The Field Guide to Rebranding
Introduction
Welcome to the Field Guide to Rebranding, from Good Brands Creative.
Rebranding is an adventure. You may be here because of new frontiers, dangers, or ambitions. Whatever the why, knowing what you face and being educated and skilled will help make your rebrand a success.
At the heart of rebranding is a tension between who your brand was and who it will be. Involving the right people, understanding the reality of your brand today — good and bad — and navigating change with strategy and vision are more important than the words, tactics, and designs of this process. And finding the balance between preserving your brand equity, getting people bought in to the change, and building for the future are crucial to success.
We hope this guide is helpful to better understanding the full potential and possibilities of rebranding, and coming out the other side as a skilled and confident ambassador for your new brand.
Good luck.
Good Brands Creative
Rebrand Survival Tools
Brand Audit
Your first tool in the survival toolkit. Diagnose the problem, understand the environment, and identify ways forward. This should be a combination of qualitative and quantitative data, including social listening, interviews, competitive review, focus groups, surveys, and an expert analysis.
Stakeholder Engagement
A smart rebrand starts with engaging the right stakeholders, inside and outside the brand. Involve them early, be transparent, and solicit their feedback. As you progress closer to a rebrand, you’ll need to inspire and equip them to be your brand ambassadors going forward.
Research
Find the right mix of research for your brand: qualitative vs. quantitative, internal vs. external, and hard data vs. creative insights. We especially love focus groups, workshops, and interviews, where you can dig into topics, find interesting nuggets hidden behind things like body language or a subtle comment, and open a door with a follow-up question. Giving space to a research phase to uncover exciting new possibilities and questions for your brand is worth the time and effort.
Change Management
The success of your rebrand depends on the buy-in you get from those implementing it. Identify risks, roadblocks, decision-makers, and motivators right away. Work to mitigate these risks and roadblocks and engage decision-makers with the right motivators. Time, transparency, and dialogue are key.
Workshops
A space for the right people to get together and ask big questions will be one of the most important tools for the future of your brand, as well as one of the biggest benefits of going through this process. Workshops are the ideal space to align on the current and future state of the brand and make bold decisions to guide the rebrand process forward. Create a space to be open minded and to think outside the box.
Brand Ambassadors
The team creating your brand for you, during this process and once it’s live. They’ll be responsible for implementing the new brand you create; give them the responsibility to create it with you as well. Get their feedback during the rebrand process, and give them all the tools they need to share it with the world. This can be internal and external people, the key is to make sure they’re committed as well as empowered.
Identifying Competitors
In the field, be on the watch out for competitors. Identifying competitors will help you set yourself apart, find the white space, and adapt your tactics. Use this guide to identify common Competitors.
The Up and Comer
The Up and Comer is new, exciting, and disruptive. They may have a new product or service, or a new value proposition that is capturing market share, or have gone through a recent rebrand themselves. The most identifying mark of the Up and Comer is “new.” Their biggest asset may be momentum, so judge them by that, rather than their revenue or size, to get a true sense of the threat. Countering the Up and Comer may require a temporary spike in your own activities, or a pivot in tactics. But the right response is always to stay true to your brand — don’t change the foundation and fundamentals as a reaction to an outside agitator. You may go after new audiences, adjust your product strategy, or show up in new spaces, but all informed by your underlying brand strategy. The Up and Comer requires consistency, authenticity, and confidence in your strategy, with a willingness to adjust tactics to defend your position and capitalize on opportunities.
The Establishment
The Establishment is the OG, the elder, the oldtimer. They have credibility and authority behind their brand. Their market awareness and share are probably larger than yours. Be on the lookout for what segments they are strong vs. weak in: are certain demographics more or less likely to have loyalty to the Establishment? While you of course want your brand to be trusted and credible, it may not be your unique value proposition when positioning next to the Establishment. Dig deeper into what your target audiences care about that can set you apart from the Establishment. Trust and credibility may sit deeper in the marketing funnel, but you may need to lead with something more disruptive in the awareness and consideration phases. Does their brand experience feel dated, stale, or boring? You may be able to create an experience with more exciting emotions, which gives you a leg up on memorability and recognition. And consider watching out for marketing plays where more resources will win: the Establishment may have deeper pockets than you, but you can outwit them by being more flexible, creative, and innovative.
