On This Page: Brand Repositioning | Brand Refresh | Which for You?
Rebranding means to change the name, logo, design or any combination of these with the overall intention of repositioning a company, product or service. Often it is done to reflect a change in the marketplace or reflect a change in the product or service.
Brand Repositioning
The exercise of rebranding is more than simply altering some colour bars on a brochure. Rebranding a company means a major shift to the overall brand strategy of an established brand in order to move its positioning so as to appeal to a new or different target market. This may involve a complete change to the brand's logo and look or even a renaming to something completely different - the extent of the rebrand will be dictated by the extent of the repositioning.
A rebrand may be the result of the desire to reach out to a more affluent customer base, be the result of a merger or bankruptcy or an attempt to distance a brand from a negative conotation in the industry (or even legal troubles). It should seldom be conducted lightly or on a whim as the built up brand equity in the current marketplace will be harmed if not lost entirely.
Brand Refresh
While still a significant undertaking to ensure minimal loss of latent equity, a brand refresh can be thought of the revitalization of a brand to make a clarification rather than an entire repositioning. A refresh often include a new or restylized brand logo and brand message via the brand slogan or tagline. A brand refresh may be used to modernize an older brand to make it attractive to new generations in the core target market, address current economic situations or may even be used to correct a previous refresh. This course of action makes sense when it is determined that that the desired target market is doing something different and is not just an emotional whim.
Recent Canadian examples of brand refreshes include Ivory Soap's return to the 130-year-old classic "it cleans pure and simple", a tagline without exagerated promises. Others are Bell Canada's return from the "dizzy head" logo of the 90's to the classical blue Bell wordmark; Walmart's yellow starburst and even the Ontario Provincial Police returning cruisers to classic black and white for visibility on the roads.
Which is Right for You?
Thinking about rebranding? Falcon Innovation Group helps small and medium-sized businesses to rebrand or refresh whether it is a complete repositioning of the target market or updating a familiar community logo. Contact us for more information on how we can make these changes as seamless and painless to your business and your customer base.
