July 17th, 2006
Ten tips for a successful brand re-design
by Susan Snipes
You’ve decided your brand is stale and you’re going to embark on a brand re-design. Congratulations! This can be an enlightening process and highly rewarding for your organization. As you’re getting started, do your research, get creative and keep your mind open. Inspired by information at ReBrand, we’ve taken their list of 20 no-no’s, and turned them into positive action items you can use as a guide for your upcoming brand re-design.
1. Create a plan.
A successful brand re-design requires a project plan to keep your team focused during the process. Put together a project plan with your objectives, target markets, budget, personnel and material resources, time-frame, approval structure, and ways to measure your results. Your brand re-design plan doesn’t have to be formal, but it does need to be written down or placed on your intranet.
2. Do your research.
Getting feedback from current and prospective customers is essential as you create your plan. In addition, your customer service department can offer valuable information. Or try being your own customer: call your office number, take the time to browse your web site, buy your products. Your research may reveal challenges your customers face and can be helpful in your brand re-design strategy.
3. History is part of the past.
A successful brand re-design means keeping your image relevant. Don’t get caught up in your brand’s history. Ideas from your intial brand strategy may be completely irrelevant today. Assume your target market has evolved and look at them with fresh eyes.
4. Your logo is not your brand.
More than your logo, color palette or your web site, a brand includes your customers’ impressions, customer experiences, style of customer service, quality, the look and feel of print and web materials, the tone of your communications, and more. Think of it as the personality of your organization.
5. It’s ok to hire a branding consultant without experience in your industry.
You’re hiring a creative thinker and a problem solver, so it’s ok to consider someone that hasn’t worked in your industry before. The best consultants pool their experience from a variety of successful projects — in any industry. A fresh perspective from a non-industry consultant can be highly beneficial.
6. Make a shortlist of decision-makers.
Too many opinions will delay your branding process and may confuse the focus of your re-design. Assemble a small team of essential folks and keep those with decision-making authority to an efficient minimum.
7. Leverage current brand equity.
Brand equity covers the assets your brand currently embodies — from customer goodwill to current positive perceptions. Ignoring your current assets when rebranding may alienate your established customers and unnecessary re-designs can damage your brand’s perception. Consider your target market carefully before digging into the process. Sometimes a small visual update is all that’s needed to keep your brand current.
8. Expand your thinking.
Take a look at what industry leaders in other fields are doing for their customer experience, retail experience and customer care. Learn from successes in other industries and encourage your brand re-design team to expand their thinking as well.
9. It doesn’t have to be expensive.
Smart strategy does not equal a huge price tag. You can develop a successful re-design plan with small, talented design and marketing firms or consultants.
10. You’re not too small for a brand re-design.
Every brand needs to be refreshed to stay current as audiences change and mature. This is true for small companies and non-profits too. Just like large brands, you also have a brand position that needs to be enhanced to remain strong.
