What to consider when re-branding

… by a company who has aced it!

Rebranding a company can seem like a fresh, fun new start – and it is fun you're right! However, the fun parts can just take up a small portion of the rebrand. It's all very well choosing colours, fonts, and logos but do you have a strong understanding of the process? The most crucial part of rebranding is planning properly, this can be tough if you've never rebranded before, but if you don't do it then it could be very costly and delay your rebrand. But that's where Greyhive can help you!

Research

As a marketing and communications agency, we understand that content is key and so is research. When you begin a rebrand you shouldn't rush straight into it, you need to ensure that you understand everything about your company from the brand, customers and your market.

This research time will give you chance to audit your brand assets and touchpoints to make you stand out against your competitors – this time is great to get your employees involved to hear what they think the company stands for. Also, let's not forget competitor research. What services are they offering that you don't? What are their prices? Why are they successful? You're rebranding so you can offer better services, better prices and make your company more successful!

Communicate

Communication is key in all businesses, a lack of can be your greatest downfall when it comes to rebranding. From the beginning of a rebrand you should be effectively communicating with all stakeholders and employees, keeping them up to date as time goes on. This includes letting them know the timeline of the rebranding, why you're doing it and what you want. This will keep everyone involved in the organisation on the same page and to assist you later when you complete the big reveal.

Keep track

When rebranding the last thing you want to do is leave changes or decisions undocumented. It's a sensible option to organise process documents, brand guidelines and keep emails as you never know when you will need them. By keeping documents on a shared drive, it will ensure there will be no breakdown in communication.

Plan your PR

Luckily as a marketing and communications company we are pretty good with all that PR stuff! There's not much point in rebranding if you're not going to roll out a red carpet for yourself. Internal PR is important, keeping your employees in on a big project like this will get them excited to see the brand expand and act as advocates for it. You can do an internal PR campaign with ease, just set up meetings, send videos or emails to employees announcing the change.

External PR is the most important, you need to really showcase your company and get it featured in the media, even if this means paying for it. Don't forget to let your clients and stakeholders know too. Launch parties are always great because you can invite clients, employees, the press and in some instances, the community. A party is a great way to show off all of the hard work you have put into your rebrand. The time around your rebrand can create some great social media posts too, you can drop hints beforehand and carry on posting about it afterwards – remember people love success stories!

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