Our Tips for Ensuring a Successful Brand Refresh
The decision to refresh your brand is exciting; it’s an investment of time and energy. So, make sure it resonates with the right people and really reflects your brand today. Most importantly, you want your refresh to feel authentically you. This blog post will highlight common mistakes for a brand refresh and how to avoid them.
However exciting a brand refresh can be, it’s essential there is a structure so that the process runs as smoothly as possible and you get the results you want. Deciding who should be involved and making sure everyone is aligned is pivotal.
We’ve been refreshing brands for over 20 years, here are a few common mistakes we’ve found along the way and how you can avoid them:
1. Jumping into design without a strategy
Great ideas need direction – without knowing your purpose, objective and who your audience is, your creative output can become inconsistent and have less impact.
2. Starting without internal alignment
Being unclear on who has ownership of the project can lead to conflicting opinions, slower decision making and an unnecessary amount of amends.
3. Trying to change too much too soon.
It’s easy to jump ahead. Trying to do too much too soon can spread everyone too thin and weaken the overall impact of the refresh.
4. Taking the stance ‘no one knows our brand better than us’.
Whilst you are the expert of your brand, it is so important to take a step back and see what the data says. Independent research and customer insights provide clarity that helps you refine your brand from an outside perspective.
5. Forgetting about implementation and rollout.
A strong brand refresh doesn’t end with new visuals. Implementation is where consistency and impact take shape.
5 Steps to Help Avoid These Brand Refresh Mistakes
Here are a few simple steps to avoid these mistakes to guide you on your way of creating a beautiful brand.
Every good rebrand starts with a strategic foundation. Begin with a workshop where stakeholders can offer any available insights.This will start you off on the right foot.
Align stakeholders. Bring the right members on the journey. Make sure there is a common alignment on what the objective is and what we are wanting to achieve. Agree who the key stakeholders are for signing off and providing feedback.
Phase the rebrand over a sensible timeframe. When phasing the roll out, prioritise where you can have the most impact first. Create a clear roadmap which moves at a realistic, sustainable pace.
Base decisions on evidence rather than assumptions. Be thorough with your research. To get the best results you must have a clear vision of what you’re doing and who for.
Plan a thoughtful rollout. From the start of the project, have a clear plan for the roll out. Make sure that brand guidelines are included: this will help with consistency and confidence across materials.
Conclusion
In order to give a brand refresh the best chance for success, it’s worthwhile spending that initial time planning. With the right strategy, clear alignment and an implementation plan that supports long-term consistency, your refreshed brand will have a strong foundation for growth.
