Let’s cut to the chase: your brand can’t stay in the ‘set it and forget it’ mode forever. Many Businesses often don’t realise their brand is outdated until they see the effects, like declining sales and reduced visibility. Evaluating your brand’s identity and marketing strategy is the perfect opportunity to align with market trends and rework your connection with your audience.
But how do you decide between a brand refresh and a rebrand? Let’s explore the details of both options and help you discover what will work best for your business.
What’s the difference between a brand refresh and rebrand?
Deciding whether to refresh or rebrand comes down to what your business aims to achieve. Various elements like budgets, audience, and market can influence this decision. Don’t know where to start? Check out our blog on how to write a great marketing strategy. You’ll thank us later!
What is a brand refresh?
A brand refresh is like giving your business a makeover without altering its core identity. This involves updating certain elements of your brand to reflect a value or direction you want to align with. This might include tweaking your logo or typography, refining the colour palette, updating website design and reworking your brand’s message.
If your brand still resonates with your audience but needs an update to remain competitive, a refresh is the way to go.
What is brand redesign?
Contrary to a refresh, a rebrand is a complete transformation. It involves changing everything, redesigning the logo and in some cases, the brand name too. Rebranding is a complete 360-degree change!
This change can benefit your business, especially if you’re facing challenges with a negative reputation or if your current brand no longer resonates with your audience.
How do you pull off a successful makeover?
Staying consistent is important when refreshing or rebranding. When everything comes together nicely, it shows your audience that your brand is strategic and fresh. Consider this a sign of success. It means your business is doing well, which is why it’s changing. Customers will feel confident about choosing to purchase from you or value your services.
So, how do you ensure brand consistency? A good place to start is by creating brand guidelines, which are a set of standards and rules on how your brand should be represented. This usually includes everything from logos, typography and colour palettes to patterns, imagery and tone of voice. Remember to check in with your brand guidelines whenever you find yourself straying off track.
How do you measure success in a brand refresh or redesign?
Take the time to conduct a thorough final audit of your rebrand through the eyes of your customers to truly make sense of how they will perceive your brand once launched. This allows you to make the necessary tweaks and final edits. Brand consistency and cohesion can be measured by the effectiveness of brand guidelines and the ability to create new collateral that upholds a high level of brand integrity.
Customer satisfaction and improved brand awareness are important metrics to measure success. If the response isn’t what you hoped for afterwards, take a closer look at what might be off. But if you notice a surge in brand-related searches after launch, increased engagement on social media and positive feedback, then it’s clear that the update was a success. Increased income is also a great sign of success in a rebrand.
When should you make the change?
Rather than a set timescale, think about what your business is aiming to achieve and the audience you want to attract. Different types of businesses have different needs. For example, a fashion brand will need to update its brand continuously to stay relevant to growing trends. Five years is a good timeframe to make updates, but you should always consider your situation first.
Milestones are also an excellent opportunity for you to make the switch. Factors such as new ownership within an organisation or reaching a milestone like a 10-year anniversary offer a chance to implement new design changes.
Looking to refresh or rebrand?
Whether it’s a whole rebrand or a refresh, our talented team will understand your brief to create a brand that fits your business. Not only that, but we can also help with copywriting, SEO and much more.
We’re excited to hear from you! Send us a brief, and we’ll be in touch soon.