the balanced rebrand: the art & science of brand building

THE BALANCED REBRANDTHE ART & SCIENCE OF BRAND BUILDING

FINDING BALANCEDeciding whether or not to rebrand is a critical moment for a company. Getting your brand right can sometimes mean a significant investment of hours, team resources and dollars for your organization. Usually the decision to rebrand stems from an immediate business challenge or need making the e�orts worth it. Being clear on an e�ective process and the value you wish to drive for your business and your audience is an art and science vital to a brand's success.

BUSINESSVALUE

EMOTIONALVALUE

SCIENCE

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

ART

FROM PAIN TO OPPORTUNITYCommitting to a rebrand is one of the biggest decisions a company can make and oftentimes it happens at a most critical moment – a change in company vision, needing to attract the right audience, having negative brand perception. Use these moments as a launch pad for business and brand soul-searching. Does your current brand align with your business goals? If it doesn’t, it may be time to rebrand.

Shift in visionCustomer growth

Outdated perceptionShift in market category

Negative perception

Align brand to broader visionAttract the customers you needLook the part Controlled repositioningChange the narrative

A BALANCED APPROACHWinning brands find the sweet spot between art and science – business value and emotional value – to address the biggest business pains head on. Having a balance between these two disciplines across every step of the rebrand process allows for brand building that is not only emotionally relevant to your audience but also addresses critical business matters. Trust the process – each step will arm you with tools and ammo necessary for the next step.

Market Landscape

Insights

Audience Perception

RESEARCH

Brand Infrastructure

Audience Relevance

BRAND PLATFORM

Logical Word

Associations

EmotionalShortcuts

NAMING

Message Testing

AudienceValidation

TESTING

Meaning Building

Emotional Connection

VISUAL BRAND

BUSINESS VALUE

EMOTIONAL VALUE

RESEARCHBeginning the rebrand process with research is vital to equipping your team with an insights-driven roadmap for success. The research process takes a look at brand assessments and market segmentation analysis to help better understand your brand equity, customers, and competitive market. Research may find discrepancies between where you think you stand and where you actually do – embrace this! Turn research into a competitive weapon by fully leveraging data and insights across all aspects of your business.

Do I have preconceived ideas aboutwhat our research may reveal? If so, leave them at the door and be open to new – and perhaps even contradictory – insights your data may uncover. Challenging your preconceived notions may help you uncover new opportunities to help your business succeed.

Can this research support other facets of our business? Take a holistic approach and leverage these insights in ways you may have not previously considered, like for your go-to-market strategy, sales enablement, persona building… the list goes on!

ASK YOURSELF CREATE BALANCED VALUE

Where does your brand stand

in the market?

What is your audience’s

perception of your brand?

BUSINESS VALUE EMOTIONAL VALUE


BRAND PLATFORMA strong brand platform is one of a business’ most important assets – it defines who you are, what you stand for, and why you exist. Brand platforms are developed after in-depth working sessions between key stakeholders using insights from research to find one’s “raison d’etre.” A brand platform includes a brand’s positioning and messaging, mission and vision, brand story and promise, among other important brand-defining agreements. Use this tool as a compass to guide everything your brand does – from marketing, to sales, to product development.

Can our brand platform livewith us into the future?A brand platform is ultimately a company’s north star – make sure you can follow it across every interaction point and that it will guide you to where you need to go long-term. A brand’s mission, vision, and values should not change every time you have a new idea.

Does our point of view align with audience needs?Commit to a specific point of view that aligns with your audience’s needs. Why are you relevant to them and why should they believe in what you stand for? Failure to do so will leave you with a generic brand that connects with no one.


What is yourvalue proposition?

How are you emotionally relevant

to your audience?



NAMINGChanging a company’s name involves many tactical and legal implications and should be driven by major business pain. Perhaps your current name is not well-understood or is misaligned to a naming hierarchy between parent brand and products. Whatever the reason, the naming process is a clarifying exercise of who you are as a brand. Begin with core values from your brand platform and build word maps aligned to your key messages. Balance logical and intrinsic connotations and consider how they may be interpreted across industries, audiences, and regions. Most importantly, remember that a name change isn’t always necessary.

What are the risks associated with changing our name?If you have started considering a name change you are already facing challenges with your current name, however, stop and think of the risks involved. Are the risks of changing your name greater than the challenges of your current name?

