With any organisation, there is likely to become a point where a rebrand is discussed. Maybe your mission has evolved or your current is looking outdated and doesn’t resonate with your supporters anymore. The hard part of any rebrand is the ‘doing part’ right?
Well yes, in some respects it is, (it’s hardwork, but it’s also a lot of fun and exciting). It’s the bit where you bring your organisation together to plan for your future. It’s often very inspiring for our clients to take a step back and see the progress they have made and where they are going. It’s also hugely comforting when undertaking research with your audience to hear stories of how important the organisation has and is to an individual’s life. The early research part of the process can be a real reminder of your purpose and the impact you have.
Then there’s the next part, where you review the concepts and decide what colours are best and if logo version 1a or 3c is ‘the one’? Signing-off your brand, finally, after months of your new look being in the pipeline is the end. It signifies it’s time to celebrate and watch as it is released into the wild.
Erm, sorry to be a party pooper, but while it is very exciting, the conclusion of creating your new brand isn’t over just yet. Why? Because there’s work to be done in launching it, because while you have lived with these changes for weeks, months, your wider organisation and audience will need an introduction and time to adjust.
So in order to ensure your rebrand launches like an eagle into flight rather than a lead weight into the sea, here’s six ways to help:
1. Give people the heads up
It’s fun to have a ‘ta-dah’ moment, but it can leave your organisation and audience feeling left out. It’s far nicer to bring people along on the journey with you. It helps those in your organisation and audience feel part of the transition. Our process at Northern Bear encourages you to engage with your audiences and partners early on, through research and development, so individuals have / are given space to be heard. Often people within your organisation also have valuable knowledge and insight to help you develop and build you brand so its important they are given the opportunity to get involved throughout the process too – it’s a win/win.
2. Tell the story
Why did you feel the rebrand was needed? What are you hoping the new brand signifies? Most importantly help people to understand why the investment in your branding is a good use of funds. If you don’t it can leave people questioning why the funds weren’t used on the front-line to deliver much needed support to your users. Talking about funding and grants can not only help people to understand your journey, but also give support to other organisations trying to understand the process.
3. Accept indifference (and even outrage)
There will be always be those who feel unsure of change and may not be on board until they are used to it, or even those who will never accept it. That’s why the research part of a rebrand project is so important. Your research and the conversations and insight you gather from your audiences, partners and team give you the compelling and objective reasons and evidence you need to be sure you have made the right decision. There’s always room for compassion too, understanding why people are opposed to the change can help to navigate through it. It could be worrying about how they fit in with the ‘new’ organisation, how they will get the Word template they need for there next press release etc. Like most things in life, good communication can go a long way to elevating issues.
4. Have a strategy
Of how you will launch your new branding. You need to effectively tell your audience and community what has happened so people know who you are and what you look like now. Maybe a few weeks before the launch you will inform your audience it’s coming so everyone knows it’s on it’s way. Then decide how and what will change and when. Organise internal training to support your team and take them through the elements of the new branding.
5. Understand that it’s impractical and impossible to launch at the perfect time
You have ‘old’ branded comms to use up and it makes no sense to waste things. It’s ok to have a transitioning period where there’s some old and new bits in the mix. Just as long as people know why this is, it shouldn’t effect your trust with them. It can also be a nice way to explain to people how you are using funds effectively, but not just disposing of things straight away. We recommend breaking things down into phases. Having a shopping list of things that need to be changed in Phase 1 (the launch of your new brand), Phase 2 (a few months down the line), Phase 3 (as and when items are needed to be reordered for a reprint)
6. Listen to feedback
A rebrand launch isn’t a hard stop. Once it’s launched it’s time to reflect and gather insight from those using it day-to-day. A set of brand guidelines are able to be changed and updated. For example we had a client who a year after launch decided a version of there logo was to be removed as the stacked version was hardly ever used and as a small organisation with a team who all have to built presentations regularly, they wanted to streamline the design.
Finally, do you remember the original Instagram logo? The retro brown camera with the small rainbow detail? And do you remember when Instagram updated this logo to the one we have today, a flat, simplified icon with a rainbow gradient to convey their evolution from just a photo editing and sharing platform to a community of creators able new content formats like Reels and Stories. No I didn’t either until I Googled ‘famous rebrands’, but at the time (2016) some people lost their minds, they couldn’t find the new looking app on their phone screens and worried the new logo signified a malware attack. Just proof that a rebrand is a journey, not a destination.
