Brand research before a rebrand: what evidence should you gather?

Your colleagues agree that the brand needs attention. Customers may have a different explanation of the problem. They might recognise the identity perfectly well while misunderstanding the offer, or value something the organisation is about to remove.

Brand research helps you investigate those differences before committing to change. The useful starting point is a decision: what do we need to understand in order to choose the right direction? That question gives the research a purpose and keeps it connected to the eventual brief.

Turn assumptions into questions

Collect the statements people are making about the current brand. “We look dated.” “Buyers do not understand our newer services.” “The logo is recognised everywhere.” For each statement, identify the evidence already available and the question still open.

For example, “buyers do not understand us” could become: “How do recent prospects describe our offer, and where does their account differ from the work we want to win?” That is more useful than asking whether they would like a new identity. It also allows the findings to point towards messaging, service information or a wider positioning change.

Hear from people with different experiences

Include people whose experience can answer the question. Current customers can explain why they chose you and what delivery felt like. Recent prospects may reveal an unanswered concern. People who chose another route can help you investigate what influenced the decision, where they are willing to share it.

Colleagues, partners and service users bring other perspectives. Keep those viewpoints identifiable in your analysis. An internal ambition and a customer’s understanding can both be valid observations while describing different things. Recruiting only enthusiastic long-standing supporters leaves important questions about unfamiliar audiences unanswered.

Explain the research clearly, make participation voluntary and agree how responses will be recorded and used. Offer an appropriate way to take part, including access support where needed. Avoid including identifiable or sensitive participant detail in the creative brief.

Hear from people with different experiences

Include people whose experience can answer the question. Current customers can explain why they chose you and what delivery felt like. Recent prospects may reveal an unanswered concern. People who chose another route can help you investigate what influenced the decision, where they are willing to share it.

Colleagues, partners and service users bring other perspectives. Keep those viewpoints identifiable in your analysis. An internal ambition and a customer’s understanding can both be valid observations while describing different things. Recruiting only enthusiastic long-standing supporters leaves important questions about unfamiliar audiences unanswered.

Explain the research clearly, make participation voluntary and agree how responses will be recorded and used. Offer an appropriate way to take part, including access support where needed. Avoid including identifiable or sensitive participant detail in the creative brief.

Choose a method for the question

• Interviews explore experiences, language and reasons behind a decision. Ask about a recent real example and follow up on the detail. They help you understand what to investigate further.
• A survey can explore how responses are distributed across the people who answer it. The recruitment approach, question design and response pattern determine what you can reasonably infer about a wider audience.
• A recognition or comprehension task shows what people associate with an asset or understand from a piece of communication. Agree whether you are testing an unprompted association or showing material first; those answer different questions.
• Existing enquiry records, search behaviour and service feedback can reveal recurring questions or points of difficulty. They need context, and they rarely explain a person’s motivation on their own.

Use this brand research planning card

Create a card for each important decision. Here is an illustrative example for a fictional organisation expanding an established service:

• Decision: should the expanded service keep the existing brand name, or does the relationship need a clearer explanation?
• Question: what do current customers and recent prospects think the existing name covers?
• People: hear from both groups, including people familiar with the original service and people encountering the wider offer for the first time.
• Method: use interviews to explore their understanding, then a short comprehension task with current materials. Record which material each participant saw.
• Decision evidence: compare the accounts, look for repeated misunderstandings and retain exceptions. Identify whether naming, explanation or a different issue deserves further testing.
• Boundary: findings from these participants inform the decision. Do not turn a small set of conversations into a claim about every customer.

Ask questions that leave room for an unexpected answer

Try: tell us about the last time you looked for this kind of support. What did you need to find out? How did you describe our organisation to someone else? Which information helped you decide? What remained unclear? Follow a useful answer with a request for an example.

Avoid introducing the answer you hope to hear. GOV.UK’s guidance on in-depth interviews recommends open, neutral questions and a focus on real experiences. Pilot your discussion guide so you can spot confusing wording before the research begins.

Bring the findings back to the design decision

Separate what people said, what you observed and what the team infers. Compare the sources, explain disagreements and identify what remains uncertain. Our refresh-or-rebrand guide helps you use that evidence to consider the scale of change.

We use brand strategy to connect audience understanding with a practical direction. Bring us the decision your team is struggling to make, and we can explore the evidence needed to move it forward.