 1997, Steve Jobs went for a complete logo change – from a geeky and colorful logo, it became a sleek and metallic Apple. Not surprisingly, this was a rebranding strategy that would align with Apple’s future products. Job’s rebranding strategy worked well with the company’s vision of offering minimalistic, sleek-styled contemporary products.
Refresh Your Website Design
When a business decides to rebrand, it is essentially changing everything about itself – from the way a business presents itself to its audience to change the message they are trying to give.
Your website redesign is more of a new look that can help give your brand recognition. For instance, Google’s periodic rebranding strategy makes sure that the website stays as accessible and inclusive as possible. They include various design strategies like typography changes, tweaking color palettes, and redesigning icons to support other products in their line.
Design Better Business Cards
For easy communication between sponsors and other industry leaders, your business should have a business card or letterhead that resonates with your logo and other design assets.
Regardless of where your customer comes across your brand – be it your website, logo, or a billboard design – the message and the design of your brand should be consistent.
Establish Your Brand’s POD (Point-of-Difference)
To give your business a competitive advantage, it needs to have something that makes it stand out. This is called the business’s point-of-difference and can give your brand the unique edge required to distinguish it from other brands in the same niche.
Your POD is essentially what makes your brand special. It should be incorporated in every part of your branding strategy – from the logo design and website to its resulting products.
For example, fast-casual restaurants like Denny’s and Texas Roadhouse offer fierce competition for Nando’s. But what distinguishes Nando’s from its rivals is it’s… the famous Nando’s Peri-Peri sauces!
Nando’s is one of the few examples of an amazing branding strategy that has incorporated its key ingredient not only in all of its products but also in its brand logo! The South African brand has made an outstanding logo with minimal colors and type-fonts. The bird symbolizes the African Bird, and the red represents the chili grown in Mozambique.
According to the brand, Nando’s identity draws inspiration from its rich South African heritage.
Ready To Kick start An Effortless Rebranding Strategy?
You don’t need to blow your bank account to redesign and re-vamp your business effectively. All you need is a little creativity, a good logo creator, some vibrant templates and you’re good to go!
Now that you know all about rebranding strategies, all there is left to do is get online, choose your designs and get branding! Visit PosterMyWall for plenty of marketing graphics templates, logo designs, business card designs, letterhead designs and much more.
