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What is it, how and when to do Rebranding

The market changes and brands too must follow an evolution. This change is called Rebranding. Let's see what it is, when and how best to do it.

The term rebranding , or brand revitalization , means the process by which a product or service created and marketed with a specific name and logo is relaunched on the market under another name (or another identity). This operation is very frequent in case of brand acquisitions. But not only.

Indeed, a brand cannot be immutable . Or rather, there are very few cases in which a brand, always the same as itself, can span the decades always recording successes and consents. For everyone else, as the market and consumers, technologies and competitors change, updating is necessary.

After all, the meaning of rebranding cannot be analyzed without first knowing what branding is . And, therefore, that process that companies implement to differentiate themselves from competitors thanks to distinctive names and symbols. Obviously, to define these aspects you have to start from what is your company philosophy, ask yourself about the ideas and emotions to be transmitted. Because they will then be the basis from which to start a corporate rebranding.

What is rebranding

Rebranding arises from a need: to change the brand image of a product / service , and therefore the perception that consumers have of this or the company that offers it.

In reality, there is not only one way of doing rebranding: distinctive elements such as the name, logo, marketing and sales strategies ( total rebranding ) can be modified or we can limit ourselves to small changes that improve the perceptive assonance of the product. . For example, if a company buys a product, it can keep everything identical and add only "the new" before the name (the new product name + company name of the buyer ). In this case, we are talking about partial rebranding .

According to the essay "Rebranding Process - The Corporate Rebranding Process" by Muzellec and Lambkin, the rebranding can instead be evolutionary or revolutionary : in the first case it generally concerns the logo or the slogan, in the second a more radical change takes place which may involve example the name. And if evolutionary rebranding is perceived less evidently by users as it is gradual and responds to adjustments implemented by the company, revolutionary rebranding brings radical changes that immediately catch the eye of the consumer.

Finally, there is a third distinction, fielded by The Economic Times: that between proactive and reactive rebranding. In the first case, the company adopts this strategy when it wants to improve its brand image, when it wants to grow, when it wants to open up to new markets or reach a target audience never hit before; the second case is instead a response to specific events.

Here, therefore, that, depending on the case, a specific rebranding strategy will be implemented.

Proactive or reactive rebranding: when to implement it

The first case in which to study a rebranding strategy is an "internal" one . For example, the desire to reach with that product a market or a target with completely different characteristics compared to the markets and targets to which it is currently addressed. Or, the desire to maintain a certain consistency between an evolution of one's business and the image of that product. Or, again, the will to grow and expand. It is the aforementioned concept of proactive rebranding.

Examples of this type of rebranding are companies that begin to produce products other than those that make up their core business, and therefore want to adapt their image. The rebranding thus created does not therefore take place on the product, but concerns the entire activity: it is the so-called corporate rebranding .

Or, in the case of reactive rebranding, we act in response to an external factor. For example, a sale or a company merger, the obligation to respond to legal or trademark use questions, the innovations and changes implemented by the main competitors. But also, simply, the change of the public (especially in sectors that change very quickly, such as those of technology or digital marketing).

However, this is not a risk-free operation: change is always destabilizing , especially if it is very evident. And it is therefore necessary that your own rebranding is the result of careful analysis, to prevent the public from reacting in a negative way. Or that he doesn't understand the reasons behind that change.

The case of the Brand Gap and Airbnb

Years ago, for example, the fashion brand Gap radically changed its logo, receiving criticism from consumers, who did not understand that choice and who did not find corporate values ​​in the new graphics; thus, managers were forced to restore the old image.

Airbnb , on the contrary, managed to make the new logo appreciated (accused of having a sexual connotation) by explaining its philosophy, that of a symbol representing love, places and people. And explaining how it was designed to be simple and replicable, in every part of the world.

How to rebranding properly

Beyond what the purpose of the rebranding is, it is necessary that the entire path follows a precise logic. It matters little, that your revenues are not satisfactory or that you want to acquire new markets: the strategy must be prudent and take into account the target you intend to hit.

Everything must therefore start from a careful analysis of your company and your brand, identifying strengths and weaknesses, but also the market. The goal is to try to identify possible threats, so as to beat them over time. So here is a wise choice is to analyze their competitors , to understand what in their company or in their product / service works to try to replicate it. Or better yet, to improve it.

Secondly, the corporate mission must be transferred to the brand . Always bearing in mind that that brand will have to speak to a specific audience with its needs, tastes and characteristics. In fact, the purpose of a rebranding operation is to capture the user's attention: therefore, knowing his interests and what he is looking for in a product is fundamental. Only then can we move on to the graphic, visual and textual aspect of the product.

Examples of famous rebranding

There are companies that, over time, have carried out numerous partial rebranding operations , making small changes that are only slightly noticeable.

This is the case of Google which - several times - changed its font, changed the order of colors, added elements (then eliminated) and made resizing. Or Dropbox , whose rebranding operation lasted ten years, transforming the three-dimensional box into a flat scstola, according to the dictates of increasingly popular "flat design".

Among the most successful examples of the famous total rebranding we find that of McDonald's : initially known as a "junk food" distributor, between the late nineties and the early 2000s the chain began to introduce a more "healthy" offer, to which the logo no longer responded. Thus, the yellow M on a red background - synonymous with low cost and low quality food - has given way to a more discreet M, on a forest green background.

Similarly, Pepsi also decided to carry out a rebranding operation to bring its logo closer to the values ​​expressed by the brand: at the beginning it was a red writing, Pepsi Cola, with a baroque appearance. In 1950 the cap graphics were introduced, in 1973 it lost the denomination "Cola" becoming in all respects only "Pepsi". Today the writing has even disappeared, to make room for a white, red and blue round that is the maximum stylization of the cap element.

In summary, it is good to think about a rebranding operation when:

the company has changed , due to the introduction of new products or the opening to new markets

the public has changed , just think of how much the Millennials' purchasing power and viral word of mouth have affected many products

trends have changed , as in the case of agri-food which - today - is pushed towards an increasingly greener and healthier dimension

the logo is obsolete , as it was created in a historical period with stylistic canons that are very different from the current ones.

Obviously, it is essential to rely on a professional who - for the rebranding operation - does not limit himself to designing a new logo with new colors, but is able to fully grasp the corporate philosophy and decision-making processes that led to the revitalization of the brand. Only in this way, the user will perceive the change made as positive and will be conquered (or will remain faithful to the brand).

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