Rebranding is simply the re-branding of an existing brand, i.e. the re-development of the entire brand identity. It usually refers to the development of a graphic design or a complete redesign of the structure (including brand strategy, renaming and brand architecture). The process is carried out when, for certain reasons, a brand can no longer function in its current form.

Most often, it is about improving the image in the eyes of the audience, changing the positioning or target group. It used to be a process reserved only for crisis situations (Olins 1995), but for some time now, it has been a tool used to generate growth or reduce marketing costs.

Rebranding is a multidimensional and multidisciplinary process involving several aspects of branding. To people not involved in marketing, rebranding is associated with the metamorphosis of a brand’s logo. And this is partly true. However, this change is usually the result of previous analyses that comprehensively cover the full spectrum of an organisation’s communication activities. The brand revamp is usually accompanied by the need to simplify marketing and improve the perception of the brand in the eyes of current and future potential audiences, which follows directly from the brand strategy. Rebranding also initiates the targeting of the product offering to a new target group, preferably without churning out existing customers, which can be challenging. The scope and purpose of rebranding is slightly different each time, however, it almost always hooks into making improvements at the level of brand strategy and communication.

Rebranding is a delicate process that requires a great deal of experience, as in many cases great stakes are at stake. From Elsten and Hill’s (2017) analysis, it emerged that the brand is responsible for more than a quarter of a company’s intangible assets. Unfortunately, few companies have an awareness of brand value. The Global Intangible Finance Tracker 2019 shows that the total contribution of intangible assets, including brands, to the value of a company is 48%. However, only 6% and 8% relate to disclosed intangible assets and disclosed goodwill, respectively. The remaining 34% is undisclosed value. This means that in many cases, the modification of brands, touches one of the organisation’s most valuable assets!

Rebranding objectives

This is why rebranding is a serious undertaking that requires a delicate approach. Typically, a brand identity is redefined, i.e. the answer to the question “Who are we really today?”. And an image is also reviewed – “Do brand audiences see us as we would like to be seen?”.

What can such a change achieve?

Cleaning up the image

As a result of dynamic growth, many companies are starting to suffer from a lack of strategy and are no longer in control of the number of offers in their product portfolio. Promotional campaigns lack consistency and are difficult to coordinate. Rebranding in such cases helps to simplify visual activities, take a lot of unnecessary work off the shoulders of marketers, make the design of further materials or brands cost neither a lot of time nor money, and all together create a distinctive look and feel.

Mergers and acquisitions

The merger of two or more organisations requires a strategic approach. Sometimes the aim is to signal that the merging companies are equals. Or, on the contrary, when one dominant player absorbs others, an idea is needed of how to integrate them into the architecture of the parent brand. Sometimes a new name is needed to encompass all the new possibilities of the merging companies under its umbrella. Here, formal decisions within the organisation are the basis for developing a new corporate identity system. It is also a good time to take stock of each brand’s achievements and define a clear vision of where the new quality is heading. Rebranding then sends a strong signal to the outside world that here is the birth of a new leader in a specific field.

Dealing with the crisis

A brand gets into trouble either quickly, overnight, or it continues slowly, for years, until at some point its gestors realise that the need to respond has become acute. The aim of such a rebranding is to dissociate from the crisis situation. Sometimes a brand has to change its name because of a trademark conflict. Or it no longer does what it did in the beginning of the business and no longer wants to mislead the audience. What is needed is a complete change – a new positioning, a new strategy and a new identity system, and the idea of introducing a new image so as to fix what is not working and actually solve the problem.

Our clients turn to us most often with the following challenges:

Image rebranding

The most important reason for change is the desire to improve the perception of the brand by the wider stakeholder community (including moving away from an awkward situation or association). A need has arisen to reign in the graphic image of the company, product or service. When, over the years, customers move away from the brand and start choosing other, more attractive, foreign, younger brands (although at the product level there is actually no difference or there is, but we are the better ones) it is worth improving the sales situation precisely by strengthening the brand position.

