Refreshing Your Brand in a Digital World
Before the digital revolution, refreshing or rebranding a business meant thousands of dollars of costs in printing alone just to redo all the traditional collateral including signs, flyers, brochures, letterhead, etc. Not to mention the creative costs and the lead time associated with designing new creative material. Now, with most of those things being replaced by social media and websites, freshening up your brand can be a lot more efficient and practical, making it an easier process for a lot of businesses. So since a brand refresh might be easily within your grasp, let’s take a look at some things you might want to consider if you’re on the brink of one.
Ask Yourself Some Questions
Before you start the process, it’s helpful to know exactly what you’re getting into and to have a clear vision of what you need to make the branding effort a success. Here are a few questions to consider asking yourself:
- Why are we considering change? Is our brand no longer relevant or well-regarded?
- What is the goal of the project?
- What do we want our brand to say about our company? What does it say now?
- What marketing pieces will need to be transitioned as part of the project?
- How will this affect our customers?
If you can ask yourself those questions and you’re comfortable with all the answers you find, you might be ready to start your rebrand/refresh.
Get the Right Team
Making major changes to your brand is probably not something you want to task one person to do. The best designs usually come from a team of people putting their ideas together and brainstorming a creative solution to the problem. Do you have that team in house? Do you need to outsource your project to a professional team from an agency? Having the right people working on the project will really show through in the results.
Keep an Open Mind
Some of the new creative concepts that come out in rebranding sessions can get you out of your comfort zone and push your horizons. Try not to be too provincial when judging new ideas, and allow your team to do what they do best. Think about how your target market will receive things, not necessarily whether or not you subjectively like a design or a logo.
Audit Your New Brand Identity
Once you’ve agreed on a new look and you’re ready to implement, do an audit of all your marketing materials including printed work, websites, social media, email newsletters, and anywhere else where your logo might live. This is also a great opportunity to comb through some of the older pages on your site or the less useful marketing collateral you have and update those pieces to something more effective.
If you do decide to embark on a brand refresh, the last thing you should remember is not to rush it or take the easy way out. Just because it’s easier in a digital world doesn’t mean you can get away with putting in a minimal effort. If you give your team the time and resources they need, you can come up with a truly great brand identity, and it’ll probably be ready faster than you think.
Still looking for the right team to redo your brand? Get in touch with us, and let’s make it happen together.
Tags: Branding