A few words about rebranding

Every company wants to reach the widest possible audience, be positively remembered (and remembered) by consumers, inspire trust, and achieve success. Branding is closely related to this process – activities that build the company’s image. But what is rebranding? And is it really – as is sometimes said – the opposite of branding? Read the article and verify your knowledge on the subject.

Rebranding is a whole range of economic activities aimed at changing a company’s image. They concern aspects such as:

• name change,
• changes to the theme and slogan,
• modification or change of the logo,
• interference with advertising materials: leaflets, TV commercials, posters,
• introduction of corrections to product packaging.

Effective rebranding distinguishes a given brand from the competition. However, it is not recommended for companies that are poorly received by customers, nor for those that are strongly associated with them. If society identifies with the company’s character and style, rebranding may turn out to be a failure instead of success. The same applies to companies that are perceived negatively – you need to consider whether rebranding will not do even more harm. It is also worth noting that it is not just about editing colors, but about changing the marketing strategy. Rebranding often changes the approach to the customer, includes new promotions and expanding the offer.

The American company GAP has a negative record in the history of rebranding. This is a good example of an ill-considered strategy. In 2010, a decision was made to refresh the logo – this involved changing the color and font size. A large portion of customers found no justification for such an action, and identified the new logo with a completely different company. As a result, they quickly distanced themselves from the GAP brand, which resulted in a return to the original version of the logo within just a few weeks.

There are many reasons that prompt companies to start rebranding. On the one hand, these are unpleasant situations in the form of a drop in turnover and interest, on the other – new goals and forward-thinking. Rebranding is advisable:

• when repositioning products on the market,
• when emphasizing the company’s advantages (previously invisible),
• in order to reach new target groups,
• when planning cooperation in the international arena,
• in the perspective of expanding the business,
• in order to refresh the image.

For rebranding to make sense, three main components are needed: speed of action, a large financial outlay and cooperation with specialists – preferably from an agency that professionally deals with rebranding. Such a place is our agency Fresh Brand Design – 3 times awarded the prestigious REBRAND 100 Global Awards.

We have posted examples of successful rebranding on our website. For example, you will find stories about:

• the merger of Stolter with the medical brand Stiegelmeyer.
• the educational brand Supermemo, where we developed a unique visual style,
• the infertility clinic Invimed – we created a coherent brand communication system.

You already know what rebranding is and what results it can bring. Not every change is good, but many of them open up new perspectives for the company and help achieve the set goals.