6 Tell-tale Signs

A rebrand is part of the natural cycle of every strong brand. If the good old Beeb have done it, then why should anyone else be exempt? But we get it. Often the signs that your business needs to rebrand get lost in the back and forth of everyday work. And, even when you do notice them, sitting down to start PROJECT REBRAND is hardly a quick task to be taken lightly.

So, how do you know when it’s time to down tools, pick up the phone and get the ball rolling with a brand revival? Well, that’s why we’ve put together this handy guide – so you can sit back, relax, unwind, and get to grips with our six tell-tale signs that it’s time to shake things up.

1. You’re embarrassed to send someone to your website.

If you’re apologising for your website before someone has even visited it. Or you wince as you pull your business card from your pocket. It’s probably time for a rebrand, don’t you think?

Your business is your life’s work. Something to be proud of. If you’re embarrassed, chances are your team feel the same way. Ultimately, you want your team to wear and present your branded assets with confidence and pride. If employees don’t buy into the brand, why should your customers?

Often, it’s just an old-fashioned logo or colour pallet that can make something feel off about the overall look and feel of a brand. This means you won’t even need an exhaustive rebrand to get things looking peachy. It could be as easy getting a consistent tone of voice or subtly tweaking your logo.

2. You’re starting to look like everyone else.

Branding is about differentiating yourself from your competition. Often businesses fall into the trap of not communicating their USP and instead copy their competitors. Whether they mean to or not.

There is, after all, something in the saying that ‘all advertising looks the same.’ Think back to the last couple of perfume adverts you’ve seen. Or watch ads. Sure, who doesn’t want to see a Hemsworth brother in a three-piece suit. But who or what are they actually selling? Who TF knows. There’s nothing that sets them apart from each other. It’s a phenomenon called ‘The Mephisto Waltz’ (you can read a little more about it here) and as much as it keeps the luxury brands looking, well luxurious, it doesn’t do much at all for SMEs trying to disrupt, grow and succeed.

So, look at your biggest competitors. If your brand looks similar, and you’re pedalling the same tired content, with an almost identical tone of voice. It’s time to differentiate yourself. Select a rebranding partner and dance to the tune of your own playlist.

3. You’ve become confused.

People come and people go. And when people join your marketing team, they come with new ideas and new campaigns. They pledge to drive your business to new dizzying heights. But what happens next? Goals can’t be achieved, or staff leave before ambitions have been realised. Someone new joins the team and…rinse and repeat.

The result is often a frustrating, confused, incoherent mishmash of messaging that would even make Alan Turing put his fist through a drywall.

In essence, the more complex your brand’s persona, the harder it is for your customers to understand you. You’ve become an enigma. And, unless you’re Henry Cavil in The Witcher, being an enigma in the busy, saturated market of consumerism isn’t going to help you win anyone over.

If this sounds like you, it might be time to rebrand to build a consistent, coherent, and unconfused message you can (strategically) plaster across all your platforms.

4. You’ve changed.

Businesses evolve. And, as recent events have shown, you can’t predict all external forces that will compel your business to pivot. If you’ve altered direction, chances are, you’ll need to rebrand to serve a new market.

When you’re forced to make fundamental changes to your strategy. You need to go back to basics.

Ask yourself: Who are we? Why does our business exist? What are our values? Our goals? And how will we achieve them?

Understanding these new principles and goals is the starting point for any rebrand.

5. You’ve grown.

If your business is growing, you’re likely in your umpteenth iteration. Things have changed since your initial conception and your marketing assets are probably outdated too. In short, you’ve outgrown your brand. So firstly, congrats player! Let’s be honest, it’s not the worst place to be right now.

But, if you are at a stage where you’ve outgrown your brand, we suggest working with a forward-thinking agency that can rebrand for the market we’re in today. Plus, accommodate your future growth. That way, you’ll future-proof your business – and save time and money.

6. You want to connect with a new audience.

Today’s Gen Z is tomorrows Gen Alpha (that’s the name of the next generation appaz). There’s always going to be a new generation that will enter the marketplace. If you want your business to have longevity, you’re going to have to try to get their attention.

To make your business attractive to these new customer segments, start by making yourself relevant to their needs.

Stay on top of the demographic shifts in your market by re-aligning your brand values, visuals, and tone of voice to suit an evolving population. Beware though, if you fail here and miss-hit the sentiment, they may associate you with being tone deaf and out of touch. The key is to stay agile and create a brand that’s able to adapt and move with the times with ease. No one said it was easy, but it is necessary.

Thanks for taking the time to read our latest blog. If you can relate to one or more of the points above, let’s talk. Here at Pistachio, we work to rebrand businesses of all sizes. We combine strategy and creativity to bring these brands to life across print and digital channels. And we’ve done this more than a few times, find out more here.

Fancy a chat? You can find our contact details here.