In the last article, we’ve talked about rebranding and some rebranding strategies. Mergers, acquisitions, new leadership, new policies…… Rebranding is a great way to tell the world your company is going in a new direction. Once you’ve determined whether you need a partial or total rebrand, take a look at the following steps you’ll want to implement to successfully rebrand.
Read more: REBRANDING: THE GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL
1. Recruit a rebranding team
Once you’ve decided it’s time to rebrand, your first step is to recruit a rebranding team. The big debate here is whether to use in-house personnel or outsource the rebranding work to agencies or freelancers. On the one hand, your in-house workers know your brand better than no one, but on the other hand, an outside perspective might be something you need for a fresh start.
2. Evaluate what’s working and what isn’t
The first task of your new rebranding team is to find out what specifically is the problem. You’ll want to audit every aspect of your current brand strategy to determine what should stay and what should go.
To help you keep track, here is a list of main branding elements you should review:
- Company name
- Brand positioning
- Logo
- Slogan
- Color palette
- Typography
- Marketing and advertising campaigns
- Social media presence
- Partnerships and affiliates
- Content creation
- Branding voice
- Web design
- App design
- In-store decor
- Sensual interactions
After a preliminary check, you should have a good idea of where to focus your rebranding attention.
3. Reestablish your brand’s audience and market
After extensive market research, you might notice your customers or competitors aren’t who you thought they were. Maybe it’s a new demographic that you never engage with, or a new competitor on the market. Take a look at who’s actually buying from you and who they’re buying from, instead of you. Comparing this against your initial target market and audience might reveal some stark differences. Once you’ve established your actual market and audience, you’re ready to start rebranding your company to connect with your customers.
4. Rethink your brand personality and core values
After you understand what needs to change and your new target audience, you can start to build your new brand personality. Consider all the essentials – your business model, target customers, marketing budget, branding resources and value points – and find a way to align them all in your rebrand. It helps to think about your brand as a person.
From there, you can get started on your new brand story. If you are undergoing a full rebranding, you can also refresh your mission statement and brand values. As long as you have a good idea of the kind of brand you want to build, you’re ready to move forward.
5. Track brand sentiment along the way
When you’re designing all new elements to your rebrand, it’s important to get feedback from customers. You can conduct a focus group and see if the new branding images and messages communicate your new mission, value, and vision. If you don’t get positive feedback, it might be time to go back to the drawing board.
One of the most crucial steps in rebranding is tracking brand sentiment before, during, and after a rebrand launch. You can look at brand sentiment before a rebrand, see what customers feel negatively about. After you’ve evaluated the feedback before a rebrand, and tested your new rebranding elements in a focus group, it’s time for you to launch your rebrand.
6. Plan a successful launch
A rebrand is about communicating your new message: what is your new mission, values, and vision? To deliver this, planning a successful launch is important. Before you go on public, consider adding a little hype and anticipation. You can drop teasers and previews in the weeks leading up to your official launch. If you’re partnering with new sponsors or influencers, you can have them participate as well.
The right ways to publicize your rebranding depend on your audience, so go to where they are. At its best, a rebrand can act as an incentive to remain consistent and on-brand in all your marketing efforts moving forward.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve explored the steps of rebranding. If you’ve determined a rebrand is still the right choice for you, these steps can help you to consider your best strategy for building a brand that gets it right this time.
Need help on rebranding your business? ShangHai is equipped with a group of experienced professionals, and is ready to assist you on brand consulting. Contact us now