Rebranding is a marketing strategy through which a major change is made to the identity of a brand with the aim of changing the way the public perceives it.
Before asking what rebranding means, let’s take a step back and think about branding. This is the process by which a brand defines and builds its corporate identity.
Although it is a term closely related to brand image, this does not refer to the logo of a company or its designs, but goes much further. He understands the values, purposes, ideas and lifestyle that a brand embraces.
These parameters are defined to generate certain emotions in consumers, challenge them from certain feelings and even awaken feelings of identification.
On this basis, we are going directly to analyze what rebranding is.
What does rebranding mean?
Rebranding is a marketing strategy that consists of producing a change in the corporate image of a brand and the perception that people have of it.
Brand identity refers to the ideals with which a company seeks to be linked. Beyond the product or , this is what differentiates it from the competition.
In this sense, there are many actions that we can identify as part of a brand rebranding process. Some of them are:
🎨 change of logo and general image,
💬 adopting a different tone and voice for communication,
🚀 launch in a new market and/or item,
🥁 renewal of products or services in the ,
📑 modification of the commercial name.
A rebranding campaign is an excellent opportunity to get closer to your audience. How? Telling them what this identity change is about, what motivates it, where you want to take your business with it, what this rebranding means.
You can share details of the creative process and explain what your new brand seeks to convey. Also, many times the audience is not expressly expecting these changes, so it is a good idea to share with your clients why the decision was made.
So far, it has already been clear what rebranding means. Now, when is the time to implement it? This transformation may be based on a series of causes that we will see in the next section.
Rebranding: possible causes
The rebranding actions listed above involve big decisions for your brand. To face any of these challenges, it is important to be clear if it is the right strategy for your business at this time.
Knowing the scenarios where this is a good alternative will allow you to better understand the meaning of rebranding and, with that, detect whether it is a technique to consider or not.
🎯 Modification of the ideal client or the sales strategy
When a company is getting older, there is a possibility that some of the pillars that supported it in the beginning will be altered.
For example, in the initial planning, a certain type of customer, or ideal client, is defined, which is then modified. If this happens, it is likely that the entire communication strategy will begin to fail, because it is not addressing its target in the best way.
Rethinking your target audience and how to talk to it, then, will be some of the actions to start to establish a new and better bond with your potential customers.
Is it becoming clearer what rebranding means and when can it be a good strategy? Let’s keep going!
📉 Evolution in sales of a product
In this case, we focus on the stage of maturity within which it is being marketed.
This phase is characterized by generating sales in a sustained manner. But, also, it is possible that the article needs a rebranding to adapt to the new trends that are emerging.
🚒 Damage to corporate image
Any business, from small ventures to large companies, including cultural projects, can find their image deteriorating.
The root of this inconvenience can be a legal accusation, a product failure, among others. In order to repair damage to the image that people have of a brand, the rebranding strategy is an effective alternative.
Surely, here it is necessary to make strong and notorious changes, from the logo and all the graphic representations of the brand to even its commercial name.
⚠️ Remove a bad reputation or prejudice
Sometimes it is not about a specific damage to the brand or a particular product that is marketed, but about paradigms with which it is not in communion.
A clear example is that of sustainability. The fact that a business is not expressly committed to caring for the environment does not mean that it is not.
In this scenario, a rebranding action from the communication and identity of the brand oriented towards caring for the planet, can represent a boost in sales!
Any rebrand strategy must be adopted comprehensively. In fact, if a brand communicates an identity committed to the environment, then it needs to work with , for example.
Tips for designing a rebranding strategy
Before finishing this article on the meaning of rebranding and the circumstances in which this can be a good strategy, we want to give you some advice, in case you are going to face this challenge.
To develop a good rebranding campaign and achieve excellent results, we recommend you keep these points in mind:
- Be clear about the cause and the problem to be solved. Identifying the root is the first step in understanding how the public perceives your brand. Then, it will be easier to think about the image you want to generate for your business and how to achieve it.
- Rebranding does not mean completely transforming the brand identity. At this point we want to highlight the idea of valuing your original branding. Be sure to review it to understand what its strengths were, why it worked for a while, what weaknesses it encountered, and what circumstances invalidated it.
All this analysis will help you design a better brand rebranding strategy. The idea is not to transmit an abrupt and fortuitous change, but a mutation that would not have to hide from what previous stage it comes.
In other words, the memory of the brand should not be left aside: it is a renewal, not a “clean slate”. - Maintain comprehensive consistency. It is not about changing only and in isolation the logo of a company or its . Just as the corporate identity depends on more parameters —such as, for example, the tone with which it is communicated or the values that the brand upholds—, the modifications should also have an impact on these issues.
- Conduct customer surveys and/or ask for opinions. What better way to get in touch with the people who are already consuming your products? Your complaints, wishes and requests can be an excellent guide that bases each action.
It is even very useful to contact colleagues who can give you their point of view on the situation. From both sources you will obtain valuable information and confirm or adjust your plans. - Analyze the branding of the competition. It is always a good practice to keep in mind the characteristics of the brands with which you share your market niche. Studying the brands in depth, you may discover that some also went through a rebranding process and you can learn from that experience.
Let’s see some examples of branding to inspire us!
Examples of branding (and rebranding)
storecloud
We ourselves went through a rebranding process when our platform was eight years old. Previously, our logo was this:
The entire identity system of our brand, originally conceived to help entrepreneurs in the region, stopped working due to the growth of our business.
Tiendanube became an increasingly robust platform dedicated to promoting success stories of all types of businesses: from SMEs to large companies.
We work with the help of the agency to fully understand how to convey our differentials and how to position ourselves better. In that process, we started the rebranding strategy We arrived at the following phrase that served us as a concept to create the new identity and a new symbol that is what, from today, will be our logo:
When we look at the sky, each of us finds something different in the clouds: a face, a dragon, a ship, a castle.
They are the art of transformation, constant change, an invisible impulse, a game that inspires us.
We want what you imagine to come true.
Like the clouds, all dreams are different. Ours is that you fulfill yours.
Your dream. your cloud.
Today, our logo tells everything we want to highlight about our ecosystem and the work we do every day: a smile, the infinity symbol, a cloud, growth, links and the letter “n”.
Bringing the new brand to reality
With the brand manual in our hands, the second challenge began. Applying the new identity to implement the rebranding was not just changing the logo, it was a process in which we rethink and redesign (almost) everything.
From our voice and tone, to the contrast of the buttons, passing through the products, illustrations, communications, typographic adjustments, collages and photos.
airbnb
The Airbnb branding example helps us to mention the importance of telling a story when creating a corporate identity. First we see the transformation they made of the logo:
In a first approach, we already see that it is a much more modern image, adaptable to digital media, etc. But, much more importantly, what does its new logo convey to us?
Let us remember that Airbnb is a platform that is used to publish and book accommodation cheaply, mainly because it is about temporarily settling in someone else’s house that leaves it available for a specific period.
See how the brand explains each of the concepts with which it worked in this redesign and that it transmits in its new logo:
McDonald’s
Here we want to bring about a comprehensive change in the identity of the brand based on a damage to its image. Towards the end of the 90’s, although the fast food chain did not stop growing in popularity, more and more people associated it with “junk food”.
It was a place where you could eat cheaply but the food did not have good nutritional values. To make matters worse, the documentary Super Size Me showed how harmful it was for your health to eat in this chain.
McDonald’s changed its red color (which was even visually linked to danger) for green and included healthy options on its menu. Currently, the brand tries to maintain this more elegant and healthy image.
Now that you know thoroughly…
Facebook Comments
Disqus