When To Rebrand

Important: It takes much more work than just changing the name for a rebrand to work.

To stay relevant, brands have to “out with the old and in with the new” — most companies go through a rebrand once every seven to ten years. They don’t necessarily change their name, but the process usually includes a change in color palette, restyling the logo, and changing the visuals and language that surrounds the brand.

Here are the main reasons organizations rebrand:

1. MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Most of the time, a change in ownership from the result of a merger or acquisition leads to an immediate rebrand. The goal is to make the change evident. This is especially important when demergers occur because the company that is leaving is legally required to create a new brand separate from the previous. There are many possibilities when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. The company may decide to come up with a completely new brand or in other cases one of the names will continue to be used over both companies.

2. REPOSITIONING

When an organization decides to reposition, everything must fall in line with the new strategy. This usually includes new products or services, HR policy, and a new brand identity. These changes will be visible to all stakeholders; however, if applied improperly, changing the companies brand promise has major consequences to the survival of the organization.

3. CHANGE IN MARKET

Consumer taste changes, technology advances, and competitors arise and fall, all of which will change the market. Not adapting to these changes can pose a threat to the brand’s existence. One of biggest changes occurring is the digitization of society, and many brands are having to reinvent themselves.

4. BAD REPUTATION

If a brand has developed a bad reputation, it can negatively affect all of its operations. (Remember when the video of a FedEx driver throwing packages over a fence got out? Not good) Reputation improvement is a great reason to rebrand because it can eliminate negative associations and establish a fresh face for the brand. Nonetheless, these changes must occur on the outside and the inside and they must match up to produce new results.