Re-Branding? Five Quantifiers for Success

Have you ever been a part of a branding challenge with no set goals or outcomes other than color or icon change? Yes? Welcome to the club.

If you are like most branders out there, you have most likely been approached by a client to reposition their brand to be 'more modern' or 'most sleek' or 'more professional'. What clients often overlook is that moving ahead with a comprehensive rebrand and all the associated costs that go with it is a dangerous gamble.

Some common reasons branding exercises fail:

• Not defining your brand strategy first.

• Starting with a cheap brand identity.

• Failing to differentiate your brand.

• Not connecting with the right audience.

• Stretching your brand too far.

• Not providing great brand experience.

• Failing to protect and defend.

• Not being consistent.

To look at the flipside, what makes for a successful brand initiative?

• Define how you want to be perceived.

• Organize your business based on this promise.

• Communicate your promise.

• Be consistent.

Have you thought about what it takes to do a successful brand re-launch or re-brand?

Here are a few pointers to adhere to going ahead.

Brand Position

The part which describes what your organization does, who you serve, what your unique values are, what differentiates you, etc. Important to factor in, is what the consumer can gain by using your product or service - why and how you do it better. Brand positioning is the conceptual place you want to own in the target consumer's mind — the benefits you want them to think of when they think of your brand. An effective brand positioning strategy will maximize customer relevancy and competitive distinctiveness, in maximizing brand value.

Brand Promise

The single most important thing that the organization promises to deliver every single time is a brand promise, or brand ethos. Every business move should be weighed against this promise to be sure that it justifies it or at the very least it does not directly contradict it. A brand promise is the value or experience a company's customers can expect to receive every single time they interact with that company. The more a company can deliver on that promise, the stronger the brand value in the mind of customers and employees.

Brand Story

Alongside the organization's history, how it adds credibility, shapes the face of and lends value to the brand is called the brand story. It also usually includes a summary of your services and products. A brand story is a cohesive narrative that encompasses the facts and feelings that are created by your brand (or business, if you prefer). Unlike traditional advertising, which is about showing and telling about your brand, a story must inspire an emotional reaction.

Brand Personality

Brand personality is a set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name. A brand personality is something to which the consumer can relate; an effective brand increases its brand equity by having a consistent set of traits that a specific consumer segment enjoys. Try to get at least 5 personality traits of your business that you wish to be known for.

Brand Associations

Brand associations are a set of qualities that help communicate information to the customer. These qualities should differentiate one brand from the competition, and therefore provide a reason to buy that brand over the other. These qualities should provide positive attitudes and feelings. Associations include logos, names, colors, fonts, image tagline and so on. Your brand promise and your brand traits must be reflected through your brand association. Your brand association must also support your brand positioning statement. Once you are done developing and defining a relevant brand, you need to start building the brand with customers, employees and partners.

"To be truly successful in a re-brand campaign, you must have a commitment from the top down to adhere to the rules. Nobody will ever know or remember what your brand really is unless you decide to keep it the same every single time they are exposed to it. Make a comprehensive brand manual and provide it to all the employees via SharePoint or relevant internal intranet resource. Remind staff early and often to keep to the rules, or your brand will quickly get watered down. Don't make exceptions or different rules for each challenge, this will not work."