Rebranding 101: How to Do It Right?

‍Think about companies like Apple, Nike, or Coca-Cola. Yes, their profits might be sky-high. But what’s even more incredible is how long these brands have been around without changing the look of their brand too much. 

People are creatures of habit. Did you know that 59% of shoppers prefer to buy from brands of trust, while just under a quarter (21%) have reported they’ve purchased from a brand they like? 

So, despite what you may think, building a successful business isn’t just about developing the best products or services. Creating an established brand is equally important.

{{BRAND_BANNER="/dev/components"}}

If you haven’t given your brand identity enough attention from the get-go, it might be time to change things up. Discover how to rebrand a company without alienating your customers, or hurting your brand image. 

What is rebranding?

Let’s start simple: how to define rebranding?

Rebranding is the strategic process of changing or updating a brand’s identity, including elements like its logo, name, messaging, visual style, or values, to create a new perception in the minds of customers and stakeholders. Rebranding can be a partial update or a complete overhaul, depending on the company’s goals and the scope of change needed.

Why do businesses rebrand?

Despite appearances, rebranding isn’t always about saving a failing business. Here are some of the main reasons to undergo company rebranding:

• Changing market dynamics: Adapting to new market conditions or trends, often to stay relevant or appeal to a new audience. An example of this would be a traditionally offline business switching to online during the covid-19 pandemic.
• Differentiation: Setting a brand apart from competitors, especially if the original identity no longer feels unique or distinctive. This often happens with SaaS or tech brands when lots of similar products pop up on the market. 
• Mergers or acquisitions: When companies merge or acquire others, rebranding can help unify the new brand under a single identity.
• Reputation management: Recovering from a damaged reputation or distancing the brand from a controversial past. Lots of fast fashion brands nowadays are trying to rebrand as more sustainable and eco-conscious. 
• Modernization: Refreshing outdated brand elements to appear more modern and appeal to a younger or evolving audience.
• Launching new products or services: Although this doesn’t always require a rebranding campaign, if you’re planning to offer a completely different type of product or service, it’s a good idea to ensure your brand image follows suit. This is especially important with digital products, where website redesign is a must.

How to rebrand a company in 6 steps

In truth, the rebranding process isn’t very different from initial branding. A successful rebranding involves almost all the same steps. However, it’s arguably even more complex and involves a lot more research and audit of your existing brand.

Here are the steps to follow for successful company rebranding.

1. Conduct a brand audit

Starting from scratch might seem more difficult, but in truth rebranding is a lot more time-consuming because of this step. 

It’s vital to assess the current brand’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). You should also conduct surveys and research to establish your brand’s perception. Involve as many people as possible, including customers, employees, and other stakeholders, such as investors, CEOs, or partners. 

Focus groups and interviews are a great way to dive a bit deeper into the data, and determine the positive elements, and those that might need improvement.

2. Define your goals and strategy

Go back to your reason for rebranding. Do you need to manage a damaged reputation, or do you need partial rebranding to update your visual identity. 

Depending on this, you should set up clear objectives and a timeline. It’s also important to define KPIs, so you can evaluable your rebranding campaign once finished. Sometimes, rebranding will immediately boost sales. But improving brand recognition takes time, so make sure you also define KPIs within a longer time frame if needed. 

3. Research and understand your target audience

As we’ve mentioned, rebranding often involves connecting with a different audience. Whether that’s the case or not, you should know everything about your potential clients: their demographics, behaviors, needs, and values.

Don’t forget that many successful brands appeal to more than one target market.

4. Analyze competitors

Company rebranding is often about setting yourself apart from the rest. So, it’s vital to understand what the others are doing. 

Know all your top competitors, and keep an eye out for new ones that might have popped up since you started. Try to understand their strategies, and identify areas in which you can do better (e.g. price, quality, creativity, customer service, etc.)

5. Develop new brand assets and messaging

Starting with your new logo, you should ensure that the new visual identity matches the rebranding strategy. Don’t forget to update your branding guidelines to match the new brand look. It’s also a good idea to reflect back on how the new brand complements/honors the old one, so that future collaborators have a good overview of your history.

You should also adapt your messaging and marketing plan. For example, if you want your brand to appear more youthful, you should consider a more proactive social media approach, using messages that appeal to younger audiences.

