If you’re an established business and are considering a full rebrand, it is worth assessing whether you need a complete rebrand or perhaps simply a refresh of your existing brand. Many businesses have tried to rebrand, such as Gap, and most recently Cracker Barrel (the restaurant in the US, not the cheese) and it hasn’t gone well for them. There are distinct reasons why they’ve failed, and it all points to insufficient understanding of their audience.
First, what does rebrand mean?
This is one of those terms that is often misunderstood. For many, rebrand means a change in logo, colours, and fonts. But your brand goes far beyond a visual identity. It’s your entire reputation, your prospects’ and customers’ experience with your business, the level of trust you have in the marketplace. Rebranding encompasses a complete overhaul of your identity, visual, operations, and otherwise. And it may not be necessary.
How does refreshing your brand differ from rebranding?
Refreshing your brand can be as simple as changing your visual identity. A new logo, colour scheme, website, etc., can represent a refresh to your existing brand. A new content strategy or adding new products can also represent a refresh rather than a whole rebrand of the company.
Reasons to Refresh (vs. Rebrand)
- Your brand still has equity. Your prospects and customers trust your brand, recognize it, and have positive interactions with your business.
- Your target audience hasn’t changed, and neither have their values.
- How you conduct your business matches your vision, mission, and values. Your prospects and customers rely on this.
- Your competitors have shifted and you need to redefine your position in the marketplace.
- You’ve changed your service or product offerings, requiring an update in messaging.
- Minimize risk of upsetting your audience and loyal customers. Rebrands typically create an upheaval in the community.
Reasons to Rebrand (vs Refresh)
- You’re changing your target audience. If you’re looking to expand into a new market, shift who your ideal buyers are, or target a new demographic/psychographic, your brand may no longer resonate.
- Your brand has negative associations or reputation.
- Your products or services have significantly shifted and your current prospect base is no longer relevant.
- You’ve merged with another business, or experienced an acquisition.
- Your name no longer fits with your identity. If your company name is often misunderstood or no longer aligns with how you want your brand to be perceived in the marketplace, it may be time to rebrand.
- You’re repositioning your business in the marketplace. If you’re shifting from budget to premium services, local to national or international, or other major change in operations, a rebrand may be needed.
When a major brand performs a visual identity update, it’s often called a rebrand in the marketplace, but it’s more of a refresh. In the case of Gap and Cracker Barrel, they’ve reverted back to their old logos after enormous backlash from the community. Neither company seemed to have done sufficient research on who their audiences were prior to the reveal, even though change is typically difficult for many to accept. More subtle changes could have been made to meet their goals without creating the uproar that occurred.
Walmart may be better at refreshes than most well-known companies. They’ve recently made minor tweaks to their wordmark and spark icon, but most consumers haven’t noticed. Smaller changes over time seem to be better received when the audience and its expectations, or its trust in the company, haven’t shifted.
With all this in mind, carefully consider whether your business needs a real rebrand, a full change of everything, or simply a refresh of your visual identity and communications strategy.
