Should I Rebrand My Business? How And When To Know

When do you know it’s time to rebrand your business? How do you know what to rebrand your business to?

Both of these are good questions. And questions that are likely to be going through every business owner’s mind if they are considering a rebrand.

Rebranding your business can be difficult to achieve when it’s your first time undergoing this.

You need to make sure that you have a clear vision, a strong concept, and tried and tested marketing strategies in place.

But, most of all, you need to make sure that rebranding is the right idea for your business.

Sometimes people will choose to rebrand their business for the wrong reasons. And this can be costly. Choosing to rebrand your business for the wrong reasons can sometimes result in bigger losses than wins.

Particularly if you’re already a pre-established and well-known business. Generally, the bigger the business you are, the more you have to lose from a bad rebrand strategy.

So, how do you do it?

Continue reading to find out the reasons why you should rebrand, the reasons why you shouldn’t, and companies that succeeded and failed, and what you should learn from them.

Before you decide to undergo a rebrand, you need to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.

But what reasons are these?

Well, one of the most common reasons why a business will rebrand is because they want to stand out from the competition. Often, this will mean assessing what it is that your business provides – and more importantly – what it doesn’t provide.

If your business is lacking in originality and isn’t offering consumers something new, then maybe it’s time to revaluate your business.

Evolving beyond your old business image and choosing to change your company’s message and beliefs is a good justification to rebrand your business. You want to shed the old image of your company and demonstrate to your consumers how your new company ethos is reflected in your new company image.

Another reason why you should rebrand your business is if you’re trying to outgrow your poor reputation.

Sometimes, in a business’s lifetime, you may go through a troubling period where you come under fire. This could be for any reason, but it may mean that it’s time for you to change your company image.

Rebranding can be a great way to escape a bad reputation, demonstrate your new company beliefs, and try and beat out the competition.

On the flip side, there are also lots of reasons why you shouldn’t rebrand your business.

As mentioned earlier, rebranding is a risky business. You have a lot to lose if you’re undergoing a rebrand for the wrong reasons.

So, what are they?

Firstly, you should know the difference between rebranding and reorientating.

If your company is completely upheaving your old beliefs and evolving your services for a new audience: a rebrand is a great idea.

But if you’re going through a bit of a rough period and not getting that many sales: a rebrand is not the answer.

Sometimes, businesses will confuse a rebrand with a reorientation. They automatically jump to rebranding their business when their first step should be reorientating their plan.

Consider if your audience and target consumers have changed. Maybe the reason why your sales are falling is that your target demographic isn’t what it used to be, and you need to retarget.

Secondly, you shouldn’t rebrand if your marketing is failing.

You should try and exhaust all other options before undergoing a rebrand, and a change in marketing strategies and marketing teams is something you should try beforehand.

Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh marketing campaign to give your business the boost that you’re seeking with a rebrand.

So, what are some of the things you should know to make sure your rebrand is successful?

Well, changing your logo and slogan is certainly an important factor.

Take Airbnb, for example. Airbnb decided that to distance themselves from competitors, they wanted to undergo a rebrand which would include a change of logo and slogan.

They took their old logo – the word ‘Airbnb’ in simple bubble font – and changed it to the new logo. A sleeker and more iconic design.

The marketing for the rebrand was very successful. They called the symbol for the logo “the belo” and truly reinforced how it was meant to symbolise a sense of belonging.

For a company that operates in every single country across the world, they wanted a logo that would be universal and transcend language. They wanted to be able to convey their message all through one symbol.

It went viral instantly. Although, not for the reason you may think.

Lots of people on social media thought that the logo represented genitalia. For a moment, people thought that Airbnb’s rebrand was a failure.

However, it was not. Airbnb had almost anticipated this response – and set up a separate website called ‘Create Airbnb’ where consumers could design their own logo.

It was a huge hit.

Not only was the brand able to convey their new message and remodel, but they also embraced the controversy and virality the rebrand caused. They leaned into the comedy of the situation, resulting in the joke becoming all the more funny and viral.

