Happy New You: Your Rebranding Guide for 2017

How do you want to be a different person in 2017?

Guess what? You’re rebranding! Not only does rebranding apply to people, it also applies to businesses. Rebranding for businesses means that not only will you be associating your brand or business with a new name, logo, or type of experience, but you are also changing the customer connection. For instance, if you think of rebranding as a resolution, it’s a way to change what you’re currently doing to make yourself or your business into a new and improved version. Rebranding must be effective, catchy, and relational in order to achieve its goals. We hope you consider these resolutions if you’re venturing into the daring world of rebranding:

Let’s Make A Change!

We’ve now established that rebranding is similar to making New Year’s resolutions: they are something that you want to change because you took this year, evaluated, and decided you wanted a different outcome next year. Is your reason for redoing your brand to change an old idea, attract a certain type of followers, or create a new customer identity? Regardless of the reason, these resolutions are pushing your company in a new direction.

This new direction requires qualitative input about the current status of your business. Involve as many people as possible in the brainstorming process: the company’s board/leadership, the employees, and the in person/online experts that deal with rebranding in your line of work.

Here’s an idea: create a focus group with each type of participating in the process, then create a larger focus group with people from different areas of the company. Have them write their own aspirations for the company, then compare and compile into a creative format to present all of the ideas.

Let’s Create A Purpose!

Once you’ve put all of the creative brainpower together and come up with a fabulous result, you have to make sure that your brand has a reason for moving in a new direction. Do you want to redo the name and logo or make a connection between the old and new design? When creating your own technique for rebranding, you need to decide what is important to keep and what is important to discard. Just like your New Year’s resolutions, you look back at the previous year and pick out your roses and thorns (positives and negatives).

Remember, this process is up to you. Not everyone is going to jump on board with the rebranding idea, and you might have encountered some dissent in the brainstorming process. Your decision should be based on a combination of the group as a whole with the most effective ideas coming to fruition.

Here’s an idea: write a purpose plan or mission statement. You now have many different opinions, so condense those into a few sentences or a paragraph that exactly states your goals for the next year. Resolution number two is all about using your innovation to spark excitement in others.

Let’s Start The Process!

So for the actual process: do you have colors or images for your business, do you want to keep or change them, or do you want to make something brand new? Once you’ve considered all ideas and articulated a direction, this is the time to do some visual research.

What brands do you admire? What mission statements speak to you? You want to connect the visual presence of your brand with the intellectual presence of your business. Find two or three businesses that you think do this really well, and research the meaning behind their branding. These days, websites and social media are all the rage, so make sure that you are creating this new brand with a visual appeal that translates through all icons and platforms.

Here’s an idea: in addition to your personal research, ask your customers what stands out to them about your current brand. What do you want them to see in your new one? Have a discussion with a few about the new ideas and see what they will now associate with your new ideas.

Let’s Make A Timeline!

Rebranding is a big project to accomplish, so you want to prioritize and allow a significant amount of time in your daily schedule to plan, as if it were another project on your business agenda. You also want to make sure that you’re streamlining all aspects of the process including promotional materials, online influence, and paper goods like business cards. These are the fun rewards of rebranding!

Here’s an idea: if you’re after a total rebrand, which means you’ll need to redo your website, social media, and business cards, try to accomplish the logo project first. Since your logo is the most attractive and shared aspect of your brand, you want it to speak to your customers. One of the most fun and time-consuming parts of the process is the logo, but it’s the immediate way that your business gains recognition.

Let’s Present The Product!

Woohoo! We’re so proud of you for finishing your brainstorming, purpose, research, and logo. What’s the plan now? Well, here comes the implementation part. As with resolutions, this can be a very personal accomplishment. You’ve poured your heart and soul into your work, and now it’s time to show it off!

Do you want to throw a launch party, do a brand reveal online, or keep the secret until your next big project? So many options to consider, but this part really depends on your company type and what will be most effective for your customers. Once the rebrand is live, you also want to confirm that all employees and connections with company have the same information. If you need to, you can create a rebranding guide to disseminate to anyone who needs the update.

Here’s an idea: if your business is in person with a storefront, host a launch party and invite family, friends, and customers to experience the rebrand up close. If your business is strictly online, post some teasers on social media to heighten the suspense.

Congratulations! You did it!

You’ve successfully rebranded! If you’d like to discuss any of these options with us, we’d be happy to help. We love to guide and create with you in this venture, and we hope that your rebranding experience is a successful resolution.