Whether you work with an agency or conduct a rebrand internally, we recommend keeping a few best practices in mind to make the process run smoothly from beginning to end. You can only ‘control the controllables.’ Luckily, your brand is one of them.
Rebranding is an exciting prospect and a fun process. That often means that many members of the team step forward. However, to paraphrase a common football saying, if you have three project owners, you have zero. Identify one person to manage the project itself (or the agency relationship) to allow clarity for both parties. That’s why agencies themselves have account people to compile and capture all feedback. Designating one project owner also keeps others accountable and ensures the project moves forward.
It’s essential to make your rebrand a priority. This might seem evident due to the investment required and the amount of people who want to be involved. The process can take upwards of nine months, from project kick off to brand launch. A lot can happen during that time, and the worst thing you can do is take the pedal off the metal halfway through the process. You can prioritize the rebrand in many ways, but scheduling a weekly check-in with the agency is an easy way to keep this top of mind. There may be weeks where there’s nothing new to review, but a quick conversation with the agency during that dedicated time can help maintain the positive momentum.
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It can be appealing to put a new logo out in the world as soon as you get it. Who doesn’t want to show off something cool? Though it’s more time consuming (remember that nine month timeline?), getting all of your ducks in a row first will allow you to effectively launch your new brand to best communicate your organization’s evolution. This can also help avoid confusion by ensuring that two brands aren’t in the marketplace simultaneously – especially if it involves a name change.
Sharing your rebrand with others outside of the process to get their opinion can be tempting. While doing so can sometimes be helpful if done correctly and with full context, they’ve not been part of the entire process. This can result in contrasting opinions, based on incomplete information, that derail the rebrand. If you’d like to vet your brand beyond a core group, create context and concentrate on your core audiences.
By staying on top of these parts of the rebranding process, you can improve the result and make the journey easier.
