Rebranding is a kind of “repair work” of a brand or trademark. Repair can be overhaul or cosmetic. The choice depends on the initial state of the object. In addition, you can carry out a full rebranding and partial. Rebranding a company is a long and laborious process, therefore it must be justified and justified. It should be carried out when the brand actually requires updating.
When rebranding is required
Rebranding is necessary if:
- Changes in market conditions are noted, and the existing brand is no longer consistent with these changes. If the industry of your brand’s market has decreased, consumption has decreased, the goods are outdated and not in demand by the consumer. Also, the reason for rebranding may be a change in the preferences and requirements of the target audience.
- The position of the brand in the market has significantly weakened. Moreover, not only product positioning can become a problem, but basically rebranding helps to radically change the situation. Often the cause of a change in brand image is competition, and after a successful rebranding, there is a rapid increase in sales.
- Positioning your brand was not initially effective. Specialists developing the brand were mistaken; the idea that you approved, the audience did not understand or appreciate. In this situation, rebranding is also required.
Complex or cosmetic rebranding
If you take into account what rebranding is, the choice of whether this process will be complex or cosmetic depends on the degree of complexity of the problem that your company has encountered. Rebranding should be focused on overcoming difficulties with minimal losses. You need to start it by assessing the current position of your brand. If the reason is the very idea of positioning, then the idea of the brand needs to be changed radically, which, in turn, will be accompanied by a change in all other attributes. This rebranding is called complex.
If, for example, the brand itself is popular with consumers, but the packaging design is out of the general concept, then it is quite possible to limit yourself to cosmetic rebranding, that is, make minor changes. For example, a rebranding cafe may include not only a change in logo and interior, but also changes in the menu or orientation of the establishment. It is worth noting that the rebranding of a well-developed and demanded consumer brand must be carried out wisely so as not to violate its position in the market and not to reduce its recognition.
The essence of the process
Rebranding is a long and phased process. At its core, this is the creation of a new brand based on the old. And sometimes changes come from the opposite, contrary to the existing brand. Therefore, competent rebranding should always begin with marketing research, and only after that it will become clear in which direction you need to work.
The conducted studies will help determine what needs to be disposed of and what is worth adding. They reveal what qualities of your brand consumers consider as advantages, and in which your brand lags behind competitors. Therefore, the whole further process of rebranding depends on the results of marketing research.
The main goals of rebranding
The tasks that are set before rebranding are simple and understandable. It is necessary to strengthen brand loyalty among the target audience, to differentiate it and attract new consumers. There are, in principle, no other reasons for making any changes. Indeed, rebranding, as well as branding, is one of the marketing tools, the goals and objectives of which should be maximally focused on the growth of economic indicators.
Brand uniqueness and appeal
The brand reflects specifically the attitude of the target audience, and the signs, packaging are just attributes of the brand, a kind of identifiers that evoke the necessary associations in the consumer’s mind with the product, service or brand. So, branding is a process of developing, creating and maintaining the right image in the minds and subconscious of consumers. Attributes are an important part of the brand, but nevertheless, the key concept is the image, the established image. And of course, this image should maximize the implementation of the consumer object. That is, in other words, influence the choice of the buyer.
Searches for a new vector
As already mentioned, rebranding is a change of image. These are changes that should positively affect the minds of buyers and improve sales. And since the required attitude is formed under the influence of motivational value, which is embedded in the brand vector, you need to think about changing the motives of the target audience of this brand. In some cases, it is even possible to switch the brand to a different audience in general. The essence of rebranding is that a brand that focuses on one value, which has significance for the consumer, suddenly radically changes the vector.
However, changing attributes is not always a must. This is only required if they do not meet or contradict the motivating value embedded in the new brand vector. A new image is created in a comprehensive manner. This is a restyling of the logo, interior redesign. But still, the main tool with which changes are formed in the minds of consumers is advertising. And all the other attributes are just an addition to the motivating value of the new vector. It is worth paying attention that to be limited to changing just one thing, signboard or assortment, if we are talking about such large-scale changes in the image of the brand, as re-branding implies, these are meaningless expenses.
Rebranding: examples
Starting to change something in a successful and current brand is inappropriate. But at some point, even the titans of the market may need rebranding. An example is the frequently changing Pepsi logo and the Coca-Cola logo, which has hardly changed in a hundred years. The first brand is focused on new values, and the second is inclined to adhere to traditions. It is worth noting that both brands choose the right direction, they consistently promote the value component and adjust (or do not change) the attributes for the selected vector.
