After thoughtful consideration, you’ve made the decision to rebrand your B2B company. Having been there ourselves–and worked with dozens of companies on rebrand projects like these–we know that making the decision to move forward is both exciting and challenging.
Over the last six years, the design experts at SketchDeck have helped over 77 organizations with successful rebrands. Our vetted, best-in-field designers have completed thousands of design projects for leading brands like Google, Spotify, Microsoft, Nuxeo, Dropbox, Okta, Icertis, and many others. And on average, we aid more than three rebrands every month.
So while a rebrand opens the door to a lot of questions, we’re prepared to help you find the answers with this eBook. In it, we cover the 4 steps to a successful rebrand:
- Create a brand book
- Conduct a brand diagnostic
- Carry out the branding
- Proactively maintain your brand
We will walk you through the elements of a brand, how to identify if a brand is working effectively, and how to determine if the time is right for you to rebrand (or if a brand refresh would be more appropriate). You’ll also get an exclusive behind the scenes look at our own rebranding process, examples of the work we’ve done for clients, and more.
So what are we waiting for? Let’s dive in!
What is a brand?
Simply put, a brand is the expression of a company’s values.
“The brand is the perception. It is the experience. It is the tangible embodiment of the company’s values. And the way people interact with those values is the effect of the brand.”
David Mack, Co-founder and CMO
Let’s unpack that. There are two ways that the brand interacts with company values–the first being a personality that communicates a story to customers through visuals and voice. This personality can be fun, crazy, serious, or trustworthy. The visuals and voice in turn reflect the company values and how you want them to be conveyed.
The second way a brand interacts is through the brand’s personal story, including the company’s history and what it went through to reach the point it’s at today. This origin story often highlights the company’s mission and why certain things are important. Just as you can see part of a person’s story by looking at their face, a brand should also reflect a company’s history and its calling.
“A brand is made up of different elements that make up a whole. I like to think of those elements as instruments of an orchestra. Depending on what we seek to communicate, these elements or instruments can become more or less protagonists, generating different intensities, moments and rhythms, playing different roles but in the same harmonic system.”
Lucía Gonzalez Venzano, Design Director
What is an effective brand?
An effective brand not only encapsulates both of these value interactions, but it does so in a way that has positive effects for the company–from influencing customer perception to company culture.
If a customer comes to your website, for instance, they are greeted by your brand. The brand, in turn, affects their subconscious reaction and creates an emotional connection to your company.
Effective brands have a clear brand definition with visual consistency, which results in a strong, consistent customer reaction.
“The company is a kind of social entity. It is something that many people in the world will have a relationship and interactions with. These interactions have an emotional and visual component, which affect perceptions. The brand is the foundation of this influence.”
David Mack, Co-founder and CMO
Is it time to rebrand?
Companies rebrand all the time, for a variety of reasons–from M&A activity that creates a new, shared history and mission, to a significant event in the marketplace that demands change.
Your brand should change and evolve with your company. When this is not the case, it creates a gap between the brand and the things it’s meant to communicate. To determine if it’s time for your company to rebrand, ask yourself these questions:
- Does the brand accurately convey the values and mission of your company?
- Is your company’s voice and personality reflected in the brand?
- Does your brand create an emotional connection with customers?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, then it is time to rebrand. An outdated, outgrown brand will not help you make forward progress in your mission–instead, it will impede it.
Takeaway
A brand is the living embodiment of a company’s values, mission and customer experience. Should you find at any point that your brand is not representing these core tenets, realigning them through a corporate rebrand is a great way to tackle the issue head-on and once again provide a consistent image to customers.
If you’re due for a rebrand and want a better understanding of the process, fill out the form to your right and download our free eBook.
