THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING Contents Introduction Introduction 02 Rebrandingisatermthatgenerates confusionandoftengetsthrown More than a logo 03 aroundloosely.Incommon vernacularitcanmeananything What is rebranding? 04 fromachangetoyourbrand’slook andfeelpriortothelaunchofanew Refresh or rebrand? 06 campaign,throughtoacomplete overhaulofyourbrandstrategy Benefitsofsuccessfullyrebrandingyour andthelaunchofthenewcompany financialservicesorganisation 07 nameandlogo. Why rebrand? 08 Therealityisthatatruerebrand isajourneythatinvolves Doesmyorganisationneedtorebrand? 11 comprehensivelyanalysingwhat haschangedwithinyourbusiness How do I rebrand? 12 anditsstrategy,bringingthat changetolifethroughadefined Gettinginternalstakeholdersonboard 14 brandpositioning,andsignalling thechangetothemarket,oftenvia Whatisbrandarchitecture? 15 anewlogoorlookandfeel. Pressure-testingyourbrand 17 Yourbrandisanassetandshould betreatedassuch.Accordingto Apicturetells1000words 19 MillwardBrown,in2013theworld’s mostvaluablebrand,Apple,has Youremployees:yourmostvaluable abrandvalueofover$185billion. brandasset 21 Bycomparison,Australia’sleading companyintermsofbrandvalue In conclusion 22 wasWoolworths,withabrandvalue ofover$8billion. About BrandMatters 22 Brandistheconduit thatconnectsyour organisationtoits clients,itschannels, itsstakeholders anditscommunity. THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING 3 Introduction Yourbrandrepresentswhatis + MORETHANALOGO uniqueandvaluableaboutyour businessthatcannoteasilybe Weshouldalsostateatthe Yourbrandcomestolife replicated.Forexample,manyof outset,brandismuchmore acrosseverytouchpointyou yourcompetitorsmayhaveonline thanalogo.Logos,taglines, havewithyouremployees, retailstoresor24-hourcustomer advertisingandotherexternal customersandstakeholders: servicecentres,butnonehas communicationsaremerely fromyouremploymentstrategy createdaproductororganisation representationsofabrand. toyourinductionprocess;your exactlythesameasyours.However Anamazinglogoalonedoesn’t customerservicestandards theabilitytocapitaliseonyour makeabrandgreat. toemployeeuniforms;your uniquenessisavaluableskilland advertisingtoyourwebsite Astrongbrandistheclear notsomethingthatnecessarily copy;yourPRstrategytoyour andevocativearticulationof comeseasily. approachtocorporatesocial yourpurpose.It’showpeople responsibility.Yourbrandis Thisguideaimstoprovideinternal internallyandexternally thetruththatunderpins marketingteamswithanoverview thinkandfeelaboutyour yourreputation. ofwhenarebrandshouldbe organisation,itsproducts consideredandwhatisinvolved. andservices.It’snotabout Strong brands connect Itsintentistohelpyoudefine theproductorserviceitself, with and commit to your thescaleandscopeofwhatyou buttheimpactyoucreateina customers. hopetoachieve,andthenidentify customer’slife. milestonestohelpstructure Strong brands unify your yourrebrandingjourney.We’ve Internally,yourbrandshould business and strengthen deliberatelyfocusedonthecreation betheunifyingforcebehindall your performance. ofthebrandandbrandstrategy yourpeoplesothateveryone becausethisisattheheartofwhat isworkingtowardsacommon Strong brands energise makesyourbrandunique.The goalandeveryoneunderstands and inspire your launchandrolloutofyourrebrand whatitmeanstoworkfor employees. is,ofcourse,important—butif yourorganisation. youhaven’tdevelopedaunique, And strong brands are credible,relevantandsustainable about much more than brandtounderpinyourmarketing just a logo. launch,youriskfailingtomaximise theROIastrongbrandcanoffer. 4 THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING Whatisrebranding? Businesses evolve. Business Rebrandingisoneapproach Thedifferencebetweenarebrand strategies change direction. businessescantaketotell andarefreshisanimportantbut Organisations grow, markets audiencesaboutachangein oftensubtledistinction.Atrue contract, acquisitions are theirorganisation.Refreshingthe rebrandingofyourorganisationisa made, competitors arrive, existingbrandisanother.Sowhat’s process,notashort-termproject. organisations are sold. thedifference? Itismorethanjustchangingyour New products emerge. logooraddinganewdesigndevice Torebrandistosignificantlychange Old products are discarded. toyourwebsiteandpromotional yourbrandandtellyouraudiences In short, in an ever-changing, collateral.Itinvolvesidentifying thatyouhavedoneso,whileto competitive environment, whathaschangedwithinyour refreshyourbrandistoadjust no brand can remain the organisation;capturingthatchange it:totweakittoaligntoamore same forever. andtranslatingitintoanewbrand subtleshiftindirection.Formany positioningandbrandstrategyfor companies,arebrandcouldsignal yourorganisation;andrepresenting theintroductionofnewproducts thatchangetobothyourinternal andservices;amergerorimportant andexternalaudiences. acquisition;achangeofstrategic directionsuchasdiscontinuing Whenyourebrand,itisasignal