Over our 16-year history, we have guided brands of various sizes and industries through rebranding—a significant change. The lessons learned have formed and moulded our processes, allowing us to maximise value gain while minimising risks.

One of the aspects we love most about rebranding clients is that many may consider it an exercise of simply updating or refining an external image. But it is far deeper than that. The process requires equal parts introspection and extrospection.

Rebranding presents a significant opportunity to assess and realign an organisation to its brand. We define the brand in four chapters:

1. Core: By examining and determining the brand’s core (purpose, vision, and mission), we prepare the leadership to take the organisation forward.
2. Culture: Investing in the culture gets the team energised behind the brand, turning them from sceptics to ambassadors.
3. Product: Mapping out the product development strategy and customer experience helps turn a purpose statement into a tangible product/experience.
4. Positioning: Now we know who the brand is on the inside. We can look at the market and define a positioning that isn’t just words but an accurate statement based on inner truth, ensuring the authenticity of all external communications.

Here are some fundamental principles to remember when embarking on the journey:

1. Be clear on the why

Even if the reasoning seems obvious, defining the reason for the rebrand before starting the process we have discovered to be critical to success. Therefore, we encourage every client to assess their brand to understand its strengths and weaknesses and the risks and opportunities associated with changing it.

2. Take your time

It’s common to underestimate the amount of work required to rebrand effectively. It’s been said that only fools rush in, and the history of branding is littered with companies, even large ones, making serious missteps when changing their brands. When you move too quickly, you miss the risks and opportunities. More so, the process challenges the leadership to re-examine the brand’s core, which has far-reaching consequences for the brand and business.

Our experience has shown that multiple strategy workshops over a more extended period have a greater chance of success. We found the time between engagements incredibly valuable for the client. By spreading out the process, the client has more time to consider longer-term strategies with more detail and focus between engagements.

Hence, as a general guideline, we encourage clients to allow 9-24 months for the rebranding process, which will vary depending on the size and complexity of their business.

3. Include the right stakeholders

Whether the company has a headcount in the 1000s or only 5, I have seen the inclusion of the right people add immense value to the rebranding process.

Even in small businesses, the founder or owner may not have a complete picture of all aspects that affect the company and brand. However, in large organisations, no matter how much research the marketing department has done, the rebrand will only gain traction with the buy-in of the entire organisation from top to bottom.

We recommend that the client include people with the following focus areas as part of their role in the company:

1. Visionary – i.e. MD, CEO
2. Product Development – i.e. Head Engineer
3. Customer Knowledge – ie Sales and or Customer Service

A core decision-making team of 3-12 works best.

4. Onboard the team before launch

It’s often not practical to include the entire team in the process. Yet, the team must be on board for a rebrand to be successful. If consulted, the team will feel valued, and alignment with the new messaging is critical to customers’ belief in it.

A great example was when I presented a new logo with a detailed rationale to a client’s management team. In the weeks following, they experienced a significant increase in sales even though we hadn’t implemented the new branding yet. When they did some research, they found the management team felt valued for being included, were impressed by the leadership’s investment in the brand, and developed a tremendous pride in it, which had a ripple effect throughout the organisation.

Rebranding is a process you should never engage in lightly, but if you allow yourself the space and time to do it thoroughly with a mind for the details. You open up a significant opportunity for the business to reframe who it is internally and externally.