When a company goes through the branding process, there are specific steps that need to be followed for the brand development to be successful. When rebranding, it might be easy to think that the process will be easier or that it’s not as important to pay attention to detail because, after all, it’s been done once it can be done again, right?
McManus Law Firm recently went through the rebranding process. The Northwest Arkansas law firm’s logo went from being red and black to gold and blue.
Rebranding is actually not that simple. Rebranding actually takes additional steps because those who are accustomed to the original branding—including the internal staff—will need to be educated on the changes.
Where to start rebranding?
The first step is to hire a branding consultant (like The Belford Group) who also offers graphic design services. A branding consultant is an expert in the area of corporate identity and can guide the company or organization through each step of the rebranding process. A brand consultant will know what questions to ask that help a client fully determine the corporate identity including services and public image. Then the brand consultant can ask questions that will help the client decipher what is the best way to represent the new brand.
Rebranding needs a plan
Every good business process has a well-thought out plan with action steps in order that they must be completed. A good business process is strategic and developed with the utmost of success in mind. This is very true of the rebranding process.
First of all, a branding consultant will help the client decide if the brand needs to be refreshed, or if a complete rebranding is necessary. If the answer is a rebrand, the plan that is developed will include:
- Determining the new corporate identity (what services are offered? What does the company want to be known for?)
- Deciding what colors and other graphic design elements to use in the logo (what emotions does the company want to evoke? What industry-related design elements need to be used?)
- Creating the logo and other brand identity elements (client chooses from several options)
- Implementing the rebranding among employees and the public
- Measuring success of the rebranding plan.
Implement and measure
The implementation and measurement components of a rebranding plan are really where rebranding differs from branding. When a company’s branding already exists and then is drastically changed, everyone who is already accustomed to the existing branding will need to be educated and acclimated to the change.
The first and possibly most important group that needs to be educated on the new branding is the employees and other internal stakeholders in the company. These individuals will be the ones answering questions from the public and will be the representatives of the new branding. It’s vital that they understand the evolved corporate identity and can share, in a positive way, about the new logo and other branding changes.
The next step is to share the new branding with the current customers and the public. Depending on the company, these two groups could be informed concurrently or consecutively (starting with the current customers if the two groups are notified separately). Sharing about a rebranding could be done in several ways including a direct mailing to existing customers, on social media, a press release or even holding a special event. Sponsoring a special event like a fundraiser is another prime way to introduce a brand redesign.
Once the rebranding has been established, announced and implemented, it’s time to measure using pre-determined standards. How are customers reacting? Are they recognizing the new branding and responding positively? Are sales increasing or is the client base growing? These are all questions that can be asked to determine if a rebranding was successful.
Need Help?
The Belford Group is an experienced image-building marketing and website development agency, with more than a decade spent providing creative marketing and advertising solutions to fit any budget and any medium. We help companies through the process of evaluating the effectiveness of their branding package. If the branding is no longer working, we can fix it!
Call us. We’d love to work for you.
479-443-9945