Five Reasons to Rebrand | BrandExtract Insights

Whether your brand is experiencing a change in leadership, is in the middle of a merger or acquisition or is experiencing a market shift, you should always monitor its relevance. As your industry shifts over time and competitors try new strategies to compete, it’s important to regularly reevaluate how you’re telling your brand story in an impactful way.

There are several common indications that it’s time to revamp your brand, whether through a messaging refocus or an entire brand overhaul. In this article, we’ll examine five reasons that spur brands into reimagining themselves, and discuss some of the key opportunities presented by a rebranding strategy in each case.

Reason #1: Mergers and Acquisitions

Acquiring a new business has massive implications for your brand. From ensuring consistent branding across every touchpoint to aligning brand messaging across a newly integrated marketing team, M&As present many challenges (and opportunities) to refocus and realign your brand.

The most successful companies in the world are well aware of this: among S&P Global 100 companies that acquired another brand, 74% of them rebranded the acquired asset within the first seven years, according to a 10-year study by Landor.

When brands merge and acquire one another, they bring two different identities together in harmony. That transition may be streamlined if the two brands have similar missions, visions and values. However, strong companies differentiate themselves from the rest through their brands, so merging two brands effectively requires deep analysis and evaluation to align both.

Rebranding isn’t just external; it also has implications for the internal brand, and that’s especially important in mergers and acquisitions. By merging two different internal cultures, your rebrand must cover internal conversations with the team to align everyone under a unified vision.

Reason #2: Leadership Change

Whenever a major shift in leadership occurs, it can completely reshape a company’s strategy for growth or everyday operations. When this happens, a rebrand may be a necessary step toward aligning the entire organization toward its new purpose.

Leadership changes don’t happen on a whim—they’re typically the result of a broader shift toward a new direction, whether that’s a change in public perception, a new target audience or a shifting strategy.

Rebrands help steer the ship in a direction that better aligns with that new goal by reintroducing the company to the marketplace. This helps customers, employees, and other stakeholders recognize a marked transformation toward a realigned purpose and breaks outdated perceptions around the brand.

The most prominent example of brand shifts due to leadership is Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997. He refocused the Apple ethos toward accessible electronics for broader audiences, forging the brand into the gateway to consumer technology that makes people’s lives easier.

That realignment came with a rebrand, chopping the “computer” off of “Apple Computers Inc.” to signify the extension into innovative technologies beyond the personal computer. Apple also changed its logo to a cleaner, if less colorful version that became easily recognizable across its various revolutionary devices that launched over the subsequent decades. Structurally, the company did away with promising or low-performing products that did not fit the new vision.

Reason #3: Product or Service Introduction

Your brand provides the foundation for every marketing campaign, strategy and product that your company produces. But sometimes, products gain a meaning of their own that changes the way customers perceive your brand.

When technological shifts dramatically change a product or service, it sometimes becomes necessary to update your brand to reflect its role in moving that product forward. This allows brands to maintain relevance as customers look for brands that provide access to cutting-edge products and services.

Such was the case for Netflix, whose 2014 rebrand marked a shift toward a new era of its core product offering. On-demand streaming was rapidly replacing its former focus on online DVD rentals, and its new brand needed to reflect that with a new identity at the forefront of the burgeoning industry.

To represent this shift into online streaming, Netflix’s visual identity took the form we recognize today, using the iconic red “N” as a signifier of a “never-ending stream of stories” that always has something next in the queue. That identity was further supported by Netflix’s new tagline, “See What’s Next.”

Related to this phenomenon is the management of brand architecture that can change as different product offerings or services change. When your brand includes many other brands, keeping a unified throughline can get complicated.

Rebranding becomes necessary when it no longer becomes clear what each brand represents, or if they are often confused with one another. This could involve combining brands into one “house” of brands or changing the way brands are organized to better clarify each brand's position to customers.

Reason #4: Market Shifts

Sometimes, general market trends outside of any one industry can trigger the need for a rebrand. When the marketplace moves in relation to your brand, it changes the way people perceive your position in comparison to industry competitors. This requires your outward brand to change to better meet customer needs.

Commoditization is a common market phenomenon that requires purposeful rebranding. As companies compete on cheaper and cheaper prices, authentic branding is the best tool for escaping that “race to the bottom” and building up a reputation as a brand that is worth a higher price.

When your brand is consistently living up to its brand promise, people begin to take notice over time and place a level of trust in the quality of your products or services. Long term, this trust justifies a higher level of financial commitment to your brand, even when competitors are offering similar services for lower prices.

If a brand’s products consistently struggle to keep up with competitive pricing, it may be time to rebrand to elevate the perceived value of its offerings. Examining what unique value drivers set your brand apart from the competition beyond price will allow you to make the case for your brand more reliably and effectively.

Reason #5: General Strategic Changes

As mentioned above, a rebrand can help position an organization toward a new strategic direction, especially with new leadership. But many changes outside of leadership can spur your brand to refocus on a certain aspect or introduce a new value into the core of your brand promise.

Sustainability is currently one of the most prominent concepts organizations implement into their brand. For many years, sustainability was treated separately from brand value, as an additional service or, in some cases, as an afterthought. Now, many brands are implementing sustainable values into the essence of their identity, standing out from their competitors through cutting-edge practices.

Milestone is an example of a brand that integrated sustainability into its promise. Its unique energy waste management techniques allowed it to position itself as a leading partner in sustainability within the energy industry. With a refocused branding effort and state-of-the-art sustainability report launch, Milestone was able to authentically embody sustainability and unlock new opportunities.

The key to rebranding for a strategic repositioning is to remain authentic to what your brand represents. It’s not enough to put a new coat of paint on the same brand; a rebrand needs to accompany actionable changes in the company's focus that align with how you want your brand to be perceived.

Align Your Brand With Authenticity

When your brand is aligned with your purpose, you can turn any change into an opportunity for growth. At BrandExtract, we align your corporate strategy with your brand strategy to strengthen your organization and spur new growth in any economic environment. To learn how branding can take your organization to new heights, reach out to a brand expert, or explore some helpful insights: