Brand Refresh or Rebranding: What’s Good for your Business?

Last Updated on September 16, 2021 by DesignerPeople

2020 was a turbulent year for all businesses irrespective of their sizes worldwide, and Australia was no exception. Australian organizations in 2020 show new, exciting branding trends emerging that could have lasting implications for the future success of your strategies that is rebranding and brand refresh.

With the rapid change that necessitated flexibility and adaptation, it is wise to either select one of them to decide the company’s fate. At a time of uncertainty, Australian brands and consumers are still confused whether to adopt rebranding or refresh the brand as per the changing environment.

DesignerPeople Australia is a branding agency with a team of strategists, researchers, marketers, designers, and client managers who believe in the brand’s transformative power. It is not only a job for us. We love what we tend to do! We also look forward to understand and empathize with the business pain points and work our best to offer the best-optimized solutions.

We majorly believe that building strong, successful brands requires equal parts of science and imagination. DesignerPeople combine research-derived insights, robust and strategic discipline with a very healthy dose of creative excellence to institute your brand’s unique essence.

Rebranding or Brand Refresh: The Difference

In today’s world, it’s not enough to identify leads and convert them into sales. A modern solid brand ensures customers stay connected with them for the long term and act as an influencer who understands the audience’s needs along with their pain points.

Irrespective of the company’s size, these goals are not possible to achieve if you don’t stay in touch with your audience and don’t adjust your brand to its preferences, which constantly change. Hence companies often have to choose between rebranding or brand refreshing.

Now, what are these terms basically, which looks very similar but are different? Let’s discuss them.

If you want to upgrade yourself and look appealing to your current audience, then the best solution is to act according to specific market conditions. If you don’t, your offerings are lost. Brand Refresh will include changing your slogan, tweaking your logo and fonts, adjusting the colour combinations, and updating marketing materials. It’s a simple way to preserve the existing brand’s integrity while making it more relevant and reaching a wider audience.

While rebranding goes beyond it, here, you will change the complete brand image of your company. You need to craft a new brand story, values, objectives, target audience, market and many more significant changes. Rebranding is necessary when companies merge or when they plan to conquer a new industry.

What is Rebranding?

When you plan to ditch your complete old wardrobe and replace it entirely, rebranding is a total transformation. Tearing down the old brand to building from scratch is a consuming, often costly affair, and should not take it easy. When not carried out productively or with purpose, brands risk alienating or confusing their existing customer base or employees.

McDonald’s is looking at its brand from top to bottom, inside and out.

The goal is not simply to become a friendlier place to get cheap food. Instead, the strategy will focus on the entire organization to create better value for the customers, provide better customer service, employ higher impact marketing, and embrace long-term sustainable operations.

Rebranding Strategies for a successful makeover of your brand

1. Reason

Identify the purpose of why the company wants to rebrand itself. Is it because of merger acquisitions, complete brand mission, vision to get changed, repositioning, changing markets, or out-dated brand image? Any of these reasons can be the reason for rebranding. The purpose should be justifiable. Only then strategies are applied.

2. Research

Research is the best way to understand market, competition, external and internal environmental factors. Research minimizes the risk of confusing your customers when they encounter the changes; you can also strengthen their brand image and loyalty by involving them in your brand story.

3. Analyze the market and competition

Monitor the trends in the market and the new trends in food branding to stay well informed and contemporarily upgrade. However, don’t go after the latest branding trend if that does not speak about your company values and brand identity. Please don’t follow the directions and blindly analyze them. Always try to understand them and then apply them in real-time.

4. Create your new identity

Consider the below points before your rebrand moves ahead in the process:

• What is the brand story of your brand
• What is your company’s target audience
• Check on brand objectives
• What are your competitors
• What are brand objectives, vision and mission

Rebranding creates an authentic or unique brand that is a magnificent chance to stand out in increasingly crowded marketplaces also gain clients and consumers’ attention.

Also Read: Australian Food Branding & Packaging Design – A Complete Guide

5. Announce your new brand identity

When the rebranding is complete, it is also essential to announce it correctly, make sure you stay transparent and share the purpose of rebranding with your target audience honestly.

It is necessary so that customers have clarity and don’t get confused with the situation; hence this will strengthen your brand recall, loyalty in the longer run.

Consider the rebranding process as an excellent opportunity to improve your company’s identity or values, both internally and externally.

Rebranding Examples

 

1. DUNKIN’

It is an example of rebranding as it modernizes customers’ experience while staying true to its heritage. From inside the store to the outside, logo redesign, packaging design, store remodels, also brand messaging on all advertising and marketing channels.

source: underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_name_and_logo_for_dunkin_by_jones_knowles_ritchie.php

2. Domino’s

A few companies started using chat bots to intake via social media, meeting customers where and how they invested their time. It focused on fixing what customers didn’t like about their products.

