Do I Need To Rebrand? Part 2

As discussed in part one of our rebranding series, we would like to look into the questions you need to ask yourself to determine if your company needs a rebrand.

Stated previously, we get a lot of inquiries from companies looking to rebrand. Many times, the client doesn’t even know what they want, but they know what they don’t want, and that is their current brand. We’ve taken some great points from David Brier and expanded them to give you 17 questions that every rebrand needs to ask.

11. Are we asking our customer to care more about our brand — and what it means — than we do?

Look at Bank of America as a perfect Case Study. Their newest commercialsays it outright, “We know we’re not the center of your life. But we’ll do the best to help you connect to what is.”

PERFECT! Nobody except bankers think about their bank 24/7! Tone it down, come back to earth, and stop sounding so sales-y.

12.   Is our brand associated with something that is no longer meaningful?

The New York Times used the slogan, “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” Would that be relevant in 2013? No, and if your brand is trying to sell something irrelevant, it might be time to rebrand.

13.   Are we leading with our brand direction?

If you have to ask if you’re leading the market, you’re probably not.  Try and find something creative that nobody else is doing, and add value that way.

14.   Are we following with our brand direction?

If you ain’t first, you’re last. Be courageous enough to take calculated risks and enjoy the view from the top.

15.   Is the goal of this rebrand a stepping stone (evolutionary) or a milestone (revolutionary)?

What’s the difference between evolutionary and revolutionary?

Evolution takes gradual change. Evolution is Justin Timberlake growing up from that kid in ‘N Sync to the funny, confident, pop singer we know today. It was a slow and gradual process, and not many people think of him as “the guy from ‘N Sync.” Props, Justin.

Revolutionary, on the other hand, takes upon a complete overhaul, renovation and reconstruction. The change is obvious. Take
Miley Cyrus for example. Within an hour of her now infamous VMA performance, few people thought of her as the innocent sweetheart from Hannah Montana. That, is revolutionary rebranding. Congrats, Miley. Fortunately for your brand, you shouldn’t have to twerk in front of millions for a revolutionary rebranding. New logo, slogan, and product line will do.

16. Will this solution work in 5, 10 and 15 years from now based on what we can anticipate?

Think about the pace of technology even in the last 10 years. Refer to #5 again, and don’t pigeonhole your brand into being something that won’t be relevant in the near future.

17.   Have we assigned some committee to manage the project versus someone (or at most, two people) who is/are focused, inspired and can lead?

Sometimes less is more. With a one or two person team, they can set their own goals and focus on the end result. As you might have experienced in your work, having a committee or team work on a project can often times slow it down due to discrepancies and politics. Let someone with drive takeover, or hire a branding agency.

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