Do you need a full re-brand?

When you have been living with your branding for a few years it can be easy to think of re-branding completely rather than just freshening up but should you go for a full re-brand?

Do you need a full re-brand?

When you have been living with your branding for a few years it can be easy to think of re-branding completely rather than just freshening up. As your customers will be so used to seeing your branding you need to be sure that you are rebranding for the right reasons and not just because of personal over-exposure to it!

We have put together a list of three points to think about when considering rebranding:

1) How does your current brand work?

Are you just tired of the colours or font or does your branding really not sell your product and service? If it's the former then you may be able to opt for a freshen up instead. If your branding really doesn't sell your services then maybe it is time for change.

Ask around for other peoples opinions and try to ask a specific set of questions to try and ascertain that it's a valid reason for wishing to rebrand and not just your own tiredness of it.

2) How would you like your branding to work?

What message would you like to present to your customers? Do you want to appear professional, approachable, cheap or high quality? Asking yourself what you really want to achive through a few seconds exposure to your branding will help you put it in words when it comes to contacting a designer and will let them develop a design that is appropriate to your core message.

3) How will customers react to your rebrand?

Consider the second and third Apple logo's below, the general shape of the logo has not changed rather the colouring and shading had been brought up-to-date giving the logo a whole new lease of life.

Now, look at the one on the left (from 1976) the change from that to the apple shape was a dramatic change and looking at the three of them, would you (as a customer at that point) have known they were the same company? Without a huge marketing budget to inform current and potential customers of your change you could potentially confuse buyers.