by Moriah Morter, WP writing intern, and Lexie Thomas, president
We recently covered how to pinpoint whether your organization needs a rebrand. If your answer was yes … now it’s time for the heavy lifting (and some pretty fun stuff too)! In this article, we’re going to walk you through our eight steps toward giving your brand a makeover.
As you read, remember that it’s often wise to consult a brand identity expert when you start your rebranding journey. You could find your expert within your organization, or you might want to look at hiring a creative agency like the Write Place that specializes in brand identity.
Let’s get started!
Rebranding for nonprofits vs. for-profits
Before we get to our steps, it’s important to note that the process we’re outlining works for both nonprofits and for-profit companies, but there are special considerations for each type of organization.
Nonprofits require a brand that depicts ideas and ideals; it should clearly communicate the impact the organization hopes to have on individuals, a community, or the world. On the flip side, a for-profit company must have a brand that sells a lifestyle or a benefit facilitated by their product or service.
Essentially, both organizations are selling an idealized future, but in different ways, and it’s important to keep your ultimate mission in mind throughout your rebrand.
Step 1: Define your goals and motivations.
You’ll need to dig deeper into the “why” behind your decision to rebrand. Consider your specific goals. Would you like to connect with a younger generation? Or do you need to reposition yourself in the marketplace or distinguish yourself from a particular competitor? Perhaps customers have expressed confusion about what you do?
Whatever the reason, make a point of defining exactly what you would like to achieve with your rebrand.
Stakeholder interviews are a powerful asset at this stage of the rebranding process and are worth the investment when you have the time and budget. A well-thought-out survey done in person or over the phone with members of your various target audiences can provide invaluable insight into perceptions of your brand. For example, you could ask your customers what they like and dislike about your current logo or website design. Or to see how well they understand you, ask them to summarize what your business or organization does.
Step 2: Understand and characterize your brand.
Now that you’ve defined your motivation and desired outcomes and have analyzed your stakeholder feedback, it’s time to reconnect with your company’s current identity. Dive into your organization’s mission, vision, and values and how you imagine them as a visual or physical image.
Ask yourself questions like:
- How do we want to be perceived?
- Who is our ideal customer?
- If our organization was a person, what personality traits would we want it to have?
- What problems do we solve? How can we visually communicate that?
Send a survey to employees to understand how they perceive the business. Do they think your branding should resonate with strength, elegance, or playfulness? When they think of the company, what colors come to mind? During this step, lean on your internal people. They understand your organization best—view their perspective as detailed insight into your character and let it guide and define the direction of your rebrand.
You must understand your identity to create a brand that accurately reflects it. This is a huge step—don’t rush this process or skimp on asking difficult questions that might reveal unique aspects of your organization.
Step 3: Complete competitive research and like organization benchmarking.
Copycats are never fun. Avoid twinning with your competitors or like-minded organizations.
If you haven’t already, take some time to research similar businesses or nonprofits. Investigate what sets you apart and how your brand can differentiate your mission. As a general rule, avoid using similar colors, styles, and themes.
Step 4: Bring your brand to life.
It’s time to bring your brand into being!
You may decide that updating your brand is as simple as updating colors and fonts. But during a more complete rebranding, these elements may be on the table as well:
- The written tone and voice of your organization
- Your brand’s mission statement, core values, and story
- Your company’s tagline or catchphrase
- Photo aesthetics (consider color and content)
- Design elements, patterns, and shapes
For the visual elements of your brand, your designer may curate an inspiration board to collect typefaces, colors, photo examples, and logo styles. This board will be used as a starting point for your feedback. Your designer will take in your reactions to these elements and narrow down the options.
If a new logo is part of your plans, you’ll start that journey based on your inspiration board. Once you’ve approved your new logo, the rebranding continues.
Step 5: Establish the bones of your brand in a style guide.
A well-developed style guide that outlines the dos and don’ts of your brand is a huge step in maintaining your identity long-term.
A brand guide is the skeleton everything else is built around … and you want to avoid breaking it! Your guide provides a detailed description of when to use a certain font, what colors are acceptable, how your logo should be displayed, what tone your written communications should take, and more.
Step 6: Implement your brand everywhere.
Now it’s time to perform the nitty-gritty task of implementing your brand across the board.
Do not confuse customers by leaving traces of an old logo or design style. Nobody can understand a brand with multiple personalities. Make sure your organization is united by presenting itself as a single front.
Implement a tracking sheet to ensure you know everything you need to update and name an owner for each update. Consider signage, printed materials, online profiles, online ads, social media … it’s always a bigger list than you think. It’s also helpful to document the lead time to make changes and an associated budget on your tracking sheet.
Step 7: Launch your new brand.
It’s time to make a big deal out of your beautiful new brand! The goal of this step is to bring your audience’s attention to your organization and create some positive buzz.
- Offer free or low-cost products featuring your new logo (like t-shirts, sweatshirts, or mugs).
- Give away brochures, posters, and other informative print material featuring your company.
- Host an event showcasing and celebrating your rebrand. If you’re a large organization with a marketing budget to match, organize a gala. A public open house is another way to celebrate.
- Go digital with a special e-blast, social media countdown, or video.
The goal is to create something positive surrounding your new brand that will help create audience buy-in and generate loyalty.
Step 8: Analyze the impact of the rebrand.
The last step is to observe. While the results won’t be instantaneous, tracking the success of a rebrand over a period of six months, one year, and even up to five years can provide some gratifying insights. Here are areas your organization can keep tabs on to assess your rebrand:
- Customer engagement (in-store and online)
- Brand recognition (in-store and online)
- Word-of-mouth recommendations
- Website traffic
- Search engine rankings
- Sale conversions, revenue, and performance
- Number of social media followers
Website analytics tools like Google Analytics 4 are a great help here. Or you can go old school and send questionnaires that directly ask customers what they think of the rebrand. Engaging with your audience can reveal how likely they are to recommend your business, how easy it is for them to identify your brand among competitors, and how frequently they visit your store.
Once you have some feedback, assess what is worthwhile to act on and take action soon. It’s easy to let feedback gathered with good intentions go to waste without a plan for execution.
Ready to rebrand but need a helping hand? We’d love to hear from you! Call the Write Place at 641-628-8398 or email hello@thewriteplace.biz.
Sources:
- 5 Examples of Unsuccessful Rebranding (Admind)
- Proven Rebranding Strategies for Your Professional Services Firm (Hinge Marketing)
- How Is Rebranding Different for Non-Profits? (Studio DBC)
- Is It Time to Rebrand Your Business or Nonprofit Organization (LinkedIn)
- Why You Need Brand Guidelines (Adobe Express)
