How to Determine Whether a Brand Refresh Is Appropriate
Eventually, it will come time for your brand to refresh itself. Basically, this means reinventing the brand in some novel way, presenting it to new audiences in a new context. But how can you tell when is the right time for a brand refresh and how do you manage this effort?
The Basics and Benefits of a Brand Refresh
A brand refresh is a significant change to your existing branding, often used in response to a changing environment or as a way to become more modern. Depending on your goals and the previous state of your brand, a brand refresh may include revitalizing or redesigning your logo, updating your brand values and characteristics, and possibly even changing up your entire marketing approach.
Typically, marketing leaders are responsible for initiating and overseeing a brand refresh, hoping to realign the brand with the company’s modern goals, values, and vision. Your Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) will likely be the one spearheading this campaign. Of course, if you don’t have a traditional CMO or if yours needs some extra support, you can hire a fractional CMO to step in; a fractional CMO has all the knowledge and experience of a traditional CMO, but they’re willing to work with you on a contractual, consulting basis.
There are many potential benefits of a brand refresh, including:
· Greater relevance. With the right changes, you can make your brand more relevant to your contemporary target audience.
· Better brand recognition. If you conform to modern best practices, you might be able to make your brand and logo more recognizable.
· Attraction of new customers. At least some customers will be incentivized to engage with your brand or buy your products as a result of your interesting new branding efforts.
· Competitive differentiation. This is also a great way to differentiate your brand from those of your competitors.
· Employee morale. You may even see a boost in morale, making your company and its marketing more in line with modern standards.
When Is It Time for a Brand Refresh?
So how can you tell when it’s time to implement a brand refresh?
· It’s been decades (or many years). Rebranding is an intensive effort, and not one that should be taken lightly. If you try to change up your brand every few months or every few years, you’ll quickly deplete your marketing budget and disorient your audience in the process. But if it’s been many years, or even decades, since you last touched your brand, it’s probably a good idea to give it an inspection.
· Your competitors seem more modern. Honestly compare your brand to the brands of your competitors. Do your competitors seem more modern or more relevant to audiences? Is it clear they’ve updated their brands since you’ve updated yours? If so, it might be prudent to make a change.
· Your customer base is declining. Some companies choose to update their branding as a response to a declining customer base. If you’ve noticed that your customers are dwindling in terms of numbers or purchases, it might be a sign that something is failing at the highest level of your marketing campaign. Of course, there are other potential reasons for this, but if you’ve ruled them out, your brand might be partially to blame.
· You’re reinventing the company in some key way. You may also choose to execute a brand refresh if you’re reinventing the company in some significant way. For example, if you’re pivoting the business, if you’re about to roll out a new series of products, or if you’re reinventing your signature product in light of new technologies or circumstances, it could be the perfect opportunity to take your brand to the next level.
· You need to rejuvenate morale. If morale is declining in your organization, giving your brand a facelift could help you resolve the issue. Keep in mind that a brand refresh alone isn’t likely to resolve the morale problem, especially if there are deeper cultural or work issues in play, but it could be an integral part of your overall changes.
· It’s time to realign your total marketing efforts. If it’s time to shake up your marketing efforts entirely, you should be willing to start with the brand. After all, your brand is the heart of your organization’s marketing, and you’ll have an easier time rebuilding a marketing strategy from scratch if you have shiny new brand standards to work with.
A solid brand refresh can make your brand more modern, more relevant, and more positively impactful. However, it can be expensive, and refreshing your brand too many times can lead to audience confusion. Accordingly, you’ll need to exercise good judgment in determining when it’s time for a brand refresh and deciding how to go about it.
