5 Questions To Ask If You’re Considering A Branding Refresh

Branding & Design

It’s 2022 and you’re thinking “out with the old, in with the new.” Just as we refresh our closets, our appearance, and our homes, brands too need a little updating.

Brand Refresh vs. Rebrand

First, it’s important to identify the difference between refreshing and rebranding. A brand refresh is simply updating or making improvements to your visual brand identity; mainly, those visual components that can become outdated or no longer relevant over the years. Those visual components can include your brand’s logo, typography, website, social media accounts, and any other marketing assets that are branded.

A rebrand is a complete transformation of your brand, including the visual identity components, as well as it’s fundamental services and offerings. Businesses often undergo rebrands if they want to bring light to their expanded menu of services, or if they’ve had a poor reputation and desire to repair their image by demonstrating that they have changed and improved.

Think about it this way: a brand refresh elevates your brand and its existing assets, while a rebrand transforms your brand and sometimes, removes or completely changes its existing assets.

If by now you’ve discovered that a brand refresh is more in line with what your business needs, here are 5 questions to ask yourself before embarking on this journey.

Why Now?

Asking yourself this key question will help you map out your goals and your pain points. Perhaps you have developed new business goals, and you’re thinking a brand refresh will help attract new clients. Or, maybe you’ve acquired so much new business that you want to “wow” your new clients! Another reason could be that you just feel your current “look” is outdated, and that’s common. A brand refresh is an excellent way to acquire business, or demonstrate that you’re up to date with “the times.” Despite the reason for your refresh, remember to ask yourself why first.

What Are Our Competitors Doing?

Now that you’ve considered refreshing your brand, and you understand why, take a peek at your competitor and find out what they’re doing. In fact, completely dive into their brand materials – it’ll help you get a leg up on the competition by seeing what you’re up against. While you’re looking around, you may fancy some of their assets that perhaps you hadn’t thought about creating. Design-wise, if your direct competitor’s website is a contrast of black and white, with a minimalistic logo and very similar services, work with your graphic designer to ensure that your refreshed brand doesn’t look like theirs. Setting yourself apart is key, but first, you need to know who you’re setting yourself apart from.

Who Are Our Current Customers?

Your brand refresh must address the needs of your current clients. If your customers are innovative and forward-thinking, your brand refresh should be, too. If you stray too far away from your current customer base, then you may be risking the return on investment. When Uber revealed their then-new logo in 2016, it caused quite the uproar online. Their current customers found the logo unrecognizable and felt that the design didn’t resonate with them. At the time, they dropped their recognizable “U,” but had good intentions. In a blog post written by CEO Travis Kalanick, who personally helped to design the new logo, he said the logo “celebrates [Uber’s] technology, as well as the cities we serve.” Needless to say, they ended up rebranding in 2018. The lesson here – save yourself the time and money, and consider your audiences’ wants and needs.

Can we invest the time and resources right now?

Though you may have a burning desire to refresh your brand, ask yourself if you realistically have enough time, and enough of a budget to do so. During this phase of your questions, consider mapping out all of the assets you wish to refresh – the logo, website, printed assets, stationary, emails signatures, social media templates, etc. Decide on your budget, and work with a graphic designer to learn if this project is within your budget, and how long it will take.

Who will be managing the logistics?

Oftentimes, brand refreshes can take weeks to months to unveil, depending on everyone’s availability. Do you have that kind of time to dedicate to it? If not, does anyone on your team have the bandwidth and skill set to manage this project with the graphic designer? A brand refresh is more than just a series of “this looks good,” or “no, I don’t like that logo,” the project manager needs to provide valuable feedback to the designer, move the project forward, gain feedback from colleagues and other stakeholders, and ask the right questions. This can be a big project, and everyone involved needs to have the availability to dedicate to it.

The Decision

The decision to refresh your brand can be a smart one – it can be strategic, profitable, and long overdue. By asking yourself these 5 key questions, you’ll learn if a brand refresh is right for your business, and if this is the right time.

If you find that you definitely need to elevate your brand, but don’t have the bandwidth on your team, contact Agency C5. Our team has the experience and resources to make your brand refresh a reality.

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