Monday, July 6, 2015

10 Reaons Why Re-branding Fails

Brand MarketingIn today's world we're seeing many business owners trying to re-set the market's understanding of their brand and are well and truly spanked for doing so.

If re-branding is the hot topic of conversation at your place, here're 10 reasons to leave things as they are:

1) You don't need to change.

Yes, I know it seems obvious…but it needs saying, because there are still brands that re-brand for reasons that escape everyone who missed the slidedeck. In many cases, the decision is taken not because the brand needs to change but because there has been a change in role or people internally are bored with the brand they are responsible for. Both reasons don't resonate with consumers of course – and they quickly voice a view for things to revert to how they were.

2) You're guessing what change is needed.

Too many brands come to believe that any change signals refreshment and therefore any change will do. So they make changes to their brand that mean something to them or that they feel comfortable with, or that the agency has talked them into, but that are neither as significant nor as interesting as the brand itself believes they will be. The fact is that unless you are re-branding for a reason and to achieve a specific goal, change for its own sake won't get you the results you were waiting for.

3) The strategy is wrong.

A re-brand that misreads the market can do a lot of damage to your business. Read the assumptions and market analysis around your re-brand carefully. Ask for proof, look carefully at the opportunities, evaluate the need for change (and the nature of the change required) from the point of view of the consumer. Working with the right consulting or agency partner is vital. You need them to be objective, well versed in your sector dynamics and committed to getting you results not just taking you through their process.

4) People will be confused.

If you change the signals that people look for in terms of recognizing your brand, you can quickly confuse your audience. This is particularly true in environments like packaged goods where consumers are paying scant attention. If they don't see the brand they recognize, they will quickly opt for another one. For that reason, make sure your re-brand retains at least some of what people know to ensure they still understand who you are.

5) The change is ugly.

This may be difficult to judge if you're the one leading the re-brand, but a little research will soon tell you if people think you've got it wrong. As marketers, it's tempting to think that aesthetic judgment rests with us. In point of fact, consumers are much more visually aware than we give them credit for, and it's their eyes and wallets that will decide success.

6) You're changing too late.

If your brand is already in decline, then a re-brand is not a solution, and it's unlikely to be enough on its own, particularly if the brand has been in decline for some time. Unless the re-brand is the visual symbol of much wider and deeper shifts that have taken place within the business, chances are you will not have done enough to arrest the downfall. Don't fall into the mistake that a re-brand will buy you time while you make other changes.

7) You're changing for the wrong reasons.

Don't re-brand to cover your tracks, to revise your history or to encourage people to forget. A number of companies have tried to do this, but the chances of you removing all traces of who you were or what you did are almost nil. Unless the change in name and brand comes with a significant shift in the manner of the business, all you are really doing is useless.

8) The change is meaningless.

If you say you've changed and hail what you've done as a re-brand when, as far as consumers are concerned, there is little visible or tangible difference, then the re-brand itself comes to mean nothing and therefore holds no value.

9) No-one is going to come with you.

If you change your brand but don't take your people with you, you will inevitably strand your brand. Re-branding the business takes huge energy and commitment. It will bring significant upheaval to the organization and test the patience and resolve of even the most focused. It will invite the skepticism of sector critics and the probing questions of investors and analysts. For that reason, if your team isn't right behind what is happening the chances of failure increase significantly. You need to ensure your strategy and culture are aligned with what is happening creatively, because otherwise you're going to end up short-selling the opportunity somewhere.

10) You're just going to join the long line.

If your re-brand simply makes your brand look and behave more like that of all your competitors, then you are on a path to invisibility. Brands need to be recognizable and to an extent that means they need to give hints as to the sector they are in, but when those changes are so generic that the brand ends up looking and acting like just another participant, the brand has in effect dug itself into a very expensive hole. If your re-brand does not deliver you significant and meaningful differentiation, it is useless.

Some of you after reading this article may think that I'm against re-branding; well that's not true. Every brand should look to refresh and update what it looks like, how it behaves, where it participates and what it offers, such changes need to take place regularly in order for brands to maintain their competitiveness. But the decision to re-brand is a lot bigger, more involved and more risky than ongoing refreshment. You should only seriously look at such a radical step if the story that your brand has told is no longer valuable, if the goals for the change are very clear and if the re-brand itself is accompanied by significant changes across the business and the culture that put you in a position of unprecedented advantage.

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