It tapped into new technologies to show customers to whom you are committed to their needs now and in the future.

source: clipartstation.com/dominos-pizza-clipart-6/

3. Hewlett Packard

It announced its split into two separate entities: HP, Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The M mark and proprietary typography developed for HPE signals lead to a new language and computing technology fundamentals.

source: underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/column/reviewed/index.php?page=101

4. Airbnb

It replaced the old brand logo with a new one; they changed the brand font and created a bespoke colour called Rausch. The new icon “The Bélo” highlighted four principles — People, Places, Love, and Airbnb, blended into a single “A” shape.

source: underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_and_identity_for_airbnb_by_designstudio.php

What is a brand refresh?

The brand refresh is like giving your company a fresh lick of paint, a new look, and a fancy new logo.

To the idea a little further, a brand refresh might include:

• I was tweaking your current design or logo.
• You are updating your slogan.
• You are changing your colour pallet.
• Refreshing marketing materials.
• We are using a new font.

Elements of a Strategic Brand Refresh

 

1. Discovery and research

The most priority step in any process starts from research. Always self analyze yourselves how you are different from competitors. Ask your employees, customers, experts of company everybody about such questions which will give you an insight of company knowledge through questionnaire, face to face interview and many more.

The research will help you get honest about the market, uncover what actual differentiators you access, and observe the overlap between the internal and external perspectives.

2. Buyer persona development

Here it helps you understand how to communicate with your target audience creatively so that it focuses on leads and the overall growth of the business.

Customers’ minds are critical to space to stay, and it is not an easy task to do, but proper intime strategy will always help.

3. Competitive analysis

Never underestimate your competitors. They are the one who can give you an idea about a lot of things easily just by observing them.

You need to know them correctly to create your distinct identity in the market. Their brand guidelines will guide you in understanding their personality and how you can add your value proposition to gain your competitive advantage over them.

4. Brand identity update

Consider brand refresh is like a facelift, leveraging existing brand equity while expanding the look, feel and messaging with new treatments and positioning.

As per the market trends and updates, the brand identity should get an updated logo, colour palette, styles, photography, fonts, textures, and other brand elements foundational to conveying the essence of your brand.

5. Brand audit

 A communications audit is mandated to ensure that the new system gets applied consistently across every touch point. Everything that was identified audit will be updated to reflect the new brand. You will want to evaluate existing communications and develop a punch list of all the items that need to be updated.

Brand Refresh Examples:

1. Starbucks

In 2011, Starbucks dropped the name “Starbucks Coffee” from logo design and became: minimalist, experiential, and about much more than just coffee.

source: 99designs.com/blog/logo-branding/logo-evolution-famous-brands/

2. Mastercard

The interlocking red and yellow circles, which are recognizable, completely removed its name from the new mark. The resultant brand is thoroughly modern and yet steeped in a legacy of integrity.

source: in.pinterest.com/pin/360006563970413902/

3. Walmart

It was changed from bold, capital, dark shades to a more calm, family-friendly, lower case to give a welcoming feel and emotion.

source: in.pinterest.com/pin/373376625354767425/

4. UPS

UPS changed their logo to make it more modern, with new colours and shapes. Though the primary badge shape has remained the same, the use of colour and shading helps it to appear more 3D and engaging.

source: in.pinterest.com/pin/523121312953374063/

Some more Examples:

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2019/07/maxines-heavenly-redesign.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2020/08/alti.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2019/02/moya-semya-fruit-drinks.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2016/05/hollandia-refreshed.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2016/12/suvalan.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2016/12/suvalan.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2020/08/valio-cheese-redesign.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2016/07/god-morgon-fiber-drink.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2016/07/god-morgon-fiber-drink.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2020/05/skinka-rebranding.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2020/05/radio-butter-rebranding.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2019/08/hlebny-dom-redesign.html

source: behance.net/gallery/112447553/Rejuvenation-Becherovka-Fruits-Herbs?

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2018/06/atlantica.html

source: packagingoftheworld.com/2019/06/vitalad.html

CONCLUSION:

Rebranding and refresh have their advantages and disadvantages. But it is essential to have a strong brand displaying positively in your target audience’s minds and differentiates your firm from others.

To ensure that you achieve that brand goal, it’s crucial to consider the above elements. If you are still not sure then connect with us today, we will guide you with relevant information that reflects your values and offerings.

You can even visit your competitors’ sites to see if they have recently rebranded that will give you an idea of competitor analysis. Take all these factors into thought, talk to all other types of clients, and you will find out if it is indeed time to rebrand.

Author: Anush Malik

Being a strategist’s head and a long term visionary personality aims to achieve excellence in branding, packaging and digital marketing field. My 15 years of design experience and masters degree ais my strength which keeps me motivated and keep me going positively. I have participated in extensive branding design conquests in India, USA, Australia and New Zealand with winning zeal. My objective is to encourage start-ups and hence involves actively in the articles which will act as a productive intake of knowledge for them. Do connect me personally via my LinkedIn and I love to share my expertise with you.