The most common motivations indicating the need for rebranding:

• We would like to position the brand differently.
• Our name does not fit at all with what we do today.
• We wish to turn towards the young.
• Our logo, our packaging does not stand out at all.
• Nobody knows who we are! After 20 years of hard work only our products are still associated! Not the brand!
• Our value is underestimated.
• Sometimes I am embarrassed to say who I work for.
• We offer an unprecedented service and give the impression of a backward company.
• Realistically, we can do a lot more than our clients think.

Financial rebranding

The primary objective becomes getting the business to a point where the perception of the brand by the industry environment, including lending financial institutions and customers, becomes at least correct. Perhaps, after years of presence in the market and having amassed a wealth of experience, the brand wants to join the major market players or is just entering into a partnership with a large entity whose image intimidates and which it would be useful to grow into. Sometimes salespeople are no longer able to explain on their own what the current positioning of the company entails and it is rebranding that helps to signal that we are dealing with a much broader offer than is commonly attributed to the company in question. Rebranding here is the first step in communicating the positioning and strengthening the strength of the brand. Financial rebranding is also the one that tidies up the brand architecture and immediately simplifies any subsequent image action and relieves the company of the financial burden.

What we usually hear in this case:

• We need to raise financial support, capital for development and investment.
• It turns out that our logos may come into conflict with trademarks. We have to change them for purely legal reasons.
• Marketing is becoming unbearably difficult and expensive. We need to keep hiring new people to handle individual brands, create new names and order new packaging designs.
• Our products look like they were created by different companies.
• Everyone in marketing works independently, doing the job in their own way. We keep reinventing the wheel, which becomes inconsistent and graphically distracts the brand. Not to mention the cost.
• Our symbol is known and loved by millions of Poles. The problem is that the outlined, multi-coloured logo is not at all legible. It needs to be refreshed. It needs to be improved without losing the character of the brand.
• Our visual identity worked well online. However, transferring it to wards and physical materials is very expensive.
• Our portfolio is over 100 products with inconsistent nomenclature. How do we manage all this?

Strategic rebranding

The task of rebranding is to increase the perceived value of the brand. Sometimes it is about the product itself, so that customers’ price sensitivity is quickly reduced and they start selling at a higher price. The desire may be to reverse the sales-brand relationship so that the energy to buy finally starts to come from the brand’s audience (without sales activation). Another strategic objective of our clients is sometimes to improve the brand image as an employer (employer branding). The idea, of course, is to increase the interest of potential employees and stop the outflow of current ones. Rebranding shows the brand as a trustworthy partner, both for customers, employees and the industry environment. The changes we make can also be an important part of combating commonly held false beliefs about a brand or its category. After rebranding, the barriers, fears and reasons why people do not buy disappear or are significantly reduced.

Examples of situations that lead to rebranding:

• We are just merging with another company.
• Our target group is not the right one.
• We are launching a new product, and we need an idea of how to integrate it into the current portfolio of the company, which, however, deals with a slightly different subject matter and for which it is already known.
• The competitor’s image campaigns bring it more ROMI than our sales department is able to sell in the best season! We want to have that too.
• We have developed a new product that is likely to be a game changer. This is an unprecedented project. We need to show up under a new brand, but one that harmonises with the company’s current graphics.
• We need help to enter a new geographical market.
• Our name cannot work in the new market where we are starting to sell – it connotes negatively and is misleading.
• We want to finally get in line with the biggest competition!

How to carry out rebranding?

Rebranding is a unique event. It is an extensive process that is worth preparing well for, especially when leading larger organisations through change. Both strategic and creative forces are needed. Knowledge and practice become key, and as we know – rebranding is not done often, hence it is difficult to find a partner experienced in this area. Let’s go through its key stages together. Typically, the activities proceed in the following order:

STAGE 0 Awareness of need

There comes a point in the life of a company when, one day, the need for change is identified. The reason for this may lie elsewhere each time, because, as we all know, every brand is different. The analysis provides information, arguments as to why rebranding is necessary and a clear objective is defined. A plan for carrying out the process is created.

