Branding and rebranding

Many clients and consumers that have an interest in web design and development may ask what does branding and rebranding mean and when is a good time to rebrand?

Branding is a term used to define the features a company uses to differentiate themselves from other companies. Companies develop their brand in a variety of ways, using their name, logo, design style and slogan. You can display branding either physically or digitally.

Physical branding can be leaflets, posters, billboards or newspapers. Digital branding refers to online branding such as social media marketing or Google AdWords which would both feature the company’s branding.

Companies want to market their brands as much as possible, so creating a bright and original logo is just that. You want your company to stand out from the rest as there is a lot of competition out there, no matter what industry you are in.

Rebranding is a marketing strategy, very similar to branding, except it aims to update and refresh tired or out of date branding. This can include coming up with a completely new name, design, slogan or logo. Rebranding is usually completed with the intention to target a wider audience. Usually a company will rebrand with consumers, investors, and other competitors in the same industry as the company in mind.

When is a good time to rebrand?

• There are several reasons why a company will want to rebrand. If the market is growing too fast, an owner will want to keep their website competing in the market as much as possible and will want the services to be constantly at top form, otherwise clients will see them outdated and choose a different company that just has that cutting edge. You always want to be unique compared to your competitors and stand out.

• If an established company wants to target a different demographic, your branding needs to appeal to a new audience, and revising your branding is an essential part of this change. Very complicated or difficult to understand branding can make consumers click away from your site. If your logo is over-complicated with graphics and text it can be hard to understand the tone the brand is going for and what they are trying to achieve as a company.

• A brand slogan that is too long, unclear or is not relevant to its market can also reduce your impact in comparison to your competition. Often, the more your brand becomes successful the more you overlook your branding. Is your branding childish or outdated? If you are a company that wants to target an older audience, certain colour schemes can be seen as childish. Bright colours may want be toned down or switch to using pastel/low opacity colours.

• If a certain part of your branding, such as the name of the business or logo is misleading and gives potential clients the wrong impression, consider why these exist and what you can do to change and improve them. Research and focus groups would really help here, allowing you to test branding styles to see which resonate best with your target audience.

There is no time limit on how long it takes to rebrand a company or product. Some companies will complete the task quicker than others depending on their size and how strong their current brand is, but it’s a critical element of any organisation that must be done well. It may seem trivial but branding is vital when it comes to conveying your message to clients.