Why Do Companies Rebrand?

Company rebrands are a common practise – It can happen after two companies merge to make one, if the company makes a direction change in what they offer or if they have been going for a while and the current times demand a refresh.

How it can improve the company

The rebrand can be beneficial for many reasons;

1. Allow the company to connect with a new audience, or to reflect new goals, products, offers or values – This may have followed a change of direction of an introduction of a new key feature to what the company offers. Changing the brand to be appealing to a new audience gives you the best possible chance of that new direction succeeding.
2. Set yourself apart from the competitors and stay current – Say you’ve been running a few years and your competitors have come along, with a new modern image which appeals to your audiences. A rebrand will allow you to catch up with these competitors and make sure you are still appealing to your audiences while also capturing new interest.
3. Boost your bottom line, make your company relevant again – If you’re big enough and enough people talk about you (Or did!) then a rebrand might make yourself more relevant which will in turn boost engagement and then sales. A good way of getting some attention your way which in turn can increase your profits.

Evidence of it going well

Premier League

The premier league has been an entity since 1993, becoming arguably the best standard of football in the world, and certainly the most lucrative, with multi-million pound TV deals to benefit the clubs bank accounts. The league has had low-key rebrands over the years, but in 2016 a complete overhaul was introduced, created in partnership with the Premier League, DesignStudio created a brand that allowed the league to appeal to many different demographics.

More info;

England’s Premier League gets a minimal rebrand by DesignStudio

Fanta

2017 saw the introduction of another soft drink rebrand, which happen fairly often as the target demographic changes and the brand adapts to what its competitors are doing. Fanta, owned by Coca-cola, decided there new look needed to be unique and bring something different to the rest of the industry. Although the logo doesn’t change massively, with a more rigid design taken, the uniqueness came with the introduction of the bottle. The new bottle is designed to look like it has been twisted, an approach which helps show that a brand goes beyond the logo, colours and marketing message.

More info;

https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/fanta-redesign-graphic-design-product-design-240317

Evidence of it going badly

Leeds FC

A story of a club who are on the rise after being taken over, decided to rebrand to show this change. The new club crest included a torso with its fist on its chest – Showcasing the Leeds Salute, something the supporters do when attending matches. The crest received over 70,000 complaints which made the club re-consider and revert back to their old crest while they went back to the drawing board. This was considered a calamity as the design agency apparently asked over 10,000 individuals for feedback and claimed most of it was positive.

More info;

Six of football’s most controversial rebrands

Pepsi

A subtle rebrand, but when the company is the size of Pepsi everyone is going to take note. The design team sold it that the logo is now a smile, while linking it to ‘The Suns Radiation’, ‘Earth’s Gravitation Field’, and ‘The Mona Lisa’. The design document (https://jimedwardsnrx.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/pepsi_gravitational_field.pdf) is publicly available and is an interesting read to see what their reason was for behind the ideas of the rebrand. The redesign cost an estimated 1.2 billion USD over 3 years, while the design team taking a cool $1million to implement the changes.

More info;

https://ebaqdesign.com/blog/worst-rebrands/

Best approach

Feasibility, research, brainstorm, feedback, redesign, feedback, reiterate, feedback, launch.

The best way to know if you should rebrand is finding out if you can afford it, or if it will be worth it. Write down the goals you’re trying to achieve and work out if it’s feasible. If it is, move on to the research stage, seeing what your competitors are doing, or not doing and see how you can fit into the market.

Using your research, brainstorm the rebrand, write down your ideas and think about how you are going to cover all avenues of communication – Once you have your ideas, consult a focus group and request their feedback to see if it hits your goals. Keep working on the ideas until you are happy with the feedback.

Next, move onto the design phase, going through each element with care, returning to the focus group often to provide feedback along the way. Keep reiterating until the feedback is as expected. When you’re happy, create your launch strategy whether you want to drip feed the rebrand out, keeping it budget friendly but mixed messages, or launching the new brand all at once.

Are you looking to rebrand

Find out if it’s right for you and your business. When considering a rebrand, do your research into whether it needs to be done. Would your customers expect it? Will it make them sit up and pay attention to you again, or will it benefit you by acquiring new customers or audiences?

If you are considering a rebrand get in touch to discuss our process and what you can expect.

The rebrand can be beneficial for many reasons;

1. Allow the company to connect with a new audience, or to reflect new goals, products, offers or values – This may have followed a change of direction of an introduction of a new key feature to what the company offers. Changing the brand to be appealing to a new audience gives you the best possible chance of that new direction succeeding.
2. Set yourself apart from the competitors and stay current – Say you’ve been running a few years and your competitors have come along, with a new modern image which appeals to your audiences. A rebrand will allow you to catch up with these competitors and make sure you are still appealing to your audiences while also capturing new interest.
3. Boost your bottom line, make your company relevant again – If you’re big enough and enough people talk about you (Or did!) then a rebrand might make yourself more relevant which will in turn boost engagement and then sales. A good way of getting some attention your way which in turn can increase your profits.

Premier League

The premier league has been an entity since 1993, becoming arguably the best standard of football in the world, and certainly the most lucrative, with multi-million pound TV deals to benefit the clubs bank accounts. The league has had low-key rebrands over the years, but in 2016 a complete overhaul was introduced, created in partnership with the Premier League, DesignStudio created a brand that allowed the league to appeal to many different demographics.

More info;

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/08/15/uk-premier-league-football-logo-lion-minimal-rebrand-designstudio/

Fanta

2017 saw the introduction of another soft drink rebrand, which happen fairly often as the target demographic changes and the brand adapts to what its competitors are doing. Fanta, owned by Coca-cola, decided there new look needed to be unique and bring something different to the rest of the industry. Although the logo doesn’t change massively, with a more rigid design taken, the uniqueness came with the introduction of the bottle. The new bottle is designed to look like it has been twisted, an approach which helps show that a brand goes beyond the logo, colours and marketing message.

More info;

https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/fanta-redesign-graphic-design-product-design-240317

Leeds FC

A story of a club who are on the rise after being taken over, decided to rebrand to show this change. The new club crest included a torso with its fist on its chest – Showcasing the Leeds Salute, something the supporters do when attending matches. The crest received over 70,000 complaints which made the club re-consider and revert back to their old crest while they went back to the drawing board. This was considered a calamity as the design agency apparently asked over 10,000 individuals for feedback and claimed most of it was positive.

More info;

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/01/31/six-controversial-rebrands-football-juventus-rb-leipzig-leeds-united/

Pepsi

A subtle rebrand, but when the company is the size of Pepsi everyone is going to take note. The design team sold it that the logo is now a smile, while linking it to ‘The Suns Radiation’, ‘Earth’s Gravitation Field’, and ‘The Mona Lisa’. The design document (https://jimedwardsnrx.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/pepsi_gravitational_field.pdf) is publicly available and is an interesting read to see what their reason was for behind the ideas of the rebrand. The redesign cost an estimated 1.2 billion USD over 3 years, while the design team taking a cool $1million to implement the changes.

More info;

https://ebaqdesign.com/blog/worst-rebrands/