Brand New: The Power of Rebranding

Many institutions who come to Visual Point Creative Group to discuss their rebranding bring in various expectations and views about their brands. There are some who think that a brand is a company’s logo and colours. Others say that it’s a vision, statement and mission, or an advertising campaign. It’s actually all of these things-and so much more.

In the last two years, VPCG, an Affiliate of international corporate Communications entity Groupe Publicis, has worked on the rebrand of major institutions, CBZ Holdings and the National Social Security Authority (NSSA). We created new messaging for TelOne and in December, we won a competitive bid to rebrand the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, presenting a new but exciting challenge to our creative team.

In all these projects we have looked at the exercise as a way of helping corporates to define their identities visually, recreate their taglines and redefined messages. We regard rebranding as the foundation of the companies and how they communicate with their publics.

The key to developing a strong brand is to ensure that corporates deliver a consistent look and feel, message, and experience to customers. This brings about the critical issues about the whole ethos of rebranding and why companies should rebrand in the first place. The often clichéd reasoning behind companies wanting to rebrand is that “our logo is tired”. Marketers have walked into agency wanting a rebrand for their firms because “competition now has a livelier visage and livery”. Others represent businesses wanting to run away from past evils and missteps while others think their marketing
department needs to stay relevant and a change of kit is the way to go.

Rebranding in our view is not just putting paint to canvas and coming up with a new logo.
We often ask potential customers seeking a rebrand what about their business will change once they rebrand. We want to know what happened the last time they rebranded. If they think their logo is tired, outdated and boring, where and how did they get that feedback? More importantly, we want to know how a rebrand interlaces with their broader strategic imperatives. We will need to know what actions they are putting in place to match new identity with business practice.

A change of tact and practice should therefore precede rebranding. By the time a new logo is unfurled, customers and stakeholders should already be experiencing a revamped service delivery, enhanced product offering and innovative thinking. We have noted companies using rebranding to paper the cracks while they hop form one scandal to another. Soon the rebrand is forgotten as the organisation bleeds from the papered fissures!

Think about the last time you walked into an Apple store or bought an Apple product. You have an expectation of what the experience will be. At the store, employees will all wear the same-colour shirt. They’ll have the latest technology and will be eager to show you how it works. If you buy a new iPhone or MacBook, you can expect a simple, clean design-a sleek and innovative product. The experience is always the same and revolves around Apple’s core competence of delivering exceptional customer experience through superb user interfaces.

Of course, every company can’t be like Apple, but they can all strive to learn a thing or two from them.
Perhaps it is time to ask yourself, “Is your brand still relevant, or is it time to re-engage the public and adapt your image?”; “Are your logo and visual architect outdated, or do they no longer reflect your consumer experience?”; “Have changes in your industry or leadership impacted your company, vision or mission?” These are all questions that present the opportunity to rebrand your organization.

Rebranding is essential in today’s fast-paced world. It can act as a springboard, propelling you into future success with your internal and external audiences. As VPCG, we have over the years built skills to partner companies seeking to rebrand by immersing ourselves in their culture to help articulate brands. If executed correctly, a rebrand can help differentiate a brand from the competition and connect corporates with new audiences. So, what are you waiting for?

Reg Makuchete is CEO and founder of VPCG with operations in Zimbabwe and South Africa.-ebusinesswekly