When is the best time to refresh your brand?
At Neujuice we are all back in the studio now and delighted that our favourite burger joint in the city is open again – the wonderful Burger Brothers – trust me they are great. They were recently voted the winner of Unilever Food Solution’s Britain’s Best Burger competition. Although I have been reading about the Burger King re-brand by some old friends at JKR the main Brighton franchise retains the old identity and it does feel really dated. The irony is that the new design is both digital first and also retro fitted based on an earlier identity from the late Sixties. I applaud the fact that this brand refresh design has won a Cannes Lion and I am now intrigued to see if it attracts consumers back into the chain again.
In the business world there’s an ever-growing appreciation for the value of branding. Over the last 24 months a host of established businesses are reimagining their identities for a new age, and stakeholders are pushing their companies to focus on brand for the future. The last year has made many companies take a long hard look at themselves and review how they communicate to their customers in changing and difficult times.
Many have reached the conclusion that a clearly defined brand and visual language is no longer a competitive advantage – it’s a core requirement. In another interesting development brands are consciously rejecting category conventions. They are reframing their purpose and their product and seeking fresh and dynamic ways to communicate and involve their audience in this journey.
In our last article about digital first branding I wrote “whether you’re considering a brand refresh to get your branding digital-centric, or launching a new business, you should choose to adopt digital-first thinking to build a robust, innovative business”
We have since been asked when is the right time to rebrand? Beyond mergers and acquisitions in our experience there are a number of compelling reasons.
1/ Your brand has a legacy design. Fundamentally the identity and supporting visual language was designed for print and now no longer extends to all the digital touchpoints required with ease. The brand identity is feeling predictable, dated and out of fashion. You and your team are no longer proud of it.
2/ You are launching a new product or service and your current brand architecture does not easily allow for this or there is a change in the way that you need to deliver these products or services. Your current brand is holding your business back.
3/ Change initiated by a competitor’s activity that has altered what and how your customers want to buy. When this happens it can disconnect your brand from your target audience. A fresh approach and rebrand would encourage reappraisal and remind your audience why you’re the right brand for them.
In truth your brand promise, purpose or values may not have changed but the way this is represented and communicated may need to. All major brands refresh and modify their design representation over time, just like Burger King.
So, if you think now is the time to consider whether a brand refresh is right for you and your business let’s have a chat by mail or phone – or even over lunch – *the very best burgers in Britain are on us…
By Bill Wallsgrove, Brand Director
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