A brand refresh is one of the easiest and most effective ways to add new life to your brand – as well as new relevance in the eyes of your clients, customers, and prospects.
What exactly is a brand refresh?
In simplest terms, think of a brand refresh as a makeover, update, or renovation of your organization’s image, while maintaining its core identity and positioning strategy. It is not a complete overhaul of your company (even though that can be a tempting option), but more like a reimagining to break free from outdated perceptions or old ways of communicating with your audiences.
While it usually centers on an updated visual identity, a brand refresh can also affect company culture, processes, and offerings, and go a long way toward breathing new life into employee morale and performance. A refresh can’t solve deep-seated issues like core values misalignment, broken processes, or major shifts in an organization’s positioning — that would be a much more extensive rebranding – but it can:
- Preserve and reinforce your brand’s existing integrity
- Infuse new energy into the business
- Ensure your company image keeps current in a changing marketplace
- Improve customer retention
- Create buzz and expand your reach
- Attract top talent
If it’s been a decade (or more) since you’ve refreshed your brand, it’s time to take a look. Is your brand image and messaging standing out within your industry? Does it work in your marketing presentations and on LinkedIn? Social media has changed the way we communicate and opened up so many opportunities for businesses to reach very targeted audiences. Does your brand make the kind of visual impact you want it to?
While still a really important organizational decision, a brand refresh requires less risk than a complete brand overhaul and can provide some very positive outcomes. You might argue that you already have a strong logo that works well, and besides, your clients and prospects know it. But how well is it really serving you? Have you become outdated? Often a refresh can be the thing that gets clients and prospects interested again. It can provide an opportunity to retell your story, share exciting changes, and reconnect with longtime customers (and their newer employees and partners).
How do you know when it’s the right time to refresh your brand?
If your organization is facing one of the five scenarios listed below, a brand refresh is definitely worth considering.
1. Your branding is outdated. Your logo might have been revolutionary when you started your business, but now it has aged (perhaps not so well), and your organization’s image is suffering as a result. Take an honest look at your visual branding and assess whether it’s moving you forward or holding you back. Your identity should represent you in a fresh and contemporary way. Is your typeface old and tired? Does it work online in all the ways you need it to?
2. Your products or services have changed. Is your brand messaging an accurate reflection of who you are and what you offer today? When was the last time you updated your messaging? Most companies grow and evolve over time to stay relevant. For example, Starbucks originated in1971 as a local coffee bean roaster and retailer, and their logo up until 2011 prominently featured the word “coffee” but over the years they have expanded their business to include espresso beverages, teas, ice cream, etc. which ultimately led to dropping “coffee” from their name. In the Starbucks article, “The Evolution of Our Logo,” the popular brand takes readers through the timeline of its logo change and why, ultimately, they even dropped its name from the logo completely: “What’s notably absent from our current logo? Our name. Starbucks’ global reach extends beyond the bounds of coffee, and our Siren, now so familiar, can surely stand on her own.”
3. Your current branding is inconsistent. Maybe you use one version of your logo on your website and another on your printed materials. Or instead of using your full company name, you may use an acronym, which offers even less information about what you do. Some companies use a variety of taglines because they can’t make up their minds on one. This is confusing and can be detrimental to your brand. Consistency is key. You need to be consistent or your audience may not understand what you are offering, or worse, you may be seen as unreliable and sloppy.
4. You’re not reaching your target audience. You may no longer be reaching the people you want because your target market has shifted or the market itself has changed. Maybe you’ve decided that your products and services are best aimed at a broader or narrower audience. Regardless, a refresh will allow you to better reach exactly the people you want.
5. You’re preparing for growth. If you’re expecting to see your business increase in the near future, either because of marketing efforts, a new product or service, or a merger, it’s a good time to reassess your brand and be sure that it has what it takes to carry your business through that change.
Does a brand refresh make sense for your business?
We’re not advocating that you give your brand an aesthetic update every few years just to show you are in step with changing times. All decisions should be rooted in a comprehensive brand strategy that you have created for your organization. Don’t make a change for change’s sake; make sure it makes sense for your business. Take an honest look at your visual identity, your website, and your messaging, then determine what parts of your brand still have value and should be retained and what should be refreshed to make the brand a better representation of who you are today and where you are going. Often a refresh will maintain the integrity of your existing logo while providing modifications that are noticeable, but not too drastic. It could be as subtle as a change in the width of a font; the sizing, scaling, and placement of an image; a change in the color palette; or even a new tagline.
And sometimes more is required – the logo and messaging can change significantly while still being grounded in the existing strategy and positioning. Any rebranding effort will look different for every company, but ultimately the end result should provide the added boost that enables you to be more effective in telling your story and reaching and informing your audience, and ultimately bringing in revenue.
Interested in learning about the brand refresh process? Reach out to team insight180. We’d love to hear from you.
