Rebranding your business

As the marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, we are constantly seeing businesses trying new ways to entice customers. Standing out on the shelf against competitors is no easy task, many companies are looking to rebranding as an opportunity to reinvent their products and shift customer perceptions.

What is rebranding?

Rebranding is creating a new image for an existing product or company, its main purpose is to differentiate against competitors and make your brand more recognisable to consumers. Rebranding activities can include:

• A new logo
• Change of name or slogan
• New design/colour scheme
• New packaging
• A new advertising or marketing strategy

These activities are all designed to make your products more attractive to perspective customers. They can be used to target new demographics and make the company more relevant to the consumer.

What can rebranding do for your business?

Beneath are some of the main advantages of rebranding your business:

New customer perceptions – Rebranding can be a chance for you to change how customers see you. Perhaps you feel your brand is not current enough or not up to date with the latest trends, rebranding could be the solution. Building the right image and having your customers develop positive associations with your business is essential.

Keep current – Rebranding can mean that you become more relevant to your target market. By keeping current your demographic can more easily relate to your company which will lead to more business and encourage repeat business.

Competitive edge – By making your brand fresh and appealing to the customer you are ensuring that you will be a force to be reckoned with in the market. This can help to make you more competitive as you already have an established company which will help to prevent loss of existing customers.

Target new demographics – Often when a company changes their strategy to appeal to a new demographic branding will be changed. For example if you have a product that can be used by adults and children alike there might be the possibility of branding the product in two different ways, in order to relate to the demographic you are trying to target.

Companies that have successfully rebranded their businesses

Rebranding is common in both large and small companies  and is used for various reasons, below are some well known rebranding’s that have occurred in recent years.

 
ITV – Last year television giant ITV launched a rebranding that was known as the “biggest on-screen rebrand in 12 years”. Changing its iconic logo to something that they felt helped to distinguish them amongst a whole host of channels available to viewers. This strategy is a prime example of keeping current and moving with the times including its vivid colour scheme which is great example of differentiation.

Pepsi – Originally Pepsi-Cola, the company has consistently changed its logo to keep with the times. Each logo change is evident of the times and the ever changing customer perception.

Other examples of great rebrands include Snickers (Previously known as Marathon) and Starburst (Previously Opal Fruits).

Rebranding can be a daunting prospect and is a big move for a company to make. However with the right strategy and reasoning, a rebranding can really give you a competitive edge and ultimately boost your bottom line.