STAGE 1 Brand strategy

Identifying a brand’s current situation is crucial to the whole endeavour. The first step to a new one is always a step back – gathering, as much as possible, knowledge about the organisation, its customers and the market in which it operates. Rebranding starts with looking again at the brand strategy and planning a new one. This is accompanied by audits, a brief is produced and the company usually decides to work with a specific creative partner to look after the process.

STAGE 2 Rebranding design

This is where the solution designs are created, realising the specific objectives of the brand gestor. Hence, it is most beneficial if the design stage takes place simultaneously to the previous, strategic one. If possible, designers attend brand needs formulation meetings and co-create solutions on an ongoing basis. This increases the chances that the strategy guidelines will be seamlessly translated into an image strategy. The result of this stage of work is one, maximum three, but good and refined directions for the brand. These take into account all the nuances mentioned in the previous phases of work.

STAGE 3 Implementation of the rebranding

This is an equally important stage, which is unfortunately often underestimated. If it is handled well, tools are created that will serve the brand for years to come. This is where we will see, first-hand, the possible mistakes made at the strategic stage and the possible ignorance of the designers.

Good design defends itself and does not require extensive explanations. The brand gestor can see clearly where we are going and how the idea performs in tests – how the system translates into specific media, formats and marketing materials. A concept for launching the new image in the market and communicating the change within the organisation is created.

This is also a technical stage and usually results in standardisation and descriptions of system elements. A communication manual is produced, which also presents the strategy and practical examples from the brand world (brand manual).

STAGE 4 Communication inwards

Parallel to the implementation stage, thinking begins about how to communicate the rebranding to employees. This is not an easy topic because change can initially create resistance in people. And if the change is not presented as strategic and we do not explain how we will earn more (and work less) on the brand, the new rules may be deliberately ignored by existing and new employees. The larger the organisation, the greater the difficulty communication to the inside raises.

STEP 5 External communication

This is the final stage of the rebranding, but also the first day of the brand’s life after the change. This is where the great adventure of brand management begins. It’s the right time to harness the energy of the moment and point out that the rebranding and all that the team has achieved together can be a source of pride.

The new image, once made public and communicated, introduces a number of changes to the daily duties of employees. These may be quite different from the way they used to work. This is the time to form new habits. The new communications will continue, and it is the task of the rebranding team to ensure consistency in the subsequent stages after the so-called ‘day zero’. So that the objective behind the rebranding is successfully implemented.

What is the desired effect?

The most extensive study of brand rebranding on the Polish market was conducted by Natalia Wojciechowska, PhD. Her analysis, published in Does It Pay to Rebrand, showed in what situations and after what time we can expect effects from rebranding.

The most extensive study of brand rebranding on the Polish market was conducted by Natalia Wojciechowska, PhD. Her analysis, published in Does It Pay to Rebrand, showed in what situations and after what time we can expect effects from rebranding.

Going into detail, brands that carried out a strategic rebranding or merger, extending the brand name into new categories, achieved better profitability indicators (ROA) one year after the corporate rebranding, indicators such as ROI also increased, while ROE also increased two years after the rebranding, as well as net profit, already one year after the rebranding. In contrast, companies that opted for rebranding with a name change achieved better ROI results two years after the change, and net profit also increased two years after the name change.

Are you planning a brand rebranding?

Rebranding is neither an easy nor a quick undertaking, it concerns one of the most valuable and delicate assets of most organisations,. For more than 10 years I have been accompanying clients of the PBD agency precisely in extensive rebranding processes, hence I realise that the better prepared we are for the process, the greater the chance that we will not make unnecessary mistakes and will avoid certain pitfalls that always appear on this path.

