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REBRANDING WE live in an age when attitudes are not to be simply kept deep within but must be slipped on as a T-shirt or footwear. And company names need not be anything to do with the promoters but are to reflect ideals even if unreachable. When a brand owner revisits the brand with the purpose of updating or revising based on internal or external circumstances. Rebranding is often necessary after an M&A or if the brand has outgrown its identity/marketplace. The decision to rebrand is about much more than a change of logo, and should not be taken lightly - it can mean making changes to the very heart of a company. New year, new logo. As makeover mania takes hold, some of the world's most iconic brands are starting the year with a new look. Rebranding Page 1

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REBRANDING

WE live in an age when attitudes are not to be simply kept deep within but must be slipped on as a T-shirt or footwear. And company names need not be anything to do with the promoters but are to reflect ideals even if unreachable.

When a brand owner revisits the brand with the purpose of updating or revising based on internal or external circumstances.

Rebranding is often necessary after an M&A or if the brand hasoutgrown its identity/marketplace. The decision to rebrand is about much more than a change of logo, and should not be taken lightly - it can mean making changes to the very heart of a company. New year, new logo. As makeover mania takes hold, some of the world's most iconic brands are starting the year with a new look.

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INTRODUCTION

Rebranding is the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design, or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated (new) position in the mind of stakeholders and competitors.

Far from just a change of visual identity, rebranding should be part of an overall brand strategy for a product or service.

This may involve radical changes to the brand's logo, brand name e.g. orphan initialism, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. These changes are typically aimed at the repositioning of the brand/company, sometimes in an attempt to distance itself from certain negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand upmarket. However, the main reason for a re-brand is to communicate a new message for a company, something that has evolved, or the new board of directors wish to communicate.

Rebranding can be applied to new products, mature products, or even products still in development. The process can occur intentionally through a deliberate change in strategy or occur unintentionally from unplanned, emergent situations, such as a " corporate restructuring," "union busting," or "bankruptcy."

Rebranding is a science and the stakes are so high that it requires a brand specialist to navigate the obstacles, barriers and opportunities that this important business initiative requires.

There are many different interpretations to the meaning of re-branding, and ideas on when it's called for and exactly how it should be undertaken. There are two schools of thought when it comes to the subject of re-branding. The first is that re-branding is an essential ingredient of business success; you need to re-brand in order to evolve your brand so that it keeps up with the times and meets consumers' ever-changing needs. The other, that re-branding should be avoided at all costs; after all, if brands like Kellogg's, Kodak, Coca Cola and Gillette can still be market leaders in their categories as they were in 1925, then is re-branding really necessary? Too often companies perceive Rebranding as shallow cosmetic exercise. New color here, tweak of the logo there and throw in some nice TV ads. Corporate mergers will often result in complete rebrand. When organizations have failed to establish a brand, or have been through any kind of scandal, total Rebranding may also be in order. In these cases, the intent is to erase any previous brand identity and replace it with completely new imagery and messaging. There are just about as many reasons to rebrand. Some of these are positive (two organization have merged or a company has significantly expanded its offering), while others are less rosy (the current brand has been tainted in some way or has become outdated).

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What is meant by Rebranding? In today's business world, re-branding can take many guises and need not be confined to circumstances where there has been a name change only. Re-branding can be defined as "affecting a change to a brand in order to stimulate a change in consumer attitudes, perceptions and behavior with the end goal of generating positive market growth". The reality is that the scope of this change could be as minor as subtle changes to the company's graphics and logo or as major as a full-blown name change. In effect, changing any of the tangible elements of the brand can do re-branding, whether through the advertising, corporate stationery & sales literature, packaging design, staff uniforms, vehicle livery or the corporate identity and trademark. Changes to any or all of these can have the effect of re-branding a company

ORRebranding:   This can be defined as "a process of giving a product or an organization a new image, in order to make it more attractive and successful" (Collins English Dictionary). This is done to increase consumer loyalty, improve member professionalism, enter a new market trend, create a stronger voice in the industry, increase share holder value or to reenergize a company.

Partial RebrandIn situations when a brand has been firmly established yet is simply outdated or needs to be refreshed due to the addition of new products or services, tweaking is required, rather than a full-blown rebrand. In these cases, you don't want to eliminate the brand value that's been developed over the years, but merely make subtle changes to update it or make it representative of an expanded offering.

Total RebrandCorporate mergers will often result in complete rebrands. When organizations have failed to establish a brand, or have been through any kind of scandal, total rebranding may also be in order. In these cases, the intent is to erase any previous brand identity and replace it with completely new imagery and messaging.

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Reasons for rebranding

Rebranding occurs when a business or organization decides to change a significant element of the brand. Such a change could be glaringly obvious like a new brand name or logo, or it might be more subtle such as a slight shift in messaging to better communicate a more relevant brand promise.

Anyway you slice it, rebranding is extremely important. Not only can it be expensive to execute a complete rebrand, but it can also be risky. Sometimes employees and consumers won’t accept a rebranding, and that’s when disaster strikes.

Why do companies rebrand? There are actually a multitude of reasons why a business might initiate a corporate rebranding or the rebranding of a product or service, but no matter what the reasons are, those reasons can always be categorized as either proactive or reactive. Let’s take a closer look.

Proactive Rebranding:

Sometimes a company sees a reason to rebrand to seize an opportunity or thwart potential threats in the future. For example, proactive rebranding might happen in the following situations:

Predicted Growth: When a company is preparing for expected

growth, particularly international growth, it might rebrand products and

services into a consolidated brand. This is often done for consistency

and to save money over time. This type of rebranding is also done

when a company simply needs to create a greater sense of brand unity

across its business. New Line of Business or Market: When a company enters into a new

line of business or market that is not cohesive to the existing brand

identity, a rebranding might be in order. Remember when Apple was

known as Apple Computer? As the company evolved into new lines of

business beyond computers, the original brand name was too

restrictive. With a simple snip to the ancillary word in the brand name

in 2002 (which most people didn’t use anymore), the brand was ready

for new growth and opportunities.

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New Audience: When a company wants to appeal to a new audience, a

rebranding might be necessary