Brands must be able to pivot to best serve their target audience and evolve to meet their current needs. Rebranding has been a hot topic over the last few years, thanks to a greater overall appreciation of design. With the widespread use of smart devices, we are constantly interacting with others and projecting an image of who we are, what we believe and what we choose to support.
Whether your business has changed drastically over the last year or not, the rest of the world has, and that includes the needs of your customers. In the face of great change, we believe that it’s time to revisit the discussion of branding: what makes a strong brand and when the time is right for a rebrand.
What is branding?
Branding is a disciplined process that builds company awareness, attracts new customers and extends customer loyalty.
A brand is the idea or public perception of a business or organization. It is how we interpret the visuals and messages from a business, which then influences buyer behavior. The action of branding is a deliberate differentiation of a company to distinguish them in the marketplace. OtherWisz helps to build brands for our clients by creating visuals and messaging to communicate their unique value to customers.
At its best, your visual brand should make you stand out by distilling the key factors of who you are into every asset used in your company’s marketing. Your logo, the color palette, images, fonts, graphic elements and even written tone all work together to represent you.
How do I know when to rebrand?
You should rebrand when you need to refocus your company, revitalize your business or redesign your identity.
Maintaining your brand and creating strong brand recognition requires consistent attention and nurturing over time, but OtherWisz is here to make the process easy and set you up for success. Though the details will vary from one situation to the next, our goal is to thoroughly investigate the direction of YOUR company’s rebrand and aim to hold your brand to the highest standards.
Companies often choose to undergo a major rebrand to externally reflect their internal changes. Rebranding is best done when a strong intention, message or meaning needs to be communicated to your audience. To assist, we offer Brand Audit services that – through a process of interviews and questionnaires – helps to identify the overall status or health of a company’s brand. We’ve undergone our Brand Audit process during a variety of projects, and by helping to provide a thorough foundation for companies and their industries, it sets up future collaborations for success. Clients who we have assisted to grow with a Brand Audit include Benson Industries, Urban Roots, Rigidized Metals, and Boston Valley Terra Cotta, among others.
Whether you pursue a full rebrand or a smaller refocusing of an existing brand, depends on the level of change that you are ready to embrace. Consider this list of criteria of why a company might undergo a rebrand. Does your company fall into one of these categories?
REFOCUS
- You have developed a new company
- You offer new products or services
- You’ve undergone a name change or had a company merger.
- Your company mission has changed
- Your target audience or your customer’s needs have changed
REVITALIZE
- People have no idea who you are or what you do
- You do not stand out from your competitors
REDESIGN
- Your current visual identity and marketing collateral looks dated
- Your company’s visual identity doesn’t work well in current media applications
Below are a few examples where we have helped our clients rebrand. Each company had different reasons for rebranding and each project was approached differently. They represent some of the many ways that a visual identity can achieve the target goals of our clients.
Client: Pinnacle Community Services – REFOCUS
The visual rebranding of Pinnacle Community Services is a Refocus, since the rebrand process revolved around their name change. Formerly Niagara Family and Children’s Services, the intent of the rebrand was to create a smooth transition with a new logomark that was inspired by the former identity of Pinnacle. Designed with visual similarities to their old logo, their new identity helps make a connection in the minds of their audience to avoid completely confusing their audience.
But a rebrand is not just a logo, the updated visual brand included updates to their brand touchpoints, with new business cards, envelopes, stationery and a website redesign to fit with the new brand image, messaging and services the organization was offering. Along with a new community-focused logomark, new colors were chosen to best express the warm and compassionate approach that the organization brings to Niagara County. Throughout the process, OtherWisz was dedicated to best representing their unique identity as a social service provider.
Client: Urban Roots – REVITALIZE
Urban Roots falls into the Revitalize category of rebrand after the OtherWisz Brand Audit revealed audience confusion of how their name was perceived. Instead of coming across as a gardening supply store, people had the impression that they were a community garden. At first the scope of this rebrand included a brand audit, naming strategy and logo update, but the rollout was further developed to include their membership brochure, stationery, email newsletter template and ecommerce website as well.
OtherWisz worked with Urban Roots to think of a suitable revised name and visual brand update. In the end we were able to reach a conclusive name that was agreed on by all members of the Urban Roots board. The new name and tagline clearly communicates who they are, “Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market” with their new tagline “Where Buffalo Gardeners Grow.” The first step in their brand revision was the logomark — we freshened up the logo with new typefaces that reflected their maturity as a company and created a strong color scheme that could be used throughout future brand touchpoints. The concept relies on a four color, adaptable logo to illustrate that the company is a four-season business; the garden market is open all year long.
Client: Benson Industries – REDESIGN
For Benson, we provided a complete Redesign with an entirely new visual identity package to solidify their brand image under one cohesive concept. Creating the Benson Industries brand was a large comprehensive project since the company has multiple divisions and many locations both nationally and internationally. With a lack of clear application, their existing brand had become outdated and didn’t serve recent changes or the direction of the company. Our intention for the rebrand was to communicate that Benson Industries is a unified company at the cutting-edge of the industrial glass curtainwall manufacturing industry.
The new logomark needed to be slick and modern, but also represent their work. Of the solutions proposed to the client, they selected a custom-designed type treatment that is both bold and simple. The Benson logo is defined by an angled cut from the B. By removing the corner of the letter, we visually represented the geometric beauty of a building where the glass curtainwall virtually disappears, creating a mark that the company strongly identified with. This rebranding included new stationery, a dynamic website and various branded marketing materials.
Final Thoughts: Finding What Works for You
With so much to consider, it’s important to note that there are many ways to strengthen a brand. Our examples provide a general framework for how the OtherWisz design team is able to channel the client’s brand message into their visual identity.
Whether you are considering completely revamping your brand, or maybe just a logo refresh, OtherWisz can give develop the best solution that will give you the right tools to best promote your business. Contact us today to get started on bringing your company’s brand to the next level.
