Rebranding: What it is and Top 5 Successful Strategies
Branding is crucial for the success of any business and so is rebranding. If you look back in history, you’d realise that the power of rebranding has been acknowledged by the biggest brands including Burger King, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Apple, Pepsi and Dunkin’ Donuts. Rebranding is a key strategy that breathes new life into any business and in this post, we are going to share some of the most effective rebranding strategies, but before we get down to it, let’s first understand what it is and why branding agencies recommend using rebranding to your advantage.
Introduction to Rebranding and its Significance
With the passage of time, a brand may start to lose its original appeal and become dated. The danger of losing its relevance looms large. To achieve the desired business results, a brand might need to reposition itself in the market with a new persona. And that’s where rebranding comes into the picture.
Rebranding means rethinking and implementing a new strategy to gain a new, fresh, and more impressive brand image.
Speaking of rebranding, it brings its own set of advantages and risks. And hence you must consider rebranding after carefully analysing.
Why Would You Rebrand in the First Place?
So, the big question is- what are the reasons to rebrand your business? Or in other words, when to rebrand your business?
- Looking to penetrate a new demographic
Have you been looking to expand into a new demographic with new targets?
Rethinking your branding strategy becomes crucial when you are trying to connect with a different customer base. Not all customers have the same preferences and you gotta optimize your brand elements in a way that resonates well with your new or evolving audience.
- Getting rid of a bad reputation
Even the most established brands are not immune to the effects of negative connotations.
The psychology of branding implies that people associate your brand name and logo with the right or wrong business steps you took in the past. Customers can be quite unforgiving and not quick to forget at times. Rebranding is a great way to move forward from past mistakes and reposition your business with a new reputation.
- Leadership change
A company may have to undergo transition a few or many times during its journey. It mainly happens due to a change in leadership or when the brand goes into the hands of the next generation. Hence, at times you need to refresh crucial brand elements to put forth a fresh perspective to your audience.
- Existing branding isn’t up to the mark
A flawed brand design can badly impact your bottom line. When done right, rebranding breathes new life into your business while driving customer enthusiasm; however, it has to be done with caution and post extensive research. Failing to do extensive research and rebranding just to capture the attention of your customers can backfire and have a bad effect on your brand and business.
If your branding doesn’t fair as well as you wanted it to, it is time to consider rebranding with a robust rebranding strategy. You can also consider partial rebranding if need be.
Whether it is Apple or Walmart, we see rebranding doing wonders when implemented correctly. In 1997, Apple’s rainbow logo was replaced by a sleek metallic one which was Steve Job’s rebranding strategy. It turned out to be a masterstroke as the new logo very well complemented the contemporary product range offered by the brand.
Another classic example is Walmart rebranding itself with a fresh tagline in 2007. ‘Always low prices’ was changed to ‘Save Money-Live Better’ which did wonders for the brand as it became the largest corporation in terms of revenue, according to Forbes Global 2000.
- Mergers and acquisitions
If your company structure has lately changed due to new policies in place, or a merger or acquisition; it is time to let the world know that the company is moving in a new direction. Rebranding is a highly effective way to avoid identity-related mix-ups and inculcate trust in your newfangled brand with a fresh personality.
Top 5 Effective Rebranding Strategies at a Glance
1. Rebrand with a change in name and logo
From Taco Bell to Instagram and Mastercard, there are a plethora of successful rebranding stories out there.
Changing your brand logo can refresh your brand identity quite dramatically and that’s why even the biggest of brands do that. Speaking of the name change, it more often becomes a necessity in the wake of an unpleasant incident that tarnished the brand image quite badly; however, that’s not the only reason. It might also be needed if your brand requires a new brand identity post-integration with some other company or internalization.
2. Build your brand identity through visual elements
Brand identity is pretty much a visual shorthand of your brand. The development of visual elements communicating your brand is the key here. From rebranding the logo to the tagline and official colour palette, every aspect must be well thought out and planned.
3. Make an impactful online presence through your website
Hook your target audiences with an emphatic online presence. Focus on creating a UI/UX-rich website that conveys your brand message effectively. You cannot imagine a rebranding strategy without including a website in it. And yes, just creating a website isn’t enough, think of it as a communication tool that calls for a unified voice. Whether it is the theme, colour palette, tagline, or supporting colours; every element must demonstrate cohesiveness.
4. Anchor marketing collateral in your rebranding strategy
By this point, your business must be ready to redevelop marketing collateral such as brochures, flyers, business proposal templates, and trade show booths. Again, these are highly effective tools to bridge the communication gap between you and your target audience and to make them aware of the changes.
5. Have a clear understanding of your mission, vision, and core values
Rebranding is repositioning yourself in the existing and/or a new market and you want to go out with a crystal clear brand messaging. Your brand’s mission, vision, and core values state what your brand strives for and what makes it unique.
Building your new brand requires you to have a crystal clear understanding of your mission, vision, and core values as it will lay the right foundation that serves as a solid base. Depending on whether you opt for partial or complete rebranding, you must take into account your existing assets as you build your rebranding strategy.
Grofers rebranding to Blinkit is a classic example. Grofers’ mission statement read “Grofers seeks to make shopping more convenient and efficient for consumers in India, offering an online grocery ordering platform to customers across the country’s major metropolitan areas.”
Blinkit’s mission statement reads – “Instant commerce indistinguishable from magic.’ The brand is focused on leveraging technology, data science and invaluable customer insights to provide lightning fast delivery in just a few minutes. Grofers had a great run in the market; however, as Blinkit the enterprise tried to convey how they are revolutionizing the eCommerce space.
Conclusion:
A robust rebranding strategy is absolutely necessary to give your brand a newfangled perception. Partial rebranding or complete rebranding requires you to contemplate numerous aspects including your reasons, objectives, challenges, target audience, and new demographics you want to tap. Whether you are rebranding your logo, name, or the entire business; you must be focused and have a detail-oriented rebranding strategy at hand.