If you would like to talk about your brand, analyse the situation together with me or a team of designers with many years of experience and who specialise in rebranding, I invite you to get in touch. Perhaps the presence of outsiders, the experience gained from many rnebrandings and their fresh perspective on the business will bring hard-won knowledge to the process and even make you look at rebranding in a completely different way.

We live in a hurry. We don’t have time to thoroughly compare offers. Emotions, details, temporary availability, sometimes coincidence, determine the purchase. Not necessarily the physical characteristics of the product.

Ways of communicating are constantly changing, consumers are rapidly becoming bored and brand managers are racing with ideas on how to strengthen relationships with suppliers, build a positive brand image, win the hearts of customers and ensure the company’s profit. The brand hero (brand hero), as an emotional addition to the brand, therefore seems an excellent strategy to complement all the company’s external communication, as well as the internal one – i.e. aimed at employees. In this article, I describe when it is worth investing in a mascot and how to approach it to increase our chances that the investment will be a spectacular success.

I call a brand hero any character that is ‘alive’. He or she can be an object, but at least visually animated. This means that it should have eyes, a mouth, arms and legs – for example, like Reddy Kilowatt (born 1926), who functioned as a corporate spokesperson for electricity generation in the United States for more than seventy years).

If a character is linked to a product (attribute, values and physicality), it generally begins to play an important role in advertising campaigns from the moment it is first used. And through frequent exposure, it becomes liked. If conducted well, it starts to exist independently of the product (and its brand) and enters our homes in the form of a cuddly toy, on ecological bags in the form of a pin or in the kitchen as a magnet hung on the fridge door.

Who among us does not associate Uncle Sam (created by the US government in 1838), who started the trend for visual personification of brands? This grey-haired and elderly, relatively unfeeling man (supposedly a caricature of Abraham Lincoln) ‘lives’ to this day. The most famous representation of Uncle Sam comes from the “I wan’t you!” recruitment poster. Currently, we can see him in this form in memes, motivational ads or social campaigns. To this day, Uncle Sam, by looking into the eyes and pointing his finger at the reader, in a low-key and demanding manner, can effectively encourage certain activities.

The brand hero made his way onto commercial brand packaging with Aunt Jemina, and it was a box of pancake mix and syrup. Commonly cited as the oldest, over 120 years old, Bibendum, Michelin’s chubby but dynamic human, is among the fastest recognisable brand heroes in the world. It is an example of a model type of brand hero – based on the physical characteristics of the product – as the Michelin Man is made of… tyres! At the same time, the design has always remained up-to-date: the character has undergone many metamorphoses, adapting to evolving consumer tastes.

Another example of a brand that has created its characters by looking primarily at the physicality of the product is the duo of M&M’s. The brand’s protagonists were made into two sweets – Yellow with a peanut inside and Red, which melts in the mouth rather than in the hand. The protagonists are paired on the basis of contrast – the more polite Yellow and the combative, ironic Red, go through many adventures always in a similar pattern – we sympathise a little with the gullible Yellow, at the same time Red’s cutting retorts bring a smile to our faces.

The scheme of building a brand hero on appearance, shape and colour is the right one and the fastest leading to success, at the same time by far the most difficult. Take Delma margarine, for example. Pretty, isn’t it? It is impossible to associate it with any other product.

An alternative technique for constructing a character is to draw on brand attributes or refer to brand values. Here, examples can be multiplied – a red Santa Claus as red as a Coca-Cola can is, Quicky (Nesquik’s bunny), who is as fast as you make your cocoa, or Mikey Mouse (Mickey Mouse) as the flagship character among fairy tale characters and an example of the illustrative style of the Walt Disney label.

A brand hero is a tool that effectively and impressively builds brand image. If I asked you now to quote the order of the colours of the letters used in the Google logo, I am sure you would not list them in the correct order. And you probably see this logo every day, many times a day. We supposedly remember the logo, but the human brain is designed in such a way that it does not register such details.