6. Launch and monitor

Creating hype around your rebranding is a great idea. Don’t just throw your new brand look in people’s face. Make sure they know it’s coming and then provide an overview of why and how the brand’s changed.

Go back to your KPIs and monitor your brand’s performance over time. Don’t forget successful brands run marathons, not sprints!

Great rebranding examples

Understanding the process inside out can be a great way to learn how to rebrand a company. But to add that practical element to the mix, here are 5 iconic rebranding examples that took these companies to much greater heights!

1. Airbnb

Most people don’t even remember that when it started back in 2007, the Airbnb logo looked a lot different than today.

‍

Airbnb began as most startups do, with a good idea, but limited funds (the initial idea was actually the company founders renting out air mattresses in their own apartments).

The first rebranding steps saw the brand rebrand to a much simpler and memorable name - Airbnb. Along with that key concerns were addressed, such as safety and trust, as their website introduced verified reviews and host profiles, which reassured trust in the platform. 

But the most dramatic change happened in 2014, with a total overhaul of the original brand design. The new logo (called Belo) is a lot more abstract, modern and memorable. The new color scheme is modern and fitting to the brand’s younger target audience. 

Ten years on, the brand still looks as fresh as ever, with just a slight tweak in 2021. 

2. Dunkin 

Not all successful rebranding projects have to be as dramatic. 

‍

Dunkin changed their name in 2019, as a way to capitalize on other products aside from donuts (namely coffee).

Still, they stayed pretty close to the original look and brand voice that everyone knew and loved. The chunky letters in the logo, the color scheme, everything stayed the same. Except the brand suddenly seemed like it had a lot more to offer.

3. Burberry

Rebranding is sometimes a lot more than changing the look of your logo. 

Some 20 years ago, this (now) high-end brand was known as a favorite among hooligans and problematic youths. 

In 2009, the brand made Emma Watson their new ambassador and things took a dramatic change. Presenting the image of a young lady (coincidentally also Hermione Granger) in their iconic trench coat was a brilliant marketing strategy. They reclaimed their original identity, as a brand characterized by elegance and class. 

The logo was also changed later on to a more minimalistic design. However, last year the new logo was introduced, which references the original black and white equestrian logo, in a new vibrant color. 

4. Old Spice

Not every successful rebranding campaign is about changing the logo. Old Spice started way back in 1937, so by the 2000s it struggled staying relevant.

Everything changed in 2010 with their iconic Smell Like a Man campaign. Instead of being a brand for older generations, the company found a way to reach new demographics with a series of wacky, over-the-top ads.

These creative ads completely shifted the perception of the brand to a modern, grooming product for younger men. More importantly increased sales by a whopping 107% in a relatively short period of time.

5. Instagram

Depending on what generation you are, you may or may not remember the old Instagram logo.

The intricate polaroid camera had a cute, retro feel, which made many of the initial users fall in love with the brand in the first place.

‍

And when a complete branding overhaul came about in 2016, a lot of people were unhappy. They thought it was too simple and uninspired, and did not match the app’s unique value proposition.

In just two years after the rebrand, Instagram has gone from 500 million to 2 billion users. And it has continued to grow ever since.

So, why was this rebrand a success story in the end? The company rightly saw the long-term potential to grow the product beyond its initial success. With many subproducts later on (Layout, Boomerang, etc.) and subsequent Meta rebranding the minimalist logo design made the changes much smoother and more organic.

In need of rebranding?

We hope this guide sheds some light on how to rebrand your business. If you feel like your brand is due for an update, we have some good news.

Hiring a branding agency to help you out with this will cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Working with a freelance graphic designer might be less costly, but you’ll need to do a lot of searching before you find the right one, and the process might take weeks or even months. 

We offer flat-rate monthly design services that allow you to get all your brand assets at one price. Whether you need a new logo, website, and everything else in between (social media designs, custom illustrations, product packaging, etc.), we’ve got you covered!

If you do the research and provide us a clear brief, we’ll find the designer with the right skills and style to bring your vision to life. Our team boasts 50+ vetted professionals, as well as dedicated project managers who ensure the design process runs smoothly.

Get started today, and we’ll get back with initial drafts and ideas in just 1 working day!

Have any questions? We’d love to chat. Book your own personal consultation for a chance to ask any questions about our portfolio, process, or how it all works.