Clearly the virus has changed everything.
Brand refreshment strategies and campaigns are being forced on marketeers, planned or not.
And sometimes, change is a good thing.
Mostly we are all cautious about it because we fear change and because we can’t anticipate the outcome.
However, staying put with the same old messaging and visual imagery can be riskier than changing. Especially right now.
So, just as a paint job revives a dull room, the lawn looks better freshly mown, a new haircut boosts self-confidence… a rejuvenated image can bring life back to an outdated brand.
But you need a solid strategy and communications plan to undertake it successfully.
Reasons to be refreshed
Apart from how the virus has affected your brand, other reasons usually include:
- Mergers, acquisitions, demergers, a major change in product or service offerings, a market or industry change that puts you at a disadvantage in comparison to your competition, customers’ behaviour changing, a need to modernise and reputational issues can all drive a brand refreshment.
- On brand communications it may an old brand identity that no longer accurately represents your business; it may be that your offer no longer creates an emotional connection with your audience. Your message may be inconsistent. You want new customers. You simply don't stand out from the competition anymore.
That was our brief from William Reed’s ‘ World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ refresh - which you can read about here
- At heart are always the deeper questions – is the brand still relevant? Does the proposition still engage? Has your original meaning and purpose has been lost?
We helped the New Statesman address these specific issues: read more here
- Lately, and quite specifically, are your sustainable credentials in shape?
Whatever the reason, you always need to keep your branding fresh and current in a world where attention spans are decreasing and information overload increasing.
It’s not to be undertaken lightly.
- The process of refreshing a brand forces you to re-examine who you are, how you are perceived, what your audiences expect, how and where you can capture their attention and response.
It was the brief we worked on with Debrett's
Our programme
Done right, a rebrand or refresh is not a simple or quick task. Each step in our tried and tested approach is integral to defining brand direction and creating a successful programme.
So, we get the thinking right first. To do proper justice to brand refreshment briefs-we always recommend, ideally, starting from a strategic understanding of the business, customer, competitive context and culture.
The overall prize is always to achieve greater brand distinctiveness and clarity on brand purpose and proposition which will help us develop creative outputs that will be more accurate, powerful and ultimately more commercially successful for you.
Establishing your brand positioning and narrative (your 'story') is therefore the first step in the whole process.
Our own ‘Brand Circle Framework’ defines the brand, its meaning, purpose, proposition, tone and key messaging.
It defines why you do it, how you do it, what you stand for, and who it is for. We worked with publisher Flametree on such a project.
The communications stage
Brand refreshments come in all shapes and sizes.
You might consider the following creative, design and media implications of a brand change:
- new content
- new imagery
- new graphics
- an updated endline
- instore: packaging, POS, merchandising materials
- website approach/assets
- social media and blogs
- tradeshow material
- advertorials
- digital and print presentations
- business cards, email signatures, and addresses
- information sheets
- letterhead, envelopes, labels, invoices, folders etc
- internal comms systems, intranets, workflow tools
Our tips for success
Get some help!
Consider consulting a branding agency to help and guide you through the journey. Look for an agency that has experience in your sector and has been through the process before.
You want to get it right.
Anew have the experience to give honest and informed answers to the important questions: what makes your luxury brand more relevant, and what special value do you deliver to your customer that justifies selling at higher price points.
We’ve worked with iconic media titles, created India’s first luxury brand, handled the advertising for the UK’s favourite retailer, launched businesses and made 180-year-old ones contemporary again. We’ve launched wine brands and devised a global sustainability campaign for a world-leading US fabrics business.
We’ve created international luxury jewellery and publishing brands, made tea drinkers change their favourite brew, launched shopping centres, delivered community outreach programmes, devised a global multi-media campaign for a music industry first and repositioned a famous worldwide gastronomy awards brand.
Drop us an email. Based in the heart of London, we'd be delighted to meet for a coffee, either face-to-face or virtually to discuss your brief.