What is different with animated brand mascots. If they have eyes, mouths, legs and arms, we will certainly remember them better than any graphic sign, even the most beautiful one. We recall corporate characters as quickly as the face of a best friend. Building such recognition, relationships and reach undoubtedly requires determination, time and money. However, it yields incredible results.

Czy rzeczywiście warto?

The difficulty of differentiating a brand is, has been and arguably will continue to be one of marketing’s most significant challenges. In a situation where the brand character is generic, bland and altogether disconnected from the product, more money will be needed to promote it. This is not impossible, however, it is much more beneficial to link the character to the day-to-day marketing activities of the brand manager, as we have done together with the Polish Foundation Słonie na Balkonie.

Brand Hero stems from the brand name and is an elephant. He is a particular metaphor for what the foundation does – putting together a child’s life after trauma into a new quality, piece by piece. The elephant also serves a gamification function, as we have built it out of twelve blocks. The aim of the foundation is to seek donors willing to set up a monthly transfer of a fixed amount to the foundation’s account. Regular income allows the Foundation to plan therapy for its wards, and all brand communication is built around the elephant character.

If we use our mascot to promote, sell or praise a product offering, we may find that instead of positive emotions and smiles, we create suspicion and even dislike of the brand among consumers. And the one thing that should be avoided in brand hero management is creating situations that can generate negative associations with the character. If we decide to use a brand hero to present our product – do it in a non-literal way.

It is useful to dress up the whole message with a straightforward, cheerful message. Just as it does Sir CASTLOCK, The protagonist of a company that advises, sells and installs doors, windows and gates. The role of the direct, always ready to advise knight is to attract the customer’s attention, to become memorable and to create warm, positive associations with the brand. With Sir Castlock, everyone feels safe.

Therefore, it is worth bearing in mind that sales should not be the core of brand character management – it is definitely a brand building element. The clue of the whole endeavour is to shorten the distance between the brand and the customer. By communicating with humour, the brand loses its anonymity and engages the audience emotionally. It shifts the weight from the question “Which offer should I choose?” to a consideration of “Do I like this character?”.

Companies with technical products behind them, expressed in numbers, purchased incidentally usually do not transport customers into a world of unreal stories. Particularly b2b brands and those built on the split corporation model, due to the scale of operations, the great responsibility, cannot afford to take the subject too lightly. And yet sometimes a brand gestor feels like doing more than presenting mechanical data. After all, the customer is also human and, whether we want it or not, is guided by emotions in the purchasing decision process.

Also communication comparing available solutions or educational communication can be supported by a brand hero. Another character of ours who explains difficult things in an accessible way and overcomes certain obstacles himself is Premek (which sounds a bit like Przemek, the name of a colleague from work). It was used in the internal communication of the DOZ pharmacy chain. The fluffy ‘P’ supports pharmacists in serving the chain’s customers according to certain procedures and offers to award them bonuses for exemplary work. Who wouldn’t want to hug a bonus… i.e. Premka?

Brand Hero as part of the ‘human face’ of the company.

A hero can really work wonders, however, he is only a tool and, like any tool, has his limitations. Not every situation will be appropriate to give him a voice or even to use his image on a given occasion. The brand hero can be regarded as a ‘representative’ of the brand – on a par with the press officer, PR specialist or CEO, whose daily presence on social media no longer comes as a surprise.

The brand hero has the ability to defuse the atmosphere like no one else. Although he or she is not a salesperson he or she can build a relationship with the audience. And he can make fun of himself. And probably nothing builds an atmosphere of trust as much as a healthy distance from one’s mistakes, which is not always befitting of high-profile company employees. And even if, from time to time, our brand hero makes an ambiguous joke or is tempted to make an ironic but apt allusion, he will definitely be forgiven more quickly.