Your brand positioning is an integral part of your digital presence as a company. It helps shape how you’ll be perceived and the strategies you’ll use to connect with your target audience. Everyone has a brand identity; it’s what makes you, you — but because the digital marketing landscape is more saturated than ever, keeping your relevant and distinct is crucial for success.
In a world where everything feels the same, your brand is often your organization’s best defense against a sea of same-sounding competitors. If your current branding isn’t differentiating you from the competition, it may be time for a refresh. Your brand likely already has the makings of a strong and memorable identity, even if you haven’t discovered it yet — you may just need the experts to hop in to help you unlock it.
But how do you know when a branding strategy isn't working? When do you know it’s time to consider a rebranding strategy? As time goes by and you get caught up in the chaos of running your business, you likely don’t notice the red flags that exist within your current brand model.
This is where we come in. Baal & Spots is here to reveal the signs that tell you when to consider rebranding, as well as talk about how we can guide you in creating a rebranding marketing strategy to uplift and differentiate your business.
What is a rebranding strategy?
A rebranding strategy is a roadmap to a new you, a comprehensive plan to change or update your company's brand identity to better reflect your values and make you stand out among the chaff. This can include:
- Revamping your logo
- Adjusting your brand voice
- Updating or refining all of your internal and external messaging
- Redesigning your website
- Changing your company name
However, rebranding your business requires much more than changing a logo and a mission statement — you have to dive deep into why your business exists, who it’s for, and what you intend to provide for your customers. The goal is to create a new image that better reflects your current business values, target audience, and market position.
Business owners are often shocked at how difficult it is to answer these questions, which is why so few organizations have thoughtful brand positioning, and are in desperate need of a rebranding strategy.
But Baal & Spots, how do you make a successful rebranding strategy? I need help! No need to worry, dear reader, we will spill all our secrets to help you get closer to the memorable brand identity that you deserve. However, before we do, let’s discuss the five signs of when to consider rebranding.
1. Your brand no longer aligns with your values or mission
When you start a business, even if you don’t do so formally, you establish your company values and your overall mission. These should act as a compass to point you toward what you want to accomplish now, and what your ultimate goal an organization is. As time goes on and your business evolves, you may find that your current branding no longer accurately represents your current and future goals.
When a business grows, but the branding stays in the past, it can create a disconnect between how the company is perceived and what it truly stands for. This misalignment is common, and it often confuses customers, dilutes your message, and weakens your competitive edge.
A great example of a successful rebranding strategy is Chobani. The yogurt brand pivoted its messaging to focus on happiness and wellness and swapped the boring white tub for eye-catching, vividly-colored packaging, which set it apart from other yogurt brands on neighboring shelves.
A rebranding strategy allows you to realign your visual identity, messaging, and overall brand presence with your current values and mission, ensuring consistency and building stronger, more authentic connections with your audience.
2. Your target audience has changed
If you're now catering to a different audience than when you first established your brand, a rebrand might be necessary to better appeal to your new customer base. As your business grows and the market evolves, the demographics, preferences, and behaviors of your audience can shift. This means the brand that once resonated with your original customers may no longer appeal to your new audience.
LEGO realized that it had a much broader audience than just children and decided to undergo a mini rebrand to appeal to both children and adults who find joy in creation and expression. Sales skyrocketed after they expanded their products to include major franchises that adults enjoy (think Star Wars and Harry Potter) while creating new media like games and movies for kids and their parents to enjoy.
If your brand fails to reflect your growth, you risk becoming irrelevant or out of touch with the people you’re trying to reach. Rebranding allows you to reshape your message, tone, and visual identity to better connect with your current audience, ensuring that your business stays relevant and engaging in a dynamic marketplace.
3. Your messaging is inconsistent
Inconsistent messaging — when the tone, voice, or values conveyed in your communication vary across different platforms or customer interactions — can lead to confusion and weaken your brand's identity. If you claim to be one thing but demonstrate something else, your credibility and loyalty will inevitably suffer.