As Andrew Leonard from Salon put it, “if Airbnb’s goal was to get people talking about Airbnb, then this campaign is pure genius.”

So, if we’ve seen an example of a business rebrand done well, what’s an example of a rebrand done poorly?

Let’s look at Tropicana.

In 2009 they launched a rebrand for their company which saw a change in their logo and packaging. The original logo – an orange simply with a straw through it – was discarded. In its place was put simple a glass of orange juice.

What could be so wrong about that?

Firstly, the Tropicana logo was iconic. It was instantly recognisable by consumers and set the brand apart from all of its competition.

So the change of the logo was confusing. They say if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, after all. For consumers, there was no reason for the change.

Secondly, the new logo wasn’t good at all. A simple glass of orange juice on their packaging overwhelmed the carton.

What’s more, it became virtually indistinguishable from the competitors. Many consumers cited that they couldn’t even see it amongst all the others in the supermarket.

But how much of an impact did it have?

Well, according to AdAge, Tropicana saw a 20% drop in sales following its rebrand.

The result saw Tropicana abandoning their new brand image, and return to their tried and tested image.

The lesson of this rebrand failure is that sometimes a different marketing tactic is all that’s needed.

Rebranding can go wrong if you haven’t thought it through.

What else do you need to consider when it comes to rebranding?

How about a change in marketing?

This is exactly what IHOP did in 2018. In an attempt to draw attention to their other menu items – burgers – they decided to change their name from the ‘International House Of Pancakes’ to the ‘International House Of Burgers’.

In fact, not only did they change their name, but they changed all of their social media handles, social media profiles, marketing, and advertising.

It seemed for a very long time, that IHOP was going to be IHOB for the foreseeable future.

Social media exploded. Before the pancake house revealed what the ‘b’ stood for, social media users were guessing what the change could mean. And when it was revealed that it stood for burgers – there was even more of a response.

However, it was all a marketing ploy.

IHOP wasn’t undergoing a rebrand and ditching their beloved breakfast food, they were simply performing a rebrand for the sake of drawing attention to their other menu items.

The rebrand campaign was a huge success. In fact, according to CNBC, the pancake house saw burger sales quadruple!

However, the main reason why this rebrand was so successful was that it wasn’t a proper rebrand, really.

IHOP realised that they didn’t need to undergo an entire rebrand to boost their sales. Because they weren’t seeking to change their message, or their target consumers, a full-scale rebrand wasn’t necessary.

Instead, the rebrand-turned-marketing-campaign was the perfect move.

It caught the attention of the public and boosted its sales without totally upheaving its business model.

As mentioned earlier, sometimes rebranding your business just isn’t necessary.

Sometimes you just need to reorientate your brand and change your goals.

Take Uber in 2020, during the national lockdown.

Naturally, with fewer people out and about, Uber saw sales plummet. No one needed a car share service, and uber was struggling to decide what to do.

Meg Donovan, Uber marketing boss, claimed that a decision had to be made to see how the company would survive the period.

And so a massive focus was placed on their food delivery service, Uber Eats.

What’s more, not only did they dial up the marketing for Uber Eats and increased the emphasis on this service, they also introduced a ‘no contact’ delivery model.

The company anticipated the needs of the consumers and introduced measures that would allow them to survive during the lockdown period.

They serve as a great example of how a rebrand isn’t needed to combat falling sales or change in users. Uber didn’t decide to rebrand themselves as something entirely different from their brand, or even introduce new marketing and advertising to try and encourage consumers, they simply reorientated their focus towards other services.

As such, they were able to survive the difficult period without having to undergo irreversible rebranding.

Rebranding your business is a great idea, when necessary.

It can help you overcome negative brand association, shed old business models and ethos, and help yourselves stand out from competitors.

However, sometimes a rebrand isn’t necessary.

Sometimes you simply need to change your marketing strategy and reorientate your business goals.

As such, it’s important to know how and why you’re rebranding your business.

If you need help with marketing your business, check out our services at Shape The Market.

We offer different marketing packages suitable for all size businesses and can help your business grow.