WB Academy
Preetham Parvatam
Has over a decade of experience as a Business & Marketing Growth Consultant with leading global brands like Adobe, IBM and Oracle. He is a Co-Founder of Winnerbrands and actively consults B2B startups
THE IMPORTANCE OF REBRANDING YOUR COMPANY
July 9, 2021 September 24, 2020 by Preetham Parvatam
A day may come when you as an SMB owner suddenly may not feel inspired by your logo anymore. You may think your aesthetics has started to be out of sync with your brand values or you may be branching out into new territories, adding more services or products to your line. That's when you can start to contemplate a company rebrand.
Rebranding is not a bad exercise or a desperate one, contrary to what one might think. In fact, most successful companies out there from startups to those on Fortune 500 have emerged stronger than ever thanks to a rebrand. A rebrand means that a company has decided to go beyond its previous identity and reach for new heights. If you feel that your customers have gotten a bit bored with what you have to offer or if you don't experience as much traffic as you used to, a rebrand can be a good idea then as well.
Let's look at this concept a bit more:
Why is rebranding important? Or in other words, why do you need to rebrand?
Your audience is changing. Many companies see the need to target a broader audience and for their brand to reflect that. In fact, most rebrands are to appeal to the millennial crowd. Adidas is one such company to successfully rebrand and stand their ground among competitors like Nike. By introducing their athleisure wear, they captured the millennial interest. In this day and age while rebranding, a good idea is to focus on influencer and digital-only marketing strategy.
Originally starting out as a network that connects people, Airtel has changed its logo many times to reflect a brand that carries multiple offers for the millennial youth who are always on their smartphones.
Adidas rebranded with a new product line of 'athleisure' wear which was a hit among the millenials.
Your branding is dated. After years in the business, your branding (logo, name, colors, font etc.) may not seem as fresh. It could certainly use a modern, fresh take.
The decades old Godrej rebranded themselves in 2008 to a more colorful logo to give themselves a contemporary feel. They were also expanding their services.
Budweiser rebranded their logo to reflect a sleeker, minimal style which is less-cluttered and visually pleasing
Your initial branding effort has been scrappy. Initially when you started out, you may not have paid much attention to branding except devise a logo, slap on some nice colours and gather other branding elements. In today's world, branding is a full-on-full exercise where special attention is paid to every detail. A more deliberate branding effort can help your company reach greater heights.
Airbnbs constant redesign took them from a quick startup logo to a polished identity, emerging as a successful, recognizable brand.
Indian food processing giant Britannia rebranded their identity in 2018 to give their logo a more dynamic appeal while retaining their established, heritage feel. They also added the colours of green and yellow to symbolize freshness and health
Your business USP has changed or is branching out. Your company may have expanded into international markets, may have been acquired or may be looking to expand its product line. In all these cases and more, your brand needs to be able to reflect those changes in an appealing way and not be left behind with its past identity. A name change can also be under this category.
In 2011, UTI Bank rebranded themselves as Axis Bank with the intention of sounding more memorable and appealing to the global crowd. They also changed to a sleeker logo.
United and Continental Airlines merged in 2009 to create the first largest carrier. They rebranded their logo with elements of both their original identities.
Emergence of new competitors and/or trends. Technology is evolving everyday and it may be necessary for you to keep up with it so that your competitors don't get the one up on you. Rebranding then could help you keep that leading-edge in a new environment. Alternatively, consumer trends also keep evolving (such as preference for single-origin coffees or organic foods) so your rebranding could be helpful hold your market share.
In 2016, MTR Foods went for a modern rebranding exercise to match their competitors, stay on kitchen shelves and move from South to Pan India.
When craft beer became popular, beer brand Bud Light rebranded to a more retro packaging look to reflect that trend.
There are good ways to rebrand and then there are bad ways to rebrand. You need to decide the level and scope of your rebranding effort – do you need just a little refresh i.e. a new take to some specific elements of your brand like logo and packaging? Or do you need a complete rebrand where the effort is high-reaching and you're pursuing a completely new market, target demographic or new product sale?
For example, the Google logo has gone through many iterations over the years but all of them are slight, retaining the original visual identity of the brand. However, when McDonald's ventured into Europe, they changed their entire look and feel, right from the physical space décor to their menus so that they could appeal to the European demographic.
Whichever the case, there is a huge value in the process of rebranding if done right. It can strengthen and reaffirm your identity, values and image in both the eyes of your customers as well as your employees.
Want some help with your rebranding effort? Let our team at Winner Brands help you get the perfect new look and feel so that you can be leading in your market.
Categories STRATEGY Post navigation
HOW DO CYCLONES GET NAMED?
HOW DO YOU CREATE A WINNING BRAND TAGLINE?
10 Key Takeaway's from Fast, Cheap & Viral session by Aashish Chopra
What makes a full stack marketer?
How P&G managed product cannibalization
Expert Sessions
Subscription implies consent to our privacy policies
Info@winnerbrands.in.
Copyright © 2020 by WinnerBrands. All rights reserved
© 2022 WinnerBrands • Built with GeneratePress