Rebranding: How to Do It Right (Without Wrecking What You’ve Built)

Rebranding is risky.

If you mess it up, you confuse your audience. If you do it right, you build a stronger, sharper identity that drives loyalty and growth.

The problem is, many companies treat it like a simple logo swap. But it’s so much more than that.

Let’s talk about how to do it right.

Key Takeaways

• A refresh is a visual update while a rebrand is a shift in perception. Know the why behind the changes you’re making and decide if a full rebrand is what you need to achieve your goal or if a refresh would suffice.
• Your internal team is your first audience. If employees are confused or lukewarm about the change, your rollout will fall flat. Prioritize buy-in from your internal team.
• If you aren’t ready to overcommunicate the “why,” you’re not ready for a rebrand. The risk of confusing your audience is greater than the risk of staying the same. You must commit to overcommunication with your team, shareholders, and customers if your goal is a successful rebrand.
• Rebrands that work align your current identity to your future direction. Companies like Meta and Dunkin’ rebranded because their companies were naturally evolving. This alignment of identity and vision was the key to their success.

What is Rebranding?

Rebranding is the process of changing how people perceive your business.

For some companies, that means a new logo. For others, it means a new name, a new voice, or even an entirely new product offering.

Keep in mind, there is a difference between a brand refresh and a rebrand. 

A refresh involves updating what already works, such as modernizing your logo or updating your color scheme. A rebrand involves rebuilding your identity from the ground up. It can be partial, such as a new logo, or full, such as a complete overhaul.

Why Do Companies Rebrand?

Rebranding is expensive and time-consuming. It may also alienate your existing customers. But companies rebrand all the time.

Why?

The most common reasons I see rebands happen:

• You’ve outgrown your original brand. What worked when you launched might now feel too amateur. A rebrand can help you to evolve your brand into a bigger, better version of the original.
• You’re merging or being acquired. When two brands become one, a new brand identity ensures that both brands are reflected.
• Your audience changed. Perhaps you’re updating your offering, or maybe you’re hoping to gain more share in the market. Targeting a new audience requires you to reconsider your current branding.
• Your brand has negative publicity. When the old brand no longer has the same prestige it once did, a rebrand can offer a fresh start. Think Facebook rebranding to Meta.
• Your brand look is outdated. When your brand vision no longer aligns with those Y2K visuals, it’s time to consider updating the look to a newer, sleeker design.

How to Rebrand: The Right Way

You don’t create a world-class rebrand in a week. The right way will take time, money, and careful consideration. 

Here’s how to go about it.

1. Conduct a Brand Audit

If you want to know where you’re going, you first need to evaluate where you are currently. 

The best way to do that is with a brand audit.

A properly conducted audit will leave no stone unturned. It will answer questions like:

• What do customers really think?
• What are your brand’s strengths?
• What are your brand’s weaknesses and inconsistencies?
• What parts of the brand are outdated or otherwise need a touch-up?
• Where does your brand stand in the market, and how does it measure up to the competition?

You should look for feedback from all angles: customers, employees, and stakeholders. You can even use techniques like social listening to understand general brand sentiments and perceptions.

2. Define Your Objectives

Your reasons for wanting to rebrand may be practical or they may be personal.

Either way, you should have a succinct answer to the following question: What is it that you hope to achieve with your rebrand?

Reasons to rebrand include:

• Expanding into a new market 
• Fixing a poor reputation
• Aligning your brand more closely with your values
• Reflecting a new product offering

Once you have that answer in mind, you should take it one step further by tying your rebrand to key performance indicators (KPIs). 

For example, if your objective is to expand into a new market, hard target KPIs like market share and revenue growth can be used to measure your success. An objective like fixing a poor reputation may have softer KPIs, such as improved brand perception.

Clearly defined goals will guide your rebranding process and help measure its success. 

3. Understand Your Audience

Whether you’re targeting your existing audience in a new way or a new audience altogether, you need to understand who they are and what they value. 

Consider who your dream customer is, find out where they hang out (in person or online), and then ask them the following questions: 

• What is their current perception of your brand?
• What are their needs and preferences?
• What changes would resonate with them?

You can collect this information in various ways, both directly (such as surveys and focus groups) and indirectly (through market research and social listening).

4. Develop Your New Brand Identity

It’s time to get creative, but not for creativity’s sake. 

Your brand identity elements should serve a purpose and tell a broader brand story. 

So what makes up the totality of your brand’s identity?

