No matter your reasons for having a rebrand, there’s a lot of parts you need to manage inorder to execute the roll out effectively. Treating your brand like an asset you want to grow and develop requires a strategic approach. While it’s great to get all of the ‘fun’ parts complete like visual identity and tone of voice - poor roll out can really let you down and could mean your new brand falls flat.
It’s essential to have a plan so that everyone is on the same page and the launch of your new brand is a success. A team effort and clear communication is needed to ensure your internal and external communications are well thought through. Here’s our top tips on how to launch your new brand successfully…
Communicate why you are having a rebrand
Firstly, having a compelling reason to rebrand is key to getting buy in and belief from your internal team and important stakeholders. Whether your rebrand is essential due to merger or acquisition or your business is diversifying and going in a new direction and you want an updated proposition to reflect it - the why is important. It’s not like decorating your living room to the latest trend, a rebrand should reflect and communicate your business goals.
Keep track of all of your visual assets impacted by the rebrand
This is important as having a disorganised approach to updating your visual assets will at best look lazy and like you’ve done half a job of the rebrand - and at worst it will confuse your customers and prospects. If you have multiple sites and physical touch points this could become increasingly costly with signage, vehicle wraps and printed materials. Knowing the commitment before a rebrand will help you to determine whether it is worth it from a cost perspective, really pressure test your reasoning to rebrand and allow you create a plan to achieve an effective update across all materials.
Keep consistency across your brand with an asset plan
Consistency is key when you’re creating a strong brand. Following on from the above point, if you’re committing to a rebrand then ensuring all of your visual assets are consistent with your new branding is important. A strong launch plan will ensure assets are updated in tandem and fits with your marketing campaign around a relaunch. We’ve all seen the phased approaches where stores rebrand at a casual pace and end up with inconsistent signage - it can fall flat with some sites looking under invested. Inturn this can cause poor sentiment within your target audience and mistrust.
Collaborate with your team
Keep your team in the loop throughout the rebranding process and ensure all communication channels are open. When your rebrand feels like a team effort it’s much easier to get buy-in and support - they can also flag up ideas and considerations that you may have missed as they’re on the ground day in and day out. Also, if your team has contact with customers then it is necessary that they are onboard with and can communicate the rebrand effectively.
Create a brand management process
A rebrand can be a complex and lengthy process. You need:
- a well thought through plan
- brand strategy aligned with business goals
- a well-managed project management process
- clear deadlines
- a strong marketing strategy covering all marketing channels
Without the above your rebrand can quickly go off the rails, impacting your market share and business negatively.
Have a launch campaign
Don’t want your rebrand to fall flat - or upon deaf ears? Make sure you plan your rebrand launch and explain why you rebranded. Minimise the risk of customer confusion or lack of knowledge through a carefully planned launch to share the story behind the rebrand. Give your customers a narrative they can follow to understand why you rebranded. This brings your customers along for the ride and strengthens brand recall and loyalty.
For help with your rebrand - contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
