All great brands have one major thing in common to keep their staying power — the foresight to know when to rebrand. Your original vision isn’t always exactly what your audience wants, no matter how much market research you did before launching. And that’s ok. But if you keep your finger on the pulse of your audience and feel it’s time for an upgrade, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
1. Ask yourself why
Are you doing this rebrand for you or the audience? If you’re just making changes to your business because you imagined a new logo, now probably isn’t the time. Identify a problem you need to solve and try to figure out why it’s happening. Is there new competition? Has your customer profile changed? Are you telling a ostory that customers just aren’t identifying with? Have your customers changed their needs or wants? Once you get those things figured out, It’s easier to target what needs an update and what should stay the same.
This year McDonald’s relaunched their McCafé brand with new café-quality espresso drinks made with freshly-ground espresso and U.S.-sourced whole or nonfat milk and introduced recrafted lattes and mochas. Instead of a more generic menu of coffee drinks, they zeroed in on what customers wanted — high quality coffee and ingredients that play into the culture of coffee drinkers. That audience values authenticity and tradition, so McDonald’s is training their staff to understand the culture of coffee will help to elevate the overall coffee-drinking experience for customers.
2. Find your brand story
Is there a story you can tell that will relate your brand to your audience? Give your products a human voice, relate them to everyday life and watch how much easier it is for your audience to relate. That human element has been hugely beneficial. There is power in authenticity, and that authenticity comes from how people are able to connect with you on a personal level. Put who you are into your story. Tell your audience why you do what you do and watch the ‘thank you’ DMs start rolling in.
3. Broaden your audience
Identify the habits surrounding your product. For example, if you know your product is for men, but mostly women buy it for the men in their life (i.e. after-shave products, groceries), then your branding should look to reach this audience. What segment of consumers have an interest in your product? How can you include them in your story?
4. Stay loyal
Although broadening your audience is a good idea in some cases, the biggest mistake you can make is to lose the connection you have with the audience you already have. Don’t focus too much on other people, give your loyal community what they want. Always stay true to your mission.
5. Don’t get wild
Just because you thought of a cool new logo doesn’t mean you absolutely need to change it. If something is working, let it work! You can always make updates and upgrades, but unnecessary changes harm brand identification and loyalty for consumers and will do more harm than help. Why? Because your audience needs to recognize your brand; they need to know that you’re not trying to rebrand yourself every five minutes just to keep up with the Jones. Stay in your lane!
This post is brought to you in collaboration with McDonald's.
