5 Things to Consider Before you Rebrand

Rebranding can be one of the most exciting times for any brand it’s also a pretty cool thing to work on if you’re a marketer or business owner, but it does come with a whole host of worries and stresses that you will want to try to mitigate and limit as much as possible. In this blog, we explore 5 things you’ll need to consider before you start your rebrand.

A rebrand is a great way to evolve your business and seek out the next step for your brand. Whether you want to grow your business, launch yourself in a new target market or just refresh your well-known and loved brand, a rebrand spells a whole new age in a brand’s lifecycle.

But before jumping ahead of yourself into the exhausting task of rebranding, it’s important to consider a few very important factors before you begin. You want your rebrand launch to be wow. You have a new look and feel and a new brand to promote to your internal and external audiences. With so many different places that your brand may need updated, it can feel rather daunting. Putting some real thought and planning ahead before rebranding will ensure that you’re much more likely to do it successfully.

1- Consider why you are rebranding

I mean *really* consider it. Start with your core messaging- you can’t decide on important things like logos, Pantone colours, and advertising strategies if you don’t know who you are as a brand first. What are your core values and visions? Where do you see yourself in five years’ time? Make sure that you have the foundation of your new brand set in stone before you move on to websites and social media platforms.

2- Undertake a brand audit

3- Plan your communications

It’s important to communicate regularly and accurately when rebranding your business.  Team members and staff need to very clearly be able to understand the future plans for your rebrand and the company’s end goals, right from the off. Open communication can eliminate any questions or concerns your staff base may have and also ensure that they are all behind you in delivering the best customer service when representing your new brand.

Don’t forget your external communications too. Rebranding is not only a huge statement of intent to your competitors but also an investment with many moving parts. Once the rebrand is confirmed make sure you acknowledge to your customers that a change has taken place or is taking place. You could write a blog post announcing your new brand and don’t forget to take to social media with the good news. If your rebrand is going to change the customer experience – like how they log into a system or how they navigate to pages that were obvious before, make sure you give them a prior warning. It’s important to consider customer experience.

With your launch date in the diary, draw on the knowledge, experience, and resources of your team and guide yourself through to the big reveal.

4- Consider the cost of rebranding

At this stage, you will no doubt be very aware that rebranding could be an expensive investment. Going through the correct channels to ensure your new brand has a positive impact on your business, is going to take a lot of time – and a considerable amount of money.  

Before you even start to think about undertaking your rebrand consider a realistic budget for the project and decide whether you’re able to go forward. Think about the cost of rebranding your business and how much work you’ll need to put into it, and how likely you are to see a return on your investment. 

Do it right and it’s well worth it, but do it wrong and you may consider it a mistake.

5-  Research and select your rebrand partners

So, you’ve done your brand audit, you’ve agreed on a budget, and have buy-in across the business. The next step is to find the right partners to make your rebrand dreams a reality. 

First and foremost you want to decide who your partners are. Do you need a design agency to help create the new brand itself? Do you need to find the right graphic designer? And what about suppliers, you’ll need someone to expertly brand your new products and supply them wherever you need them, and on time for launch day.

Firstly, develop your shortlist. Don’t just take a ‘spray’n’pray’ approach, research is key. I’d even suggest undertaking short introductory Zoom calls with prospective partners, to ensure you really do find the best fit. You should have a good idea of your budget, goals, and timeframe before the meetings, so you can have effective discussions. These meetings will enable you to ask lots of questions, gather information (they may bring up factors you haven’t considered, and help you to develop an even more effective brief), and feel out the agencies. If you don’t have chemistry with an agency, they don’t understand your problem or don’t have the expertise to solve it, or can’t accomplish your objectives within your budget, there’s no point in going any further with that agency and they can be excluded from the process.

From the initial 3-5 partners, choose a maximum of 2-3 to issue your project brief. Next up, you want to be sure you have chemistry and the right culture fit. Choosing the right partner is as important as interviewing a prospective employee- they are working for you after all. You’ll be able to feel whether there is good chemistry in your face-to-face meetings. Trust your gut on this.

Choose a partner that challenges you, not does whatever you ask. You want them to be able to speak up and recommend the right process to build your brand. At times, they’ll make you feel uncomfortable and possibly even frustrated, but that’s necessary to achieve a great rebrand.

Wrap it up

Streamline are famous for our ability to plan with care and deliver when we promise, we’re here to help make your rebrand an exciting, pain-free collaboration. With no time on hold, no stress, and no missed deadlines, relax while we curate, produce and distribute your new branded products on time and with confidence. We’ll keep you up-to-date every step of the way.

If you’d like some more information on how Streamline can help with your rebranding process, or you’re not quite sure where to start, contact our experts today. Our team would love to hear about your plans.