The world of business is in constant motion; technology advances, clients’ needs adapt, new competitors emerge.

Some companies stay stuck doing business the way it has always been done, while others grab the opportunities when change arises. Rebranding can be sometimes be the change to realign with changes in the marketplace by presenting your company in a way that is more compelling to your target audience.

Proactive rebranding situations

Sometimes a company might seize an opportunity to rebrand, such as in these instances:

New line of business or market: the existing brand identity may not be attractive in a new market, or it may be restrictive. A rebrand may provide opportunity for growth, opportunities and expansion. (E.g. when Apple removed ‘Computer’ from its brand name so it could present itself in a wider market with varying products.)

New audience: if you need to appeal to a new audience, a rebrand may be necessary. This doesn’t necessarily mean a name change, more of a facelift or perhaps a sub-division for targeting a different audience. (E.g. when McDonald’s started referring to itself as MickeyD’s in commercials to target a younger demographic.)

Relevancy: When a company realises its brand is losing relevancy or is looking dated in clients’ minds it might be time to address the brand identity.

Predicted growth: If a company is planning on expanding growth, especially internationally, a united brand helps provide a recognisable identity.

Reactive rebranding situations

A company might rebrand in reaction to a significant event, such as these:

Merger or acquisition: Often mergers mean that companies join their brand names together, such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Conoco Philips and others.

Legal: Many issues may cause a company to rebrand, however the most common is when a company hasn’t done their research and ends up in a brand name that belongs to someone else. Trademark wars are costly, always do your research!

Competitive influences: After competitor research and market analysis some companies find their brand is lacking; negative customer perception or it feels outdated. This impact on sales may instigate a rebrand to be able to compete effectively and from a stronger standpoint.

Bad publicity: If another department or branch of your company has had bad PR a split in the business to distance from these negative implications can prove fruitful. E.g. When Anderson Consulting split from Arthur Anderson after the tie to the collapse of Enron and became Accenture.

If your company falls into one of the above categories then perhaps it is time for further research and make sure your reason for rebranding is sound.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you entering a new market?
• Are you introducing significant new services?
• Have new competitors entered the market?
• Does your visual brand look tired or irrelevant, in comparison to your competitors?
• Are you struggling to attract top talent?
• Are competitors hiring your employees?
• Do you have a house of brands that all look completely different?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then it may be time to properly assess your brand through various forms of research; internal, customers, industry leaders, competitive.

Proving the need to rebrand is essential to get internal and senior management buy-in.

Remember, though, branding isn’t just about a logo. Branding starts with identifying what you stand for, how you want to be perceived, the company culture, what your driving force is, what your values are? (You can read more about what branding is in our blog coming soon.)

The result of rebranding

People make real purchasing decisions based on perceptions. The more you can influence those decisions in a positive way, the better off your business will be. Buyers of products and services take weeks or months to decide who to purchase from – and they can eliminate a firm in seconds based on a weak brand or ineffectual message.

Benefits of rebranding

Confidence: Internal rebranding is just as important as presenting yourself positively to the market. Employees will feel more secure about their future prospects within the business and they will be proud to present themselves as a representative when with clients.

Competitive advantage: Being more relevant and appealing to customers will have an impact on leads and conversion of (web/event/meeting) visitors into prospects.

Renewed focus and revived direction: Knowing what the company vision and values are mean everyone is supporting and promoting a common goal. Alignment across the board will result in clarity and consistency and a company that speaks with one voice. This can be extremely powerful.

More to come soon on the process of rebranding…