The Category King
The Category King built this market and owns it. They are synonymous with the product or service you offer. They’ve got massive market share, trust, and brand awareness. We won’t lie to you, this is a scary competitor to come across in the wild. But they may be comfortable up on that throne, and discomfort is where you thrive. You’re reading a Field Guide for Rebranding, after all. While they’re standing still, you’re ready to boldly go. And they’re on your radar; you may not be on theirs. Yet. So use their position against them: you know their market, their value proposition, their positioning, their personality, and tactics. Counter it all. Where’s the white space? Go for it. What market segments are open for the taking? If they’re right for you, go get ‘em. We live in an age of disruption, and nothing is forever. People want authenticity and originality from their brands, and Category Kings are going to struggle with that compared to you, you anti-monarchist. Let the revolution begin.
The Rebel
The Rebel is rewriting the rules and challenging the norms of your category. They may be opening it up to new audiences or capturing a segment you’ve had. Look for disruptive marketing tactics, a brazen brand voice and persona, and an especially unique take on their value proposition. Other identifiers include a rebellious spokesperson. Red flags include mentioning your brand, either by name or implicitly. Plan ahead for this if it hasn’t happened yet. If it has, don’t overreact. Have a response in place that takes into account your brand, your audiences, your positioning. Authenticity is a key treatment for encounters with a Rebel.
Positioning vs. a Rebel: depending on your existing brand positioning, it may be smart or disingenuous to look to the Rebel for inspiration. Are you an established brand who needs to maintain your reputation for credibility? Tread carefully. Are you less institutionalist, and therefore able to adopt some rebellious tactics authentically? Make sure it’s true to you, not the Rebel. Were you the Rebel before a new challenger came along? You’ve got some credibility behind your revolution. Keep it going. Believe in your positioning and act accordingly.
Also think carefully about your market segments. Are they capturing audiences you need to be relevant to, e.g., younger generations or non-traditional customers? Now might be the time to reach out to those groups specifically and make sure they are engaged with your brand.
The Inspiration
The Inspiration is capturing important emotional ground with its brand: positivity, optimism, and community. They may be mission- or purpose-driven, which is powerful in building brand loyalty and community. Or they may be doing the best job at brand building in your market: new marketing tactics, product innovations, and leading storytelling. They’re the brand you hate to love and a close cousin of the Frenemy.
The Inspiration is an important competitor for your brand management. What can you learn from what their brand is doing well? How can you contrast your brand with theirs, by being true to you but being open to the next level for your brand? Is this the moment for your brand to become more purpose-driven, community-building, or larger-than-life? Remember, competition in the brand wild can drive all the brands to become better. Let the Inspiration fuel the fire of your brand and open you up to new possibilities and opportunities.
The Alternative
The Alternative is your closest competitor: they go after the same audiences, have similar value propositions, products, and services, and — most alarming — may even have similar branding. They are the brand most likely to be in the final consideration with you. This is why careful identification and survival skills are crucial with the Alternative. In the field, identify the key decision influences and points of differentiation between your brands. What benefits, proof points, advocates, values, and resources are setting them apart from you? How does their brand differ from yours in personality, tone, identity, tactics, and message? Good brands should take careful steps here to treat Alternative symptoms, without losing sight of your brand. After all, the Alternative is, by definition, always a close alternative to your brand. Don’t risk losing those audiences that are close to choosing your brand with sudden movements. Unless a whole new market awaits and it’s time to abandon ship and swim for a brighter shore.
