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Rebranding for better alignment: How marketing, brand & PR work together

by | Dec 10, 2020 | Analysis, Public Relations

Vye President Dan Soldner shares insights on how to effectively rebrand your company

Branding is strategic. A rebrand should be no different.

There’s much more to rebranding than simply changing a logo or the font of your company’s name. Branding plays a significant role in helping companies position themselves more strategically and allowing consumers to understand what you offer, what your philosophy is, and what sets you apart from competitors.

A branding strategy can enhance your entire business and will take both marketing and PR efforts to bring your vision to life.

Our agency, Vye, launched its rebrand on October 1st of 2020. It took our team nearly a year to execute the way we wanted to. We treated the project and scope as we do all of our work, and carved out a campaign plan to identify the rebranding cohort as well as who would comprise the “client” on our own behalf.

Our rebrand was all about alignment and how it could positively impact marketing and PR alike.

State of business

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused many companies to adapt various aspects of their business and to consider the short- and long-term impact on their brand presence. It’s not a stretch for companies to view their brands differently  today than they did a year ago.

Interestingly, we don’t always notice branding changes as consumers, unless they’re serious makeovers or it sparks an interruption in products or services. But for business owners and marketing leaders, rebranding isa big undertaking and should be viewed as a serious declaration of intent, a marker of your company’s commitment to evolution, and upward growth.

Five reasons a rebrand makes sense:

1. You’ve outgrown your mission

A rebrand can signify the evolution of an organization and alert current—and prospective—clients to the ways you’ve grown as a company and how you’re meeting clients’ needs in new and creative ways.

When we created our company in 2009, including the word interactivemade sense to our brand. We operated as Leighton Interactive for over 10 years, continually honing in on our mission and what we stood for in the marketplace. Our rebrand process was born out of the need to better align ourselves with our mission.

2. You want to reach a new demographic

For the sake of moving your business forward, it’s necessary to keep your eye on new audiences that could benefit from your products or services. Commit to ongoing research, learning best practices in your space, and eyeing trends early as these can result in identifying other demographics and lead to company growth.

Of course, defining who you serve and what your niche or specialty is should be at the heart of your mission and overall business strategy.

3. You need to shake off a poor image

Errors, customer dissatisfaction, poor leadership, disgruntled staff. The list of negatives go on. Business owners face these challenges nearly every day, and no business or industry is immune to the scrutiny.

And in some cases, the impact of scrutiny can be too deep and long-lasting, and the only way forward is to rebrand. If you find yourself in this position, devise a rebrand that consciously pays attention to the tangible and intangible, subtle and direct, ways to allow you to refresh and move on.

Here’s where a solid PR strategy comes in. Lead with transparency and honesty about the whybehind your rebrand and take what you learned from the process and move forward.

4. You have an identity crisis

If you find you are inconsistent, incorrect, or messy with the way you present your visual and/or editorial image, a rebrand may be in order.

Consider this: Is it easier, and more cost-effective, to polish your existing brand identity or to completely start fresh? And, what are the implications for your team, your customers, and the market? This doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing game, but not going “all in” in either scenario could add confusion to an already fragile state. Whether you rebuild or refresh your identity, ensure you have the correct parameters and practices in place to protect your new identity moving forward.

5. The market is evolving quickly

Sometimes a rebrand is necessary to keep your company competitive in a fast-paced, ever-changing market.

Whether you’re refining a niche or venturing into new territory, remember the quote from George Patton: “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” Invest in customer feedback, research, and market studies to keep you apprised of when a rebrand may be necessary to keep you relevant and growing.

Dan Soldner
Dan Soldner is the president of Vye, a passionate entrepreneur, and marketer.

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