How to rebrand without failing

For any start-up firm or small business, branding is a major challenge that takes day and night to accomplish. Rebranding a business that has been around for years, on the other hand, is an entirely different endeavor since it tells the marketplace you’re going to be conducting a new way of doing business.

Rebranding a business is something very risky and a gamble. One of the reasons is because your brand is currently known by customers. Another aspect to take into account is your brand already has a certain percentage of market share. Would rebranding subtract from it?

In many cases, businesses feel a rebrand can help quash any scandals that have damaged the brand. Other entrepreneurs think rebranding can regain customers it once had. Some executives make the case that rebranding helps target an evolving audience or demographic. These are all stellar cases to be made. However, it’s important whether to distinguish between retooling your brand or performing a complete overhaul.

Although rebranding has helped some businesses stay open, there have been a great number of incidences where the rebranding has gone awry. Here are a few examples of questionable rebranding initiatives:

• PepsiCo attempted to bring Tropicana into the 21st century, but customers were deeply attached to its previous logo (an orange with a straw attached). The company had to revert back to the classic design.
• Radio Shack attempted to transform itself into a hip brand by calling itself “The Shack.” It failed.
• The SciFi Channel rebranded itself as SyFy, but Urban Dictionary says syfy is slang for syphilis. Whoops!
• Capital One went back in time and brought with it the swoosh. The financial institution incorporated the swoosh into its logo, but most brand experts dismissed it as nothing more than an attempt to be hip and cool.

These are just some of the top examples of a company trying to rebrand itself with very little success. But these firms’ failures can be your gain if you’re in the midst of rebranding.

What are some fine examples of successful rebranding endeavors? Here are just a few:

• Old Spice went from being your grandfather’s deodorant to a teenager’s delight.
• Did you know that Burberry was once considered gangwear? Well, now so many of the stars are wearing it, like Emma Watson or Kate Moss.
• McDonald’s is still undergoing a rebranding campaign, but now it looks like it’s on par with Starbucks or Whole Foods!
• Did you once think Target would be just another Wal-Mart? Wrong. Target is now a favorite department store for middle- and upper-class yuppies.
• Apple was on the brink of extinction. Now you have it in your pocket everywhere you go.

Here are five rebranding methods to incorporate into your rebranding strategy:

Telling a Story for Your Rebranding

Are you rebranding because of a well-known customer service problem (ahem, Time Warner Cable, ahem)? Are you rebranding because you want to help change the world? Whatever your company’s motive for a revamping is, try to share a story with your audience. Make consumers a part of the narrative.

Subway Restaurant is a great example of telling a story. The former spokesperson for the company, Jared, shared his plight from obesity to weight loss over the course of several years. Now Subway is one of the most popular fast-food chains in the world today.

Instead of just changing your brand overnight, do it over time and allow the consuming public to join you on this adventure. Incite conversation, share updates on social media and ask for ideas.

Have a Good Reason for Changing Your Name

So, you’re changing the name of your business just for the heck of it, huh? Why would you do such a thing? Unless your company’s current name and logo have been severely damaged by a massive scandal, there really is no reason to modify the name of your business. You must have an excellent justification for changing a name that customers have gotten used to after all of these years.

Neglecting Your Position in the Market

Do you realize just how strong your position is in the market? Do you know that you control at least 15 percent market share in your respect industry? Sometimes, when businesses rebrand themselves, they tend to neglect or be immune to the fact that their present brand is actually quite popular and customers really have no problem with it.

As previously mentioned, PepsiCo did this with its iconic Tropicana orange juice. For some reason, the soft drink maker transformed its creative orange with straw into a generic store brand, at least that’s what consumers thought it looked like. Why would PepsiCo do this?

Rebranding can be likened to the old adage of: if it isn’t broke then don’t fix it.

It’s More Than Just a New Name or Logo

Oftentimes, a company is befuddled by its physical attributes, such as its logo or website. They tend to believe that if you add a swoosh (hello Capital One) or inject a new mascot (good day Burger King) then it will solve of all the corporate problems it has faced. Unfortunately, a new logo for the sake of a new logo can often lead to poor results.

Indeed, many brands have included mascots as part of their marketing campaigns. The Pillsbury Doughboy, Captain Morgan, Tony the Tiger, Aflac the duck and others have been successful mascots because they helped tell the story of the company (see above). By simply adding a mascot out of nowhere, it reeks of desperation (how are you doing, Mr. Six?).

Don’t Look Old by Trying to be Hip

Are you thinking of changing your logo to represent a surfer dude? Are you going to be including selfies, OMGs and millennials into your marketing materials from now on? Are you rebranding for the sake of being hip? Well, don’t do any of these things. The worst thing a company rebranding can do is trying to be hip but looking old at the same time.

In some cases, brands didn’t even have to change its look to be cool, but just its products and services. For instance, Pizza Hut has been trying to sell gourmet pizzas to its millennial customers, while McDonald’s is adopting automated technologies – in the latter’s case, it’s more due to rising labor costs. What did young people say to both initiatives? Meh.

Times change. Sometimes a company looks outdated. A certain campaign doesn’t work anymore. However, when you do a complete 180 of your brand then consumers can sense that you’re looking to be cool.

Final Thoughts

Rebranding can be tough. Sometimes it works, sometimes it fails. Who knows? Perhaps it’s just pure luck that a rebranding campaign was pulled off successfully. But when your rebranding efforts have actually creeped out customers for a long time, or it has made the general public laugh at you then you know you have the wrong ideas at hand.