8 Reasons to Rebrand

Rebranding. It’s a big word—and an even bigger decision. Change is always hard, especially when it affects every aspect of your livelihood and hits your bottom line. But whether your brand’s been chugging along for one year or 100, there are times when a brand-new brand is not only helpful, but necessary.

At Big, branding is what we do (and we’ve spent decades doing it). Over the years, we’ve spotted some situaitons and symptoms that almost always point to the need for a rebrand. If you’re thinking about taking the leap toward a new brand identity, read through this series. If any of these points hit a little too close to home, you know who to call. (Hint: It’s us. Call us. Obviously.)
 

This sounds obvious, right? You know you need a brand when you’re brand new. But before you go hiring your nephew’s best friend’s girlfriend to design your logo and letterhead, hear us out: Launching a brand is a lot more than just unveiling a new name and look. It requires curating customer experiences and making connections that give you a strong footing in a new, crowded, unfamiliar and (often) complicated marketplace.

Before you officially launch your brand, you’ve probably mostly pitched your product or service to people you already know. You’ve been able to create first impressions based almost entirely on face-to-face, word-of-mouth connections. But when you take your brand to the outside world you won’t have the advantage of personal touchpoints. With strangers, you’ll have to rely on marketing to look your best. And successful marketing requires strategic insight.

Your audiences have different lived experiences than you do. To reach them and stay relevant, you need to discover what matters to them. You need to find targeted, engaging ways to tell your story. You need to prove to them that you have something unique to offer. And because time is valuable and modern attention spans are stretched thin, you need to communicate it all in the most succinct way—without compromising the most compelling aspects of your brand positioning.

Doing that legwork and learning those key points forms the foundation to your brand. Then, it’s coupled with a beautiful logo and website, or whatever else you need. All of this is the work of a full-service branding firm. No offense to Shannon (your nephew’s best friend’s girlfriend), but we’ve been doing this for a long time, and we know when you create a brand carefully, thoughtfully and intentionally, brand awareness follows and brand loyalty can begin.

Client Case Study

Carnegie Private Wealth
In the case of Carnegie Private Wealth, we worked with veterans from the financial services industry who were venturing out on their own. Because of their experience, they knew what they didn’t want—the tired and generic-looking brands used in so much of the market, especially the large, well known companies. They even had a feel for what they wanted, but they couldn’t quite put it in words. With our help, we realized the essence of this new firm was credibility with a friendly, warm, approachable touch. That was captured in the visuals and messaging, and we executed by portraying their brand story in every touch point. The real success was knowing that this “newbie” brand could sit alongside any of the granddaddy brands and feel just as legitimate…and way more cool.