Rebranding is a kind of “repair work” of a brand or trademark. Repairs can be major or cosmetic. The choice depends on the initial state of the object. In addition, you can carry out a complete rebranding and partial. Rebranding a company is a long and laborious process, so it must be justified and justified. It should be done when the brand actually needs a refresh.
When rebranding is required
You need to rebrand if:
- Market conditions are changing and the existing brand is no longer aligned with these changes. If your brand's industry has shrunk, consumption has gone down, the product is obsolete, and it's not in demand by the consumer. Also, the reason for rebranding may be a change in the preferences and requirements of the target audience.
- The position of the brand on the market has significantly weakened. At the same time, not only product positioning can become a problem, but basically it is rebranding that helps to radically change the situation. Often the reason for changing the brand image iscompetition, and after a successful rebranding, there is a rapid increase in sales.
- Positioning your brand was initially ineffective. Trademark specialists made a mistake, the idea that you approved was not understood or appreciated by the audience. In such a situation, rebranding is also required.
Complex or cosmetic rebranding
If you consider what rebranding is, then the choice of whether this process will be complex or cosmetic depends on the degree of complexity of the problem your company is facing. Rebranding should be focused on overcoming difficulties with minimal losses. You need to start it with an assessment of the current position of your brand. If the reason is the very idea of positioning, then the brand idea needs to be changed radically, which, in turn, will be accompanied by a change in all other attributes. Such rebranding is called complex.
If, for example, the brand itself is popular with consumers, but the packaging design is out of the general concept, then it is quite possible to limit ourselves to cosmetic rebranding, that is, to make minor changes. For example, a rebranding of a cafe may include not only a change in the logo and interior, but also changes in the menu or direction of the establishment. It is worth noting that the rebranding of a trademark that is well promoted and in demand among the consumer must be carried out wisely so as not to violate its position in the market and not reduce its recognition.
The essence of the process
Rebranding is a long and gradual process. At its core, this is the creation of a new brand based on the old one. And sometimes the changes come from the opposite, contrary to the existing trademark. Therefore, a competent rebranding should always begin with marketing research, and only after that it will become clear in which direction to work.
Research will help determine what to get rid of and what to add. They reveal what qualities of your brand consumers see as an advantage, and in what ways your brand lags behind competitors. Consequently, the entire further rebranding process depends on the results of marketing research.
The main goals of the rebranding
The tasks that are set before the rebranding are simple and clear. It is necessary to strengthen brand loy alty among the target audience, differentiate it and attract new consumers. In principle, there are no other reasons to make any changes. After all, rebranding, as well as branding, is one of the marketing tools, the goals and objectives of which should be maximally focused on the growth of economic indicators.
Brand uniqueness and appeal
The brand reflects specifically the attitude of the target audience, and signs, packaging are just brand attributes, a kind of identifiers that evoke the necessary associations with a product, service or brand in the mind of the consumer. So, branding is a process of developing,creating and maintaining the desired image in the minds and subconscious of consumers. Attributes are an important part of the brand, but still the key concept is the image, the existing image. And of course, this image should contribute to the realization of the object of consumption as much as possible. That is, in other words, to influence the choice of the buyer.
Searching for a new vector
As already mentioned, rebranding is a change of image. These are changes that should positively affect the minds of buyers and improve sales. And since the required attitude is formed under the influence of the motivating value that is embedded in the brand vector, then you need to think about changing the motives of the target audience of this brand. In some cases, it is even possible to switch the brand to a different audience altogether. The essence of rebranding is that a brand that was focused on one value that has significance for the consumer suddenly changes its vector dramatically.
At the same time, changing attributes is not always necessary. This is required only if they do not correspond or contradict the motivating value embedded in the new brand vector. The new image is created in a complex way. This is a restyling of the logo, redesign of the interior. But still, the main tool by which changes are formed in the minds of the consumer is advertising. And all other attributes are just an addition to the motivating value of the new vector. It is worth noting that it is limited to changing one thing, a sign or an assortment, ifthere is talk of such massive brand image changes as the rebranding suggests is a waste of money.
Rebranding examples
Starting to change something in a successful and relevant brand is not advisable. But at some point, even the titans of the market may need rebranding. As an example, we can cite the frequently changing Pepsi logo and the Coca-Cola logo that has not changed much in a hundred years. The first brand is focused on new values, and the second tends to stick to tradition. It is worth noting that both brands choose the right direction, they consistently promote the value component and adjust (or do not change) attributes to the chosen vector.
Efficiency of rebranding
The process of rebranding in its complexity and scale can exceed the creation of the image of a new brand. However, the changes are not guaranteed to be successful. Yes, and be limited to half measures in this process can not be. The more saturated the market becomes, the more important branding and its attributes become. The created image is very important for ensuring consumer loy alty. Nevertheless, a brand is not created from nothing, a brand is the result of a long, thorough and detailed analytical work, and if initially it did not turn out to be effective enough, then when rebranding it is necessary to take into account previously made mistakes, and not hope that the image will appear simply from the very beginning. process. Otherwise, the money and time spent on rebranding will not justify itself.