Is there an ideal time to roll out a new name?Consider what else is going on in your business and industry as a whole. Look at your product roadmap and find opportunities to maximize impact. For example, launching a new company name at the same time of a new product release helps better explain your company story and why a name change made sense.


How can yourname explain your value proposition?

What emotionalassociations should your

name evoke?



TESTINGTesting names and messages with select focus groups allows for better insights-driven decision making. Focus groups should consist of an inner circle of customers, employees, and partners who are tasked with reacting to potential company names and key messages. Testing can also happen through broader survey research using larger pools of people within the industry or audience sectors. In either case, look at what audience sentiment/perception is toward specific options. Are they in line with what you were expecting? Discard options that perform poorly and move forward with the closest to the desired reaction.

How do our name and messages perform in other markets globally? Test your names and messages in di�erent markets and languages to make sure you’re not accidentally o�ending anyone. Consider how adding domain names and other “extras” (#, @, etc.) may change or add unintentional meaning to your name.

Are our name and key messages performing like we expected them to?Use this moment as an opportunity to “check yourself” and your messaging. As insiders, we sometimes forget that just because we understand what we are trying to communicate doesn’t mean others do too. Are your messages resonating and evoking the intended feelings?


Does yourname/messaging convey what you intended it to?

How is youraudience reacting

to your name/messages?



VISUAL IDENTITYThe visual identity development phase is when a brand truly begins to take shape. From mood boards, to typeface and color studies, to logotypes and symbols – constantly refer back to insights gained from research and direction established in your brand platform. Explore many di�erent directions before getting too attached to any of them and continue pushing the ones that make you a little uncomfortable. Use visual storytelling to add layers of meaning to your design, creating moments of surprise and delight for your audience. Capture all of these details in thoroughly fleshed out brand guidelines.

Are we addressing our initial brand challenge? Keep in mind the initial reason for rebranding - whether it was a shift in market category or a negative perception - make sure your new visual identity clearly addresses your original business challenges.

Is our new visual brand giving us room to grow?Don’t pigeonhole your brand with a visual identity that doesn’t leave room for growth. Look at your business strategy and product roadmap to ensure your visual brand will align with your long-term plans.


What meaning are you creating through design?

How should your brand make your

audience feel?



BRING YOUR BRAND TO LIFEThe work does not stop once you’ve built your brand – it’s just getting started! Bring your brand to life by considering every possible touch point for both internal and external stakeholders. Turn your employees into your biggest ambassadors by letting them in on the fun and getting them excited about what the new brand means for them, for the company, for the future. Do the same for your partners, vendors, and most importantly your customers. Consider opportunities to “plus-one” their experience – how can you go above and beyond?

At this point, the stakes are higher than ever and engines are running at full throttle to produce all necessary assets for launch. Keep open communication and set clear expectations among your teams. Bucket activities into categories and assign owners for each. Check in on a weekly basis to make sure everyone has what they need and that everything will fit together at the end.

Most importantly, don’t forget to take a moment to celebrate!

INTERNALBrand reveal celebrationCompany all-handsCommemorative swagEmployee Q&A

EXTERNALWebsiteSocial ChannelsMarketing CollateralO�cesProductsCustomer CommunicationsPartner CommunicationsMedia Relations

Consider the many touchpoints below and how you can create a cohesive experience across them:

KEEPCONSISTENT

One of the most di�cult parts of rebranding is keeping true to your new brand post-launch. Leverage all the work you’ve done up to this point to build integrated campaigns across multiple channels and disciplines. Reference your brand platform and visual guidelines to ensure all content and messaging is in line with everything you’ve worked so hard on.

Consider the following:

MEDIA RELATIONS• Product releases• Executive visibility• Thought leadership• Momentum releases

ONLINE COMMUNITIES• Interactive content• User generated content• Micro-content• Tweet chats

EVENT STRATEGY• Tradeshows• Roadshows• Interactive experiences• Branded giveaways

PRODUCT MARKETING• Training Material• Email campaigns• Video content• Leave-behinds

ONE SIZEDOESN’T FIT ALLRebranding is an exploratory process that allows brands to reinvent and realign themselves to better reach their business goals. The exact process and outcome will vary from brand to brand, but one factor will always be the same: finding a balance between business value and emotional insights will unlock the opportunity to create an authentic brand that not only sets you up for business success, but will also truly resonate with your audiences’ needs. Be open to new ideas and unafraid to let go and take risks.

WANT TO CHAT MORE ABOUT YOUR BRAND?Drop us a note: [email protected]