Rebranding First Aid Kit
Sick Culture
The symptoms of a sick culture are obvious, but may be hidden from leadership. Especially with remote teams, they may be even harder to detect. Obvious symptoms are poor retention, HR issues, and performance problems. But less obvious may be a lack of brand awareness, low team engagement, and inconsistent customer experiences. A healthy brand must include the employee experience. Think about the values, behaviors, and rituals your culture has. A brand should define and support these. And every employee needs to know their role in creating a consistent, on-brand experience for your customers/clients. Don’t neglect culture, it is a huge part of a good brand.
Burned Customers
Lost trust. Declining market share. Low retention. Poor favorability. There’s a problem with your customer relationships, and brand is part of fixing this. At the heart of brand building is your brand promise: whether you mean to or not, customers have an expectation of what they’ll get from your brand. When you fail to fulfill that promise, you get burned customers. When you consistently meet a promise — a good promise — you become a good brand. The first salvo for healing burned customers is to align on the promise you’re making to them: the value, the experience, the emotions they can expect when interacting with your brand. And then align your organization to fulfill this promise consistently. Your brand promise should be understood and fulfilled by everyone from your customer service team to your product/service delivery. With time, your brand promise can heal burned customers.
Exposure Crisis
A crisis in trust or perception is a critical injury requiring first aid but need not be fatal. Key to navigating a crisis and recovering effectively is a strong brand: a north star, to which you’re fully committed, that will guide you. This creates authenticity, consistency, and clarity — all of which build trust, even when it’s broken. Starting from your north start (your brand) will help you to find your way out of a crisis in a way that actually brings your audiences closer to the brand, not farther away. But if you say one thing and do another, you may be getting your brand further lost.
Broken Promise
All brands make an implicit or explicit promise to customers. It’s the expectation they have of your brand: what you say, what they expect, and then what you do. If the last step is disconnected, you’ve broken a promise — real or implied — to your audiences. A good brand is built on creating a strong sense of promise (clear expectations) and fulfilling it, as consistently as you possibly can. Repairing a broken promise probably needs to start with really defining what your promise will be, and what behaviors and experiences will fulfill that promise; your team needs to understand that promise and their role in fulfilling it, and the brand needs to be fully committed to it (otherwise, more broken promises). Every brand wants loyalty, trust, and retention: this is how you build it. If it’s broken, work harder than ever to fix it and not break it again.
Missing Brand
Are your audiences seeing and remembering your brand? A missing brand may not be showing up in the right places with the right audiences. A lack of clarity, relevance, or consistency may be hurting brand awareness and retention. And an incomplete marketing funnel means you’re not top of mind at decision-making time. Getting your overarching strategy just as right as your execution and full-funnel marketing is crucial to getting your brand out of the wilderness.
Sprained Offering
An important part of branding is knowing what you offer, who it’s for, why it’s unique, and what impact it will have. This is your brand positioning. If you aren’t being clear and consistent about your positioning, your audiences will have no idea who you are or why they should care. Your product or service, in their minds, will be indistinguishable from your competitors’. They may know features, but not the deeper value and impact on them your brand can have. Your rebrand needs to get clear about the essence of your offering, and align all of your outreach and communications to make your positioning clear to target audiences.
Fatigued Brand
Your brand is tired: outdated, slow, complex, and confusing. Other competitors are eating into your market share. You watch their viral moments with jealousy, knowing your brand could never be that quick, spontaneous, or daring. You’re not as responsive to customers as you need to be. Things just don’t feel fresh, modern, or relevant. Your brand needs rest and energy: a rigorous audience listening routine, strategic alignment, and rejuvenated creative. Having a strong foundation of strategy, messaging, and creative means you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel: you’ve got the resources you need, so you can focus some bandwidth on being more adaptive and responsive.
Social-Borne Illness
A contagion started with your audiences and has spread: negative reviews, poor reputation, damaged perception. Your brand caught a bug in the digital wilds. But healthy brands are more resilient to disease: they have trust, credibility, and loyalty. The best prevention for social-borne illness is authenticity and consistency. Aligning what you say with what you do. If you have a solid brand strategy you’re committed to, and have operationalized it throughout your brand actions, then your customers will become the immune defense to social-borne illness.