somelower-performingproducts toyouraudiencesthattheyneed orservices;ortheneedtomore toreassesstheirpreconceived clearlydifferentiateitself notionsofyourbrand.Itisnota againstitscompetitorsina triggerthatshouldbepulledlightly. clutteredmarket. Rebrandslaunchwithabang. Refreshesrolloutovertime. THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING 5 Whatisrebranding? Whenyoulauncharebranded Changecanbeseenasperilous: companyyouneedtoannounce restructuresoftenmeanjoblosses; toyouraudiencesthatthings andanewlogomeansnewsales willbedifferentfromnowon.A toolsandinternaltemplatesso commonmethodofmakingsuch employeescannolongersimply anannouncementisameaningful recyclewhathasbeenusedbefore. changetoyourvisualidentity. Arebrandchallengesthestatus Anychangetoyourvisualidentity quoandpushespeopleoutoftheir needstorepresentandreflectthe comfortzones.Inshort,thereisa followingtoyouraudience: riskthatarebrandcanbe rejectedinternallyifitisnot • Context:Whyhaveyouchanged launchedproperly. yourbrand? Equally,yourcustomersmayfeel • Meaning: What do the passionateaboutyourbrand.They changestoyourvisualidentity mayhavehadalonginvolvement symbolise? withyourbrand,theymayassociate • Benefit: Howdoesyournew itwithpositivememoriesanditmay brandturnupasabenefit havemeaningintheirlives.Thenew for me? brandmaygratewiththemtobegin withastheyadapttothechange— These messages need to be ortheymayrejectitentirely. reflectedinawaythatresonates withyouraudience.Norebranding decisionorprocesscanoccur Whenyourebrand, withoutrisk.Thereisacertain comfortthatisoftenassociated itisasignaltoyour withanexistingbrand,especially audiencesthatthey amonginternalstakeholders. needtoreassesstheir preconceivednotions ofyourbrand. 6 THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING Refresh or rebrand? BEFORE AFTER REBRAND OR WHY? REFRESH? Thelogowasupdatedtogiveita morecontemporarylookandfeel inlinewithTourismAustralia’s Refresh positioningofamodernand confidentAustralia,opentothe world. Therevitalisedbrandwas launchedinresponseto negativecustomerfeedback, andsignalledawiderevolution Refresh oftheorganisation.Itintended tocapturethespiritofHCF’s commitmenttoleading theindustry. Therebrandexercisewas aimedatbetterconnecting Rebrand withcustomersandcreating adistinctivepositioninginan increasinglycompetitivemarket. Withthecompanysplittingits entertainmentandpublishing Rebrand interests,anewnameandnew positioningwasneededforits publishingarm. Achangeofnameand changeoflogosignalled Rebrand aboldnewpositioningfor thisfinancialinstitution. THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING 7 Benefitsofsuccessfullyrebranding yourorganisation 01 02 03 04 05 Youareableto Clientandchannel Prospective Youare Topcandidates conciselyexplain partner referrals clientsperceive considereda seekyouout notonlywhat comemoreeasily youasmore thoughtleader andwanttowork youdobuthow becausepeople dominantthan inthemarket foryou. youaredifferent. cansuccinctly previouslyand andprofessional Asaresult,your explainwhatyou asaresultyou publications employees, dototheirfriends winagreater seekyouout sales team and andcolleagues. percentageof forcomments channelpartners newbusiness. andadvice. areallaligned anddelivering aconsistent messagetoyour prospective clients,andsales These benefits have the cumulative effect of creating the ultimate return on andmarketing investment: organisations with strong efforts are more brands command higher valuations. effective. 8 THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING Why rebrand? THE GUIDE TO REBRANDING 9 Therearevariousreasonswhyan New strategic direction: Ifyour Relevance: Asyourorganisation organisationmayfinditselfina organisationispreparingastrategic grows,yourmarketsexpand positionwhereitisconsidering planthatwillchangeitsfuture andnewchallengersenteryour arebrand.Ifyouareconsidering direction,arebrandcanhelp competitiveset,youmayfindyour rebrandingyourorganisation, communicatethisnewintentto salesaredecliningoryourcurrent startwithanunderstandingofthe yourmarket.VirginBluedidjust brandislookingdatedandyour businessneedbehindtherebrand. thatrecentlywhenitbecameVirgin brandstorylacksrelevancetoyour Doyouneedtoaccelerategrowth? Australia,announcingitsclear targetaudience.Arebrandcanbe Haveyoubeensubjecttoamerger, objectivetocompeteheadtohead anopportunitytorevitaliseand ormadeasignificantacquisition? inthebusinesstravelmarket. moderniseyourbrandpositioning Areyouhoveringbetweenbeing andlookandfeelinlinewith New product or service offering: amid-sizedandlargesized theexpectationsofarapidly Ifyouhaveaddedasignificantnew organisationanddoyouneedto evolvingmarket. productrangeorservicetoyour positionyourselftocompetewith businessofferthathaschanged businessesmoresizeablethan Reactive rebranding thefocusofyourorganisation, yourcurrentcompetitiveset?Or arebrandmayactasacircuit Merger or acquisition: Ifyou doyousimplyneedtogrowyour