Rebranding: A lick of paint or a check ‘under the hood’

My friend James has an old Peugeot 205 named Dirk. Now, Dirk is a finely built machine that has seen James and his friends through some pretty great times. But, the sad fact is Dirk is old and worn. As hard as it may be for anyone to admit, Dirk (the car of dreams) is on the way out. Dirk leaks from his sunroof, has a crack in the windscreen, scratches to the paintwork, dodgy electrics (that make knowing when to buy petrol impossible to gage) and, amongst numerous other issues, is currently covered in a thick layer of tree sap and bird excrement. In simpler, kinder words – he’s well travelled.

But why I am talking about my mate’s old banger? Well, I’d like to use Dirk as an illustration for one of my passions – branding, but more specifically re-branding.

‘Pop the hood’

The decision to rebrand often arises because, like Dirk, we conclude that the branding or visual identity of a company, business or organisation looks tired — a pretty common reason for most rebranding decisions. And this is where I think lies a big danger. The allure and promise of a new brand makes it all too tempting to immediately jump to believing said new look will revive your brand. It’s easy to think ‘lets just slap on a new logo and ‘spruce’ it all up a little’.

Back to Dirk the car — just think; if we slap a new coat of paint on him he could look great. But, in reality his internal mechanics won’t be able to sustain the quality of service, nor outlive the lifespan of that’s expected from that new paint job. For me, a re-brand or brand refresh has to be born from a desire to change internally. In my experience, successful branding is far more than a cosmetic issue, but a decision and process that has to include a look ‘under the hood’ and into the mechanics of an organisation.

Here are a couple of things that I think should be considered and addressed (if need be) before and throughout your rummage under the hood of your organisation:

1. Can you financially implement and maintain a rebrand for it’s desired lifespan?

It’s all too easy to think a re-brand is the cost of a new look from trendy designer. But have you thought of the financial commitments involved in sustaining the quality and essence of the desired new brand beyond the initial design sum? Dwindling budgets can compromise and destroy a brand because cheap shortcuts are taken which, in turn, weaken a brand and it’s perception. It’s important to have a brand that is cost effect to orchestrate and maintain. This is not to say that you can’t maintain some great stuff on a small budget – during university I had little money for materials and so incorporated this into an entire project concept, creating a campaign printed on up-cycled old newspaper. This created a unique and engaging visual style to accommodate the paper stock and my pretty-much-nonexistent student budget. It’s always good to take into account and plan for the financial implications beyond the initial ‘upfront’ cost.

2. Do you have a team that is able to sustain the new branding?

It takes time and resources to successfully deliver a brand. It’s also needs regular review and evaluation to ensure proper internal and external use of a brand so allow for this when managing your own and your team’s time.

More importantly than workforce, time and resources, you also need to have a team that is enthusiastic about your brand. Someone once said to me ‘a company is only as good as its employees’ (although whom I cannot recall). Your team need to see the need for change and be willing to embrace any proposed new branding as they are the ones who will deliver it. It’s not going to cut it if your shiney new brand looks good, but the product or service your organisation or business offer can’t deliver on the promises your visual identity makes. Paint your employees a picture of where you want the new brand to take your business. Map out the journey with them — they’ll be more enthusiastic about coming along for the ride and your company better for it.

3. Does your company’s purpose, service, product or vision have enough clout to sustain or warrant a new branding?

Is your business still clutching on to a nostalgic view of what it used to be or do? It’s far more beneficial to think; ‘How can we as a company or organisation best fulfil our purpose and/or vision?’, rather than trying to inject life into tired services and visions with a new look. A shiny set of new brand guidelines, however well done, will only go so far to revive an out-of-touch purpose or service that has been made redundant by time and culture.

Plan for the long-haul

Re-branding is an exciting challenge for any designer or creative studio. One that looks at more that just the outer appearance of a business or organisation. If you are not prepared internally you’re more likely to find yourself wasting a lot of precious time, money, and resources. Take some time to plan for the journey.

The above are just a few questions that I’ve found helpful to ask and address before embarking on a rebrand, I hope they may be helpful in planning your business’ journey.

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Closing note: Since the writing of this article Dirk, having sustained injury, sadly ceased to be. May he rest in peace; Dirk you really did run on dreams.