The folks at Manta think of brands as “living, breathing organisms that often go through periodic changes and evolve into something with true staying power.”
Humans typically don’t embrace change wholeheartedly. We grow accustomed to the way a brand looks, behaves, and feels. We may like its logo. We may have grown accustomed to its tagline, however pretentious or annoying. We want our brand buddy to continue undeviatingly along the path we know. Yet, sometimes rebranding makes sense. Before beginning what may be a challenging process, The Manta team suggests that an organization ask itself the following questions:
- Is our target market too big? That is, do we need to redefine it or refine it down?
- Does our brand have negative connotations? (Think Phillip Morris, which is now known as the Altria Group.)
- Are we still relevant?
- Has our mission, vision, or brand promise changed?
- Is our brand in synch with our offerings?
These questions, restated in my own words here, seem so basic that one might be tempted to skip them. I mean, don’t you just “know” the answers? Still, they must be asked. As the Manta team says, “Brands define companies and are the foundation for customer loyalty . . .” so even small changes require “much thought, care and work.”
In the course of writing marketing copy, I’ve heard colleagues make joking remarks about not falling afoul of the “brand police,” a term that conjures up a battalion of humorless souls armed with style guides and rulers aimed at miscreant marketers’ knuckles. I’d like to defend these professionals, though. They not only watch over and protect a brand but also give an organization the time and mental space it needs to decide what it needs to do for its brand and to come up with the right strategy.
Graphic Credit: Rafal Olechowski (123rf.com)
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