There are certainly many reasons why you can benefit from a refreshed brand and set yourself apart from the competition in a targeted manner. This process, called rebranding, offers your company and your corporate identity fantastic opportunities: You can revise old, outdated conventions while remaining true to the core of what makes your company so unique. This allows it to move with the times while maintaining the integrity of its values. In this article, you will learn how to rebrand successfully and create a new brand identity.

What is rebranding?

Rebranding changes the way a consumer perceives a brand. This process can include, for example, changing the following elements:

• brand logo
• corporate color palette (“style sheet”)
• advertising slogan
• product packaging
• web design

However, a rebranding means much more than the mere visual change of individual components. A complete rebranding represents a fundamental change in the brand positioning of your company and affects essential aspects of your corporate identity: your individual vision, your mission, and your corporate mission statement.

Rebranding vs. Brand Refresh

There are three basic types of rebranding:

• Brand update: When relatively minor aspects of a brand are changed, it is called a brand update. A modernized font or a change in the color scheme on the website can already achieve the desired effect.
• Partial rebranding: A partial rebranding (or “brand refresh”) includes both the targeted change and the retention of certain brand elements such as a company logo or mission statement.
• Full rebranding: Everything is new. Nothing will be taken over from the old brand. This process really touches every aspect of a brand, from visual attributes to your brand promise.

A brand new branding: RTL and Lufthansa

Many big brands have already gone through successful rebranding to modernize their image.

The same goes for Lufthansa: to mark the 100th anniversary of the famous crane, every detail of the design was revised as part of the Lufthansa rebranding.

The new Lufthansa appearance gives the individual elements a new, modern quality. The blue color of the design is intended to signal clarity, value, and seriousness to customers and employees. With this brand image, the group wants to stand out from low-cost airlines and underline its position as a premium airline.

The RTL rebranding is also of outstanding importance in this context: the new and more colorful RTL logo impresses with numerous color combinations.

The colors of the RTL logo are intended to reflect the diversity of the TV station in terms of content and people. The innovative RTL rebranding aims to stand up for “diversity and relevance, for cohesion and sustainability”, as the entertainment brand itself announced.

Reasons to rebrand

There are several reasons for a company to consider rebranding. In the following, we have listed the most important reasons for a rebranding.

A new entrepreneurial philosophy

Corporate values ​​have a significant impact on consumer behavior. Over two-thirds of consumers want to source their products from brands with whom they share similar values.

Tommy Hilfiger is currently presenting a prominent example of the updating of a corporate mission statement. In collaboration with Shawn Mendes, the fashion label is working towards a more sustainable future in its “Classic Reborn” campaign. With environmentally friendly collections made from recycled materials, the company remains true to its iconic style.

Shawn Mendes sings the 80s classic Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen and shows himself in the iconic 1985 polo shirt made of organic cotton.

An expanded audience

Sometimes a company wants to reach a larger customer base or a new demographic. Targeted rebranding makes it easier to address a new target group with the product range.

Old Spice offers a good example of this: Until a massive rebranding in 2010, Old Spice was still considered a (fragrance) brand for older men. Although the company name was retained, the company was able to reposition itself and attract a younger audience.

Drive global growth

Rebranding may also be necessary when a brand name is too specific for a country and the business is to be expanded into international markets. Choosing a brand name that appeals to different audiences and cultures is paramount.

mergers and acquisitions

When two companies merge, there is often a rebranding process to unify the two brand identities. In this case, rebranding helps to build trust with the target audience and avoid confusion.

Elimination

A rebrand can also be essential when a corporate identity is associated with outdated connotations. In these cases, it is important to rehabilitate the reputation in the public eye and to regain favor with consumers.

The renaming of the rice brand “Uncle Ben’s”, which was effective in advertising, is certainly a prominent example of this. In the course of the worldwide mass protests in response to the violent killing of George Floyd, the company renamed itself “Ben’s Original” – and removed the black man and the racist “Uncle” from the product range.

The 5-step plan for your rebranding

Are you considering a rebrand? Then a word of caution is in order here: your rebranding process needs to be well-planned and carefully thought out. Take the time to analyze exactly what elements of your brand need to change.

Step 1: Conduct a brand identity assessment

Before deciding to rebrand, you should conduct a proper assessment of your brand and existing brand equity. It’s important to identify your brand’s strengths and weaknesses.

It’s best to get as wide a range of views as possible. It is best to talk to your employees and customers. In one-on-one interviews or consumer surveys, you can ask them these questions:

• How would you describe our brand to a friend?
• Who do you think is our target audience?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like our branding?
• What words would you use to describe our branding?
• How does our branding feel?
• How would you improve our branding?

The insights you gain from this research will help you develop an effective rebranding strategy.

Step 2: Define what your company stands for

You now know what your customers think about your brand identity. Now it’s time to think about some fundamental aspects of your brand yourself. Entrepreneurial visions and missions have to be revised and the new brand promise has to be thoroughly thought through.

Ask yourself:

• What is your value proposition?
• What distinguishes you from competitors?
• What is your mission?
• What are your core values ​​or beliefs?
• Who are your target groups and customers?

Step 3: Decide what you want to keep

Think carefully about what you want to change and what you want to keep. A complete name change, for example, can result in the loss of your brand equity. The same applies to the SEO value built under the old name.

It is therefore important to carefully weigh the benefits and risks beforehand. In principle, a name change seems particularly sensible and appropriate if the brand name

• causes confusion
• difficult to spell and hard to find digitally
• does not reflect what your company stands for,
• poses trademark problems.

Long or short brand name?

By the way: Both short and long brand names can be either good or bad. Just because a name is short doesn’t mean it’s good. Short names tend to be more eye-catching and easier to remember. But long names can also be interesting. They help you stand out in markets where most brands use short names.

Step 4: Revamp the rebranding

Brand identity overhaul is an essential part of rebranding.

• The brand logo may not need to be redesigned from scratch. Perhaps one update is enough to reflect your company’s vision.
• Your choice of brand colors and your font will depend on the industry and audience you’re trying to appeal to. For example, if your target audience is people between the ages of 35 and 45, a sans-serif font will give it a professional look. Fancy fonts and eye-catching color combinations, on the other hand, appeal to children and young adults.
• Graphic elements and images play a crucial role in the brand personality that you want to present to your audience. If branding elements like logos are changed, be sure to change the imagery and graphic elements as well. This allows you to create a cohesive, unified design for your brand. A sans-serif font creates a professional look. Fancy fonts and eye-catching color combinations, on the other hand, appeal to children and young adults.

Step 5: Plan the reboot

The last step is the relaunch and the associated brand communication. Set a realistic date for your new branding.

Use the advantages of different social media channels and analog media to spread your new corporate image. A press release announcing the rebranding then makes it official.

This completes the rebranding process and initiates a fresh start.

Conclusion on rebranding

Of course, the entire brand image does not always have to change. A change in the logo, the company position, or the brand promise can already make a difference. In this way, you can set yourself apart from the competition and refresh your outdated brand image.

However, once a company decides to undertake a partial or complete rebranding, it should plan the strategic process with great care and careful consideration. Only if you know exactly which elements of your brand need to be changed will your project be successful.

For a better orientation of your rebranding strategy, you should follow our 5-step plan.