Rebrand vs Brand Refresh

Rebrand versus Brand Refresh – What’s the difference?

ColBrand Strategy, Branding Leave a Comment

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Rebrand vs Brand Refresh

I’m here to pop the belief bubble that creating a brand is a one-time effort. There will likely come a time when you need to refresh or rebrand.

I’m not saying you’ll need to redesign your logo or rethink your brand every year. You will, however, need to be aware that brand's evolve and over time you could require a brand refresh or total rebrand.

But how do you know which is the right one if that occasion arises?

Should you do a complete rebrand or just a brand refresh, and what’s the difference? 

1. What is a rebrand?
2. Why might you need a rebrand?
3. What is a brand refresh?
4. Is your brand still current?
5. Nail the foundations of your brand
6. Why you should embrace brand evolution
7. Key differences between rebrand and refresh
8. Ready to rebrand or refresh?

For those of you who don't like to read blog posts, here is a video version 😃

What is a rebrand?

Imagine that your brand is a person. When you go through a rebrand, you can do things like:

  • Change your brand name
  • Have plastic surgery to change your brand’s visual appearance
  • Develop a whole new brand personality.

Even if you continue to sell the same product or deliver the same service, anyone who dealt with the brand before could think it was an entirely new brand.

You’re not reinventing the wheel; you’re further developing what already exists to ensure it constantly and consistently reflects the direction and goals of your business.


Why might you need a rebrand?

There are many reasons why you might want to (have to) go through a complete rebrand.

You might have gone through an ownership change or a merger or may want to change the brand’s direction or its core values.

Or maybe something’s happened that has damaged your brand’s reputation, so you need to distance yourself from that reputation damage completely.

Going through a rebrand can take quite some time and also be expensive. You’re not only changing the logo and the branding materials, but you may have to do market research, come up with a completely new brand strategy, messaging, taglines, slogans; a lot is going on.

It is more than just refreshing a colour palette or tweaking a logo when it comes to rebranding your business. The process goes deep into your brand, right to the core to ensure everything is in place and on track.

You also need to consider that if you have vehicles and other assets, they will all need to have new branding applied to them.


What is a brand refresh?

Whilst your brand’s origin story will always stay the same, your brand may change visually over time.

As before, let’s think of the brand as a person. When it comes to a brand refresh, that’s like having a new haircut or a new lipstick colour or a change of clothes. They’re still the same person underneath, but they just got a fresh new look.

When it comes to a brand refresh, it isn’t nearly as intensive as a complete rebrand. Some reasons to go through a refresh would be;

  • Modernising an old, outdated logo design.
  • Refreshing the typography and your colour pallet
  • Updating some taglines and slogans
  • Targeting a different demographic and making a very slight tweak to your branding to attract that specific audience.

Is your brand still current?

Keeping your brand relevant and appealing is difficult when you’re in a sea of competitors.

So, it would be best if you kept evolving your brand to keep up with your audience whilst staying true to your purpose and core values.

If you don’t adapt, you get left behind. And the longer your business has been around, the more things will have changed, and you need to keep up with those changes.

In marketing and branding, this is a Darwinian brand. A brand that maintains its original vision but adapts to progress and therefore survive.


Nail the foundations of your brand

Before you make any changes to your brand, you need to ensure that your core brand is strong (values, vision, mission, purpose); if they’re not then, you’re building on shoogly** foundations. 

You don’t want to make any drastic changes to these core brand elements as you want to avoid alienating your existing customer base. 

Think about when you started your business or organisation. Consider what’s changed since you established it.

  • Social Media 
  • Technology & Connectivity 
  • Social perceptions 
  • Culture 
  • Industry Changes 
  • Company Growth 
  • Products and Services 

If you’re already a part of a saturated market, this is even more important for you; it’s the brands that evolve and adapt that stick around for years. 

Are you embracing change and moving your brand along with it, or digging your heels in and refusing to budge? 

**Scottish for unsteady, wobbly 😁


Why you should embrace brand evolution

There’s plenty of examples of brands who buried their heads in the sand and suffocated as a result.

It’s not all about branding materials; this is also about a failure to innovate a business and remain relevant to your audience.

It’s crucial to adapt to your users’ experience. Are your competitors providing a new method of consumption and convenience that you aren’t?

Aim to be a brand that continually develops and adapts to respond to changing customer expectations, and you’ll reap the rewards for doing so.

Brand consistency is a significant factor in getting your brand out there. Part of that focuses on consistent promotion. You also need to be aware of the bigger picture and how your brand needs to evolve accordingly.

Take a step back and think about whether your branding is still as relevant now as it was when you last worked on it. If it’s not, then maybe it’s time to implement strategic brand evolution.


Key differences of rebranding vs refreshing

We’ve highlighted some pretty significant differences in a brand refresh or a rebrand, with the main differences being time and expense.

It should be quicker and less expensive with a refresh; you’re changing a few brand elements but nothing that completely transforms it.

With a complete rebrand, you’re going to need to invest a significant amount of time and budget in shifting everything over to the brand-new look that you’re bringing to your business or your organisation.

Ready to Rebrand or Refresh?

If you think your business or organisation needs a rebrand or a refresh, but you're not sure where to get started, please get in touch, and we can discuss how best to adapt your brand. 

You can book a Power Hour consultation call, and together we can look at your existing brand, discuss the key areas you'd like to change and improve and discuss how to give a new lease of life to your brand.

To do that, click the big button below and let's rock your brand!

Stay Creative!

Col