3 minute read

Before beginning any sort of brand strategy work, it’s important that it’s well thought out. It’s also crucial to think about the trickle-down implications of potential seismic shifts in your organization. These changes will have far-reaching impact beyond your marketing team. If done properly, brand strategy work impacts every aspect of your organization.

The most important question to ask yourself with any sort of brand work is WHY? What has led to this conclusion? What problem are you hoping to solve? What’s the desired outcome? 

As mentioned in our previous post there are several reasons why brand strategy work may be warranted. After you’ve established the WHY, you should also consider the following:

Do you have supporting research or insights? – Internal brand changes should always be rooted in external realities. It’s easy to get stuck in your own echo chamber, losing sight of how your brand is actually received by stakeholders. Without proper research, any work will be a guess as to whether it will create the desired impact.

Is there any equity in the current brand? – As mentioned in part one of this series, there are many aspects to a brand platform. It’s essential to think through whether changes will actually solve the problem or create a bigger one. After all, changing aspects like a name or logo will require re-education – as was the case with MPS Egg Farms. In their instance, the changes were worth it based on the challenges they were facing with expanding their geography.

How far are you willing to go? – Are you looking for a complete do-over or simple updates to where you’re currently at? Or are you open to making your decision based on what the research reveals? Although you should always have an idea of where you want to head, we recommend looking at what external forces are telling you.

Will a change result in business impact? – Brand strategy work will require investments – whether they be time, financial, cultural, etc. You should take the time to consider if these investments will lead to the business outcomes you desire. If you can’t see a direct line to business impact, then it may not be worth it.

Is leadership aligned? – Outside of the top marketing leadership, are other executives on board? Is your CFO the lone holdout? Brand strategy shifts will impact all parts of your organization, so it’s vital that everyone is aligned around the need for a rebrand and moving toward the same goal. Otherwise, you might end up investing a lot of time and energy without the ability to fully execute your brand.

Are you ready for organization-wide impact? – As mentioned above, your brand strategy should impact the entire organization. A successful strategy affects your products/services, culture, company vision and many other aspects. If not executed correctly, it will leave your customers, employees and other stakeholders confused.

We’ve now covered what a successful brand strategy looks like, reasons why you may want to consider a rebrand and the questions you should ask yourself before embarking on this journey.

If you are serious about exploring a new or refreshed brand and want to work with an experienced partner to create the right brand strategy for your organization, contact Adam Hoover to get started.

You can also find more helpful information on rebranding in these recent blog posts: