7 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Rebranding
1. Rebranding for the wrong reasons
A Rebranding is not a decision to be taken lightly. There needs to be a strong business, commercial, strategic, legal or reputation-related reason to choose to Rebrand.And it is important to articulate the risks and benefits of the decision. Data from the market, customers, regulators, employees and other stakeholders is key to factor in before deciding if/how to Rebrand. The WHY of the Rebrand needs to justified from a business and strategic perspective – especially if the Brand is mature and already established in its market to a reasonable extent.
2. No Brand Audit
Going ahead to Rebrand without the benefit of gathering data and insights is like treating a medical condition blindly without the benefit of diagnostic tests to determine the nature and scale of the problem and overall wellbeing of the patient. The end result is likely to be fundamentally flawed and inadequate in terms of capability, muscle, stamina functional and competitive ability
3. Not hiring a Brand Strategist
Brand Strategy is a specialist skill. Not every Communications Professional can effectively facilitate or coordinate a rebranding exercise for a major or mature Brand. Brand Strategy is different from Brand Logo Design or Brand Naming. A Rebranding is much more than just a renaming or a redesign of a symbol, logo or tagline. It is a Repositioning effort. The 1st Step is to get the help you need.
4. Going Straight to Design
Treating a Rebranding project as merely a logo redesign is one of the greatest and most common mistakes because it misses the point of a Rebrand which is primarily that of strategic transformation and repositioning. A redesign is merely a tactic. Without a guiding strategy, the Rebranding will fall flat.
5.No Detailed Launch Plan
Rebranding without a detailed launch plan is a waste of time, resource and effort.The launch or introduction of the new brand or the rebranded entity is as important as what the rebranding is expected to achieve. Taking the time to fashion this out in a detailed form makes all the difference
6.Treating the Rebrand as an event not a process
A Rebranding is the opportunity to transform from inside-out. It requires a internal coordination, corporate inward-reflection, change management, communications and storytelling. It is a project that must be managed in a transformative and results-oriented manner.
7. Missing the opportunity to course-correct
A Rebranding gives the unique opportunity to course-correct. It is BIG mistake to squander that opportunity by sentimentally holding on to anything that needs to be offloaded or tweaked in the process. It provides an opportunity for a thoughtful RESET. That opportunity should be optimized in the most ethical and sustainable manner.