Rebranding & Your Logo: What You Need to Know

We have all experienced it. You somehow did not get the memo that one of your favorite companies has rebranded itself. Now, you are at the grocery store in more of a hurry than usual, and you cannot find your go-to brand of orange juice. What do you do instead? You end up getting the brand with the decent packaging and price and leave the store annoyed that yours was not in stock! The reality is that your favorite brand was probably there, but you could not / did not recognize its new packaging. Que horror!

Companies are constantly running into the same issue: How do we update our look to better attract our target audience, without being unrecognizable to our already existing customers? When done correctly, rebranding, specifically rebranding your logo, can actually increase sales from both existing customers and new ones.
While not all of us own a functioning crystal ball, there are some things that can be done to predict any rebranding mistakes before they happen. Here are a couple of examples of what we mean:

Tip No. 1: Ask for Feedback

It might seem like a no-brainer, but ask your customers for feedback. Find out what they like about your current brand design and what they might like to see in the future. Do you have some new design ideas? Great! Ask a select group of customers what they think of the designs before you spend precious time and money making changes.

Why it’s Important: If you change too many of your design elements at one time, you could lose customers simply because your changes caused confusion or frustration.

Here’s what we mean: What do you think most people did when they couldn’t find the Uber app on their phones? They ordered a Lyft. As for Tropicana, their newly designed carton was mistaken for a generic store brand and left their customers confused and even worse- frustrated!

Tip No. 2: Do Not Change Too Much!

Remember that customers have an emotional connection to your brand and it’s logo. Unless there is some sort of negativity surrounding your brand, do not reinvent the wheel here. If it works how it is, do not go crazy with changes, and make sure to ask yourself if a change is necessary. 

Why it’s Important: If you rebrand to something your customers cannot relate to or understand, this can result in a loss of brand identity. We do not regularly see brands like Coca Cola or Disney rebranding- can you imagine if they did?

Here’s what we mean: People thought Gap was playing a joke when they changed their logo, the backlash was so real it lasted a whole 6 days before they changed back to the original. As for Kraft, the unveiling of their new logo was poorly received and only lasted a few months.

Tip No. 3: Keep it Relevant

Keep your logo relatable and relevant to your industry. Make sure its elements make sense and correlate to the purpose of your business. 

Why it’s Important: Your logo should have some relation to your industry and contain elements that make sense.

Here’s what we mean: Animal Planet’s first logo made complete sense and very much relates to what they are all about. The leaping bright blue elephant left customers confused. NBC Universal is in the same boat as well, they got rid of the iconic elements of their logo, leaving everyone missing the elements of the original.

Now that you have seen some of the biggest rebranding fails of all time, we will leave you with this final checklist:

• Make sure your design is original and true to the beliefs, voice, and performance of your brand. 
• Try to keep an open mind when reviewing your logo changes – make sure people from different backgrounds and perspectives have a chance to give their feedback on your logo before you go live!
• Do not forget that your clients have an emotional connection to your brand, do not change your logo so much that they will not be able to recognize you.

Now it’s time to get creative! Simply remember these tips and your efforts are sure to be a success. Happy rebranding!