Glossary of Rebranding
Activation - Engaging experiences that bring your brand to life with your target audiences. Think campaigns, events, or content that creates awareness and memories.
Archetype - a symbolic persona embodying and representing the brand, based on recurring, recognizable characters in human culture and psychology.
Architecture - the system governing the connections and relationships between brand and sub-brands, including names, identities, behaviors, and designs.
Bad Brand - a brand missing out on its full potential: the core problem is a disconnect between what they say and what they do, and not aligning their brand to a set strategy.
Good Brand - a brand that knows its audiences, its competitors, and itself, and uses that knowledge to create good stories, experiences, and offerings.
Experiential - Marketing focused on experiences: interactions with the brand, its products, and/or its people. Key for building awareness and loyalty.
Identity - The visual and creative expression of a brand, including but not limited to its logo, colors, typography, personality, voice, and messaging.
Mark - the visual symbol of a brand, either a word, icon, or combination of both.
Mission - the reason a brand exists, defined by action: what you exist to do.
Promise - the expectation that a brand gives customers, either implicitly or explicitly, and the success of failure of delivering on that expectation.
Persona - see Archetype, this is the representation of the personality, voice, behavior, and role of a brand, usually expressed in an allegorical character.
Personality - the personified expression of a brand through messaging, behavior, voice, and tone.
Purpose - see Mission, the reason a brand exists and what it does, should be centered around action.
Stylescape - a visual representation of a brand’s art direction before a final identity is developed; could include examples of typography, colors, icons, styles, patterns, and imagery.
Tone of Voice - the shift in voice depending on the audience or context; a brand should adapt to each situation while remaining consistent and recognizable. Voice stays the same, tone adapts.
Vision - the inspiring future state a brand is working to create and inviting its target audiences to join or work towards.
Visual Identity - the expression of the brand through design, including but not limited to the logo, colors, typography, iconography, and imagery a brand uses.
Voice - the personality infused in the brand’s messaging; audiences tend to personify brands and identify more strongly with brands that feel human, i.e., have a voice.
Field notes
Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room
The reality of your brand isn’t what you say it is, but what your customers say it is. Your mission, vision, value proposition, promise, positioning, are only words on paper (or a screen) until you actually live by them. If there’s a gap between what you say your brand is and what you actually do, customers only care about what you do. That’s your brand. So make sure you’re listening to customers (at all stages of the funnel) about who you are.
Change management is as important as the creative output
When you’re rebranding, navigating the change for your organization is just as important as what you actually create. You’ll need to ensure that your team, customers, partners, and brand ambassadors feel bought into the new brand. They need to be enthusiastic about the new brand, equipped and committed to implementing it, but they also need to feel that it accurately represents the organization itself — where it’s been, where it is, and where it’s going. A beautiful, expertly crafted logo, narrative, and strategy that doesn't also do these things isn’t worth much. For more information on this, check out our field guide on change management in branding.
Balance the future and the past
A rebrand needs to find the right balance between the future and the past. How much brand equity do you have, i.e., is there a strong association between your audiences and your old brand? Do they need to see a clear connection between the former and new brand? Odds are, even if you’re doing a major pivot, there will need to be some connection for at least some of your audiences. But you also want to ensure this new brand lasts; that it can adapt to changing strategies, markets, customers, and culture. There may be strong feelings on both sides, past and future. The trick is ensuring that you’re not making a brand based on those feelings, but on a clear strategy and goal for where you want your brand to be with the audiences who matter most.
Embed the new brand in your organization
Your new brand should influence all parts of your organization: it should be the north star your entire team is pointing towards. That means that throughout the rebrand process, you need to consider and prepare for how the brand will impact everything from your internal culture to your product/service design. Your culture, marketing, product/service, and operations should all be consistent with your brand strategy. This creates true authenticity, consistency, and clarity, which ultimately leads to more trust and loyalty with your audiences. Don’t treat your brand as just a creative exercise, it’s a strategic alignment for your organization. And just as you plan for rolling out the new brand externally, plan for how you’ll embed it in your organization's culture and operations.