• Visuals: Logo, colors, typography, imagery
• Messaging: Mission statement, tagline, brand voice
• Customer experience: Website, app, packaging, customer support scripts

What ties it all together, though, is consistency. A consistent brand identity across all touchpoints is crucial.

If the above elements of a brand identity seem overwhelming, start with mood boards and broad concepts. As you refine your vision, test the concepts with small focus groups. 

5. Plan the Rollout

If you think your rebrand rollout starts with the consumer, your plan has already failed.

That’s because you need to start with your internal team. If they don’t buy into the vision, then customers won’t either. So, bring your internal team into the process as early as possible.

Once your internal team is on the same page, it’s time to plan the customer-facing rollout. Here’s how:

• Set a timeline with phases of the rollout clearly defined.
• Train employees on new brand guidelines. 
• Prepare your assets like website, email signatures, social handles, signage, etc.
• Communicate the change to stakeholders. 
• Communicate the change to customers.

An optional step is to tease the change to your customers. Let them know something new and exciting is on the horizon.

6. Monitor and Adjust

You set clear objectives as part of your rebrand process. Now is the time to monitor KPIs and collect feedback on your rebrand’s success.

• Was the purpose of the rebrand clear to employees, stakeholders, and customers?
• Was the rebrand received well? 
• Would any adjustments make the rebrand more successful or better received?

Now is the time to call back to your preset goals, measure your progress, and assess next steps. Be open to honest feedback. 

Whether the rebrand was a massive success, a flop, or somewhere in between, there are always adjustments you can make to improve the situation.

Common Rebranding Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Rushing the Process

A rebrand is an exciting time! Don’t rush the process because you’re impatient for the payoff, though. 

The Fix: Make data-backed decisions and collect feedback from customers and stakeholders as you build out your rebrand.

Mistake #2: Ignoring Internal Buy-In

You must be intentional about looping in your employees from the start. They will be the ones in customer-facing roles, so fostering positive feelings on the rebrand is important. Listen to their feedback and address their concerns.

The Fix: Bring in your employees early. Get them excited and train them on how to talk about the new brand.

Mistake #3: Confusing Your Audience

If you logged on to social media one day to see that your favorite brand has been massively overhauled with little explanation, they may no longer be your favorite brand. That’s why communication is key.

The Fix: Overcommunicate with your audience. Be clear about what’s changing and why, and reiterate the reasons for the change over the first few months.

Case Study #1: Facebook Became Meta

By 2021, Facebook had a problem.

The brand that started in 2004 as a social media platform for college students wasn’t just a social media giant anymore. By 2021, it owned Instagram and WhatsApp, expanded into VR with Oculus, and was building out the metaverse.

But to most people, Facebook still meant one thing: social media.

So they made a bold move. They rebranded the parent company to Meta.

While many of the innovations were long underway before the parent company name change, the shift from Facebook to Meta was indicative of a long-term vision: to expand the metaverse.

An added benefit of the change was that it distanced Meta from Facebook’s baggage, including privacy scandals and public trust issues.

Meta rolled out a new brand identity, a new corporate structure, and a wave of marketing that doubled down on VR, AR, and next-generation technology. 

The change was controversial and bold. And in the business world, bold rebrands are the ones people remember.

Case Study #2: Dunkin’ Donuts Became Dunkin’

Dunkin’ Donuts got its start in Massachusetts, USA in 1950. With an offering of coffee and donuts, Dunkin’ Donuts became a staple of New England commuter life.

By 2018, Dunkin’ Donuts had spread to 46 states and territories. So they asked, “What’s next?”

In answer to that question, Dunkin’ Donuts became Dunkin’.

The goal? To reposition the brand beyond just donuts and breakfast. They wanted to corner the market share on coffee and donuts, as well as on sandwiches, snacks, and afternoon pick-me-ups.

So why was the rebrand a success?

Dunkin’ Donuts knew its customer base. They knew that honoring their heritage by keeping a key part of their name would play well with their audience. 

They also went all-in on the rebrand. 

They didn’t just update their marketing. Dunkin’ updated store layouts, introduced a sleeker logo, revamped their menu to include expanded beverage options, and leaned into On-the-Go Mobile Ordering.

This was a win all around. It kept longtime customers feeling seen, while pulling in a broader audience.

Conclusion

When your brand no longer reflects who you are, what you offer, or who you serve, it’s time to consider a rebrand. 

When done well, a rebrand sharpens your message and makes it clear what direction you’re headed in. It may lead to a shift in offering or audience, but that’s okay if it all serves the larger “why” behind it. 

So ask yourself: Is your current brand holding you back?

If yes, it’s time to rethink how the world sees you.