If your organization’s mission is to help people, your brand messaging should be nurturing, encouraging, and helpful; if your content marketing (usually attempting humor) comes off as insincere or flippant, your audience won’t know whether or not they can trust you to help them. Not every brand can communicate in every tone, and your brand’s messaging should be informed directly by your values, mission, and audience.
Unifying your brand messaging ensures that every touchpoint with your customers reflects a clear, cohesive narrative. Your goal is to make it easy for your target audience to remember exactly who you are and what you offer, encouraging conversions.
4. Your brand looks outdated
Customers care a lot about aesthetics. If your logo and website look like they were made in Microsoft Paint, users will likely get the impression that your business is out of touch, or that your ideas are stagnant.
Visual identity is a great way to attract your ideal customers, but an outdated or unappealing brand look can deter your audience. The men’s hygiene brand Old Spice ditched its “old” look when they realized their brand imagery was steering away modern audiences who associated their products with older generations. Now, their brand appeals to both men and women thanks to their rebranding marketing strategy featuring Old Spice Guy, played by actor Isaiah Mustafa, who all the men want to be and the women want to smell.
Rebranding offers a fresh opportunity to modernize your appearance, reflect current trends, and better align your brand with the expectations of today’s audience, helping your business stay vibrant and appealing.
5. Your business is expanding or undergoing changes
Just like people, businesses change as they grow. Small startups often transform into multi-faceted corporations; manufacturing companies expand and sell higher amounts of diverse products — change is inevitable! Often, the mission you set out to accomplish early on will not be the same in 2, 5, or 10 years.
For example, if Baal & Spots — a digital marketing agency in Houston known for online marketing services — decides to expand our offerings to print and traditional media, our brand will need to develop a rebranding strategy and undergo a rebrand to include these new services, as our current brand is inextricable from “digital” marketing.
If your business is moving in a different direction or rising to new heights, your company’s goals are bound to change. A fresh brand strategy and growth go hand-in-hand.
What are the steps of rebranding?
Take a look at our rebranding checklist to see how you can begin your own rebranding strategy.
Step 1: Conduct a brand audit
Before you begin the rebranding process, you need to know why you are rebranding in the first place. Assemble an internal team of your business’s important stakeholders and conduct a brand audit to get to the root of why you need to make a change.
Once you have an idea of what you would like to update and what obstacles you would like to overcome, you can find an agency or partner to help you carry out this process.
Step 2: Meet with a rebrand marketing strategist (us)
Baal & Spots offers branding and messaging services to help you develop and execute a rebranding strategy that fits your business’s needs. We will help you determine:
- Who your target audience is (your ideal customers)
- Your brand messaging, which includes your mission statement, vision statement, value propositions, taglines, and more
- Your visual identity (logos, color palettes, fonts, imagery, style, etc.)
- Short- and long-term goals for your business
- How to tie your origins and your culture into your brand identity
- How your brand fits into your market, and what makes you stand out against your competitors
We get to know you and your business to create a tailor-made brand identity that encompasses who you are currently and what you aim to achieve in the future.
Step 3: Roll out the red carpet
Once all of your brand assets have been polished and perfected, we guide you through the launch of your shiny, new brand. From your website to your social platforms, leveraging all relevant media channels, we’ll ensure that the right people see the update, all while monitoring performance and feedback.
Unleash your brand’s potential with a tailored rebranding strategy
If you’re thinking of rebranding your business, it's crucial to approach the process strategically. A rushed rebrand with little to no strategy will only result in time and effort wasted on an identity that won’t succeed. However, with expert guidance and a clear understanding of your goals, you can create a rebranding strategy that will not only help your organization look and feel its best, but will also drive growth and inspire customer loyalty.
If you need a trustworthy expert to guide you, look no further.
At Baal & Spots, a digital marketing agency based in Houston, we know how to orchestrate a successful rebrand. Our team of experts offers rebranding strategy workshops designed to guide businesses through this transformative process, so that you can avoid the common pitfalls and capitalize on rarified opportunities. Whether you're looking to refresh your visual identity, reposition your brand, create intuitive content, or completely overhaul your company image, our brand and strategy experts can deliver what you need to succeed.
We do marketing for ambitious brands. If you’re ready to grow your brand, so are we. Let’s get to work.
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