All successful businesses grow and change over time. What you started with on opening day is likely a lot different than what you’re looking at right now.
Have your branding efforts changed as much as your business has? If the answer is no, it might be time to spruce things up a bit.
For some businesses, a few small tweaks are enough to make a big difference. Others might need a lot more help. Does your brand need an extreme makeover, or would a fresh coat of paint do the trick?
Today, we’ll help you answer that question.
What’s the Difference Between Refreshing and Rebranding?
A brand refresh changes some of your surface-level branding elements. This could mean updating your logo, changing up your color palettes, using a different font family, finding a new company slogan or experimenting with your voice or writing style.
Think of a brand refresh as washing and waxing your car, putting shiny new wheels on, updating the sound system, changing the seat covers and touching up the paint on the back bumper from the time you accidentally backed into the neighbor’s mailbox.
It’s the same dependable, recognizable car you’ve come to know and love. Your neighbors will still recognize it when you pull into the driveway. But you’ve made it look a lot better.
A brand revamp, however, involves stripping the car down to the chassis and starting from scratch. The bones are still there, but everything else looks much different.
Rebranding involves changing things like your mission statement, the vision you have for your business, your values and guidelines, and sometimes even your name. Take Meta Platforms, for instance. If you’re not familiar, that’s the (relatively) new name for the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched the rebrand to highlight the company’s growing focus on the “metaverse.”
So, when should you refresh and when should you revamp? Let’s look at a few scenarios.
Refresh Your Brand If …
You’re Too Similar to the Competition
If your brand is indiscernible from other brands selling the same products and services that you’re selling, it’s time to do something visible to make your business stand out and get noticed.
You Want to Attract New Business
Are you struggling to get new customers through your doors? A fresh logo, updated website, new brick-and-mortar façade or slightly different marketing message can attract a new audience and create a buzz.
There’s a Visible Mismatch in Your Branding
If your brand isn’t cohesive, it’s going to confuse your customers. Maybe your color palette clashes with your logo, or your voice doesn’t match your vision statement. A quick refresh can help you get all of your branding elements to complement each other.
Revamp Your Brand If…
Your Products and Services Have Changed Significantly
If you started out selling greasy cheeseburgers from a food truck and slowly evolved into an elegant farm-to-table restaurant specializing in organic meats and produce, it’s definitely time to rebrand yourself.
You’re Aiming for a New Target Market
Remember when McDonald’s went from bright colors and ball pits to sleek, modern storefronts and elevated menu choices? They changed because they were going after a different target market. If your preferred clientele has changed, your branding needs to follow suit.
You’ve Made a Terrible Mistake
Even the best crisis management plan doesn’t completely protect a business from disaster. If you’re struggling to rise above a bad reputation, rebranding is one way to distance yourself from regrettable negative associations.
Are You Ready to Make a Change?
A brand refresh is a relatively quick, cost-effective way to breathe a bit of life into a business. A brand revamp takes a lot more time, money and effort, but it can certainly be worth it in some cases.
Whether your brand needs some minor touch-ups or an entirely new identity, Mischa Communications is here to help with the hard stuff. The quicker you click, the sooner we can get started!