Change is happening in the world on a daily basis, whether you like it or not. Your business and your brand are a part of that changing world. Your logo might stay the same, but your brand is interacting with a changing environment and audiences. You don’t want to wake up in a world where your brand has become irrelevant or obsolete. Evolving or completely rebranding your company might be a good choice at some point. We’ll tell you why, how and when brands should change.
REBRAND OR EVOLVE?
Let’s start off with the most radical option: a stand-out rebranding. Your brand is more than just a logo. It’s your identity, it’s the promise of who you are and what you stand for and how you act.
A rebranding is a big change that businesses may take when they drastically want to alter how they present themselves to the world: going from start-up to scale up, a merger or acquisition, letting go of the past, reframing your business mission to make it future-proof … These are only a few of the reasons why companies undergo a radical rebranding. These are all important moments in a company’s history and are often accompanied by a full new brand identity. A complete reset like this is not something that should occur on a regular basis. A rebranding starts from a long term brand strategy. You’re rebuilding the foundations for the future of your brand. This will determine what your brand stands for, where things are going, for who you exist and what your role will be in the lives of your clients. The answers to these questions will define how your brand will look, sound and behave in the future.
When a rebranding isn’t the right fit for your business, brand evolution can be a better solution. Brand evolution enables you to make subtle brand changes in response to customer feedback, design or market trends and smaller internal changes that are still in line with your business mission. This can help attract new customers and also remind current ones why and how you stay relevant. These changes all together can make a great impact and improve customer sentiment. Choosing to evolve your brand over time might be the perfect way to guard your brand equity or to not lose a part of your community due to sudden and radical change.
A SMART BRAND IS EVER CHANGING
At the end of the day, it takes bold decision-making. You have to be in touch with the current market and generation. Be bold in standing for your values. As a brand, you can be fine with losing a part of your audience, but know up front what part you’re talking about. Look well at what you're going to lose while changing. Never do it for aesthetic, ego or marketing reasons.
People are known to be reluctant to change or new things. Simulate scenarios and prepare answers, align internally so everyone has the same view on possible reactions. To launch in a prepared and responsible way is equally as important as the new design.
Kurt De Vlieghere, founder of SKINN Branding Agency, is very clear on this: "Let the new brand grow on people. It’s all about human behaviour, it’s not necessarily related to design. The majority doesn't care or just likes it. So don’t get thrown off by the loud minority. Everything is ever-changing. And change should always be for the better."
