7 Golden Rules for Logo Rebranding

Brand identity is everything in the corporate world and in any business that intends to succeed in a competitive field. A good logo should enrich your brand through easy recall, impact, and visibility in the market. In this article we share 7 Golden Rules for Logo Rebranding.

Adopt a comprehensive approach when thinking about rebranding your logo to reflect the rest of your corporate image so that it carries identity recognition and effective messaging, whether in a name style format or graphics.

Logo design basics are essential to ensure focus on core business objectives of the company, keeping it simple and easy to remember. Here are seven golden rules for your logo rebranding project.

Table of Contents

1. Have clear reasons for rebranding

Rebranding any business is a radical policy issue that calls for serious consideration before execution. Rebranding means a change of identity or image and a realignment of market perception of what was hitherto familiar. This could pose challenges in sales as customers reacquaint with the new look or even lead to collapse if not well thought out.

Companies rebrand for various reasons that include product diversification, venturing into new markets, recovery from adverse experiences, or because of mergers.

To ensure that such radical changes are in line with company objectives both in the interim and long term, you must have sound and strong reasons that meet the consensus of all concerned. The first item then should be to spell out the shortcomings of the current logo branding and the expected goals of the proposed changes.

2. Set out what changes to make

Logo rebranding could be as simple as dropping the text accompanying the graphics or vice versa. Or it could be adopting a name style format while retaining all other aspects, including colours.

Land Rover logo went through such changes dropping the names “Solihull Warwickshire, England” that designated their headquarters and colours from grey to current forest green but retaining name in a bolder font in the oval that is so familiar today.

Set up an internal team involving the marketing department to review what needs to be changed. Together decide on whether you need partial logo rebranding or complete makeover that will affect mission, objectives, packaging, and brand marketing strategy.

Let your marketing team conduct professional surveys on your market visibility and performance to help you design a responsive logo rebrand.

3. Align logo rebrand with objectives

Align logo rebrand with company objectives if the change is to be profitable at all. As observed above, the reasons for the change must be a reflection of the objectives.

In other words, if the company is not achieving set goals or lagging behind the competition in the market, the purpose should be to change that through logo rebrand. Use this opportunity to gain visual prominence and brand recall or to set out in emerging markets with variant tastes.

Rachel Silverman is the marketing and advertising head for a twiftnews society. She suggests that the advertisers should let the new logo become the marketing symbol for the company and the identifying beacon for your products. This might also mean a revision of your mission statement to reflect the new changes and an expression of the company’s vision.

The golden rule here is to have a clear understanding of your objectives before rebranding. She tried this to craft the marketing campaign.

4. Evaluate rebranding cost implications

In business, the bottom line is costs and profit. You do not want to start on a project that will take away funding meant for crucial running costs, thereby crippling the operations. Carefully determine the extent you intend to rebrand and the cost of implementing the new changes.

Will the logo rebrand necessitate the introduction of new packaging for products? If so, what will it cost and the impact on company finances?

Other costs to consider include promotion and advertising that will introduce the new changes to customers. You must also factor in the cost of new product catalogues as well as their design.

All these depend on the nature of the logo rebrand you choose to make. A simple tweaking of the graphics or dropping off some text will cost less with the introduction affected gradually.

5. Keep it relevant, simple, and powerful

Relevance to business is key when rebranding your logo to ensure effective messaging and instant recognition. Let the logo not only identify you in the general market but also in the specific industry you are engaged in. Relevance makes it easier for customers to relate with your brand and to attract them on impulse.

Choose a design that is simple without much clatter but has a strong impact. An example of simplicity in rebranding is British Sky Broadcasting Limited that changed to a trendy and easy to recall “Sky” name style with a powerful two-tone colour scheme.

Colour is a powerful visual tool that you can use effectively to make your logo stand out and create a lasting imagery in the minds of your customers.

6. Engage expert help

Graphic design is highly technical and requires trained professionals with understanding in branding, communication, and application to get a superior business logo. This is simply not something you want to experiment with and put your brand reputation to ridicule.

The golden rule is to engage a professional designer or firm to translate your vision into a powerful logo.

It is also important to set up an internal team comprising key departments for their input and to work with the designer to get great results. The marketing department has plenty to offer from their experience and previous interaction in the field.

You can also task this team to carry out targeted research that will guide the new logo rebrand. Experts will also understand how to maintain consistency and ensure a smooth transition.

7. Re-launch and continuity

Re-launch is the next step after logo rebrands and you must plan for this at the same time you commence the design project. Plan for advertisements and promotions to introduce the new look logo so that your customers move with you. Ensure that this awareness campaign reaches all spheres of operation for a wholesome renewal in your business.

Since these changes must be replicated in all media and applications, it is important to maintain consistency. The new logo must be used similarly on your website as well as print media, product packaging, stationery, and promotional material.

To achieve this, you must have a corporate manual detailing rules of use, colour schemes, and font type. This guarantees the consistency and integrity of your brand image and usage at all times.

Conclusion

A strong brand that customers easily relate with is key to success in business. Every CEO strives to rise above the crowd with a strong identity and this means that changes to existing brand logos become necessary to maintain a competitive edge.

You may also have outgrown your initial profile and want to reflect the current status or diversifying your business and need a new identity. Rebranding is a normal process of growth but one that should be carefully considered before implementation while protecting the interests and prospects of the company by observing some basic rules.

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Also published on Medium.