Does Your Company Image Need a Refresh? What to Do When It's Time to Rebrand

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Make sure your logo and messaging match who you are right now.

April 13, 2018

6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Rebranding your business is no small feat, but it has plenty of benefits, such as assisting with product launches, reshaping public images or refreshing a tired image. A successful rebranding campaign can breathe new life into a business and improve overall revenue.

Related: After 10 Years of Unprofitability, 2 Breakthroughs Led This Entrepreneur to a $100 Million Brand

Not convinced? Global consulting firm McKinsey and Company found that strong brands outperform weak brands by up to 20 percent.

While many elements create a brand identity -- such as company name, products and advertising, and public perception -- there is one element that is quintessential to a brand: a logo design.

A properly designed logo has the ability to propel your brand into the mainstream and ultimately increase revenue. This applies to ecommerce, too -- a study from Missouri University of Science and Technology showed that consumers spend their first six seconds on a website looking at the logo design, wherever it is, before moving on to the other content on the page. And since consumers are looking for a consistent brand experience on every channel -- social media, website, print and more -- creating a recognizable and beautiful logo is imperative.

All of this may seem daunting, but if you didn't nail your logo design the first time, that's okay -- sometimes a business's mission pivots or older design trends just don't hold up in modern times. After all, what was in style in graphic design 20 years ago will not work today. (Remember 1999, when gradients and jump shadows in Photoshop were all the rage?)

Related: The 8 Must-Follow Rules for Rebranding Your Company (Infographic)

Regardless, plenty of companies, big and small, have been where you are right now.

Take BP, for example. Hot on the heels of many oil spills and controversies, the company realized that it needed to earn consumers' trust again and fix its public image in 2000. So, after decades sporting a simple shield logo, it revamped its logo design to create a friendlier, more natural visual identity.

This rebranding was successful in every way. The company retained its recognition by keeping its design the same size and same iconic hues of green and yellow. However, the image was modernized with additional shades and white space.

In addition, it created a new symbolic shape that represented the new focus of the company. The Helios sun shade symbolizes a focus on nature, telling consumers that BP is now dedicated to its audience and the world. A lowercase "bp" is now placed outside the shape, allowing the sunburst to be more responsive and adaptable to various products, placements, and advertisements.

While this logo redesign was pricey (think $200 million), others can be just as successful for a fraction of the cost that the company paid the agency BP used, Landor.

Related: The Ultimate Rebranding Checklist for Entrepreneurs

And I would know. I myself have been where you are, too. Twice, in fact.

When I founded Blue Fountain Media (a midsize digital agency that I recently sold) our slogan was: Springing your ideas to life.

And that's what we did -- we took businesses' goals and ideas and transformed them into campaigns and websites and whatever else they needed. I also liked that it was a slight play on "Blue Fountain" and "spring," and that it left us open to working on any project in any industry -- a definite pro for the agency.

However, this tagline had its cons as well. Our services and mission were very clear when they stood alone, away from an employee or executive. For example, if a potential client saw that on a business card, she could have been left with more questions than answers in regards to how we could help her company.

So, we rebranded to something much more clear: Your partner for digital growth.

This second slogan showed value (growth) and our mission -- to be your partner as you expand your brand. While it may not have been creative, it was clear and concise -- something that potential clients were able to understand immediately. This made the new slogan high-value -- something every brand should strive for in all creative elements.

Related: Why You Should Launch a Brand, Not a Product

I also recently went through this with my new company, DesignRush.com. While our first logo was on the right track, it wasn't dynamic and, honestly, was pretty boring. It certainly didn't embody a digital destination that was mean to showcase top tech trends, marketing tips and beautiful designs. And it definitely didn't reflect the name of the company: DesignRush (emphasis on the "rush").

So we rebranded to a sleeker, racier and more modern typography-based logo. This new logo cycles through five different hues on the website, all of which are gradient from dark to light within the actual logo. This allows us to color-code the website with the logo while maintaining both consistency and an up-and-coming design trend: gradients.

Although this rebrand is new, so far, creating a visual identity that represents the mission of the company and the demographic has been met with rave reviews.

Should you rebrand?

Taking the plunge and rebranding your company is a big risk -- but it's one that can certainly pay off, and has for many companies in the past. If you're unsure of whether or not you should redesign some elements or rewrite some copy to re-engage customers, just refer to this checklist:

1. Are you offering a new product or core service, or rolling out something massive?
2. Do you need to alter your public perception?
3. Is your company heading in a different direction, or does it have a new value proposition?
4. Times change and you have to keep up with them. Is your design just plain outdated?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, rebranding may be the perfect effort for your business.

Once you make the decision to rebrand, be sure to conduct plenty of research before you change a single thing. Your consumers will tell you exactly what they want from you -- all you have to do is listen. Once you do, you'll be able to strike the perfect balance between recognizable symbol, iconic name and a classic design that will last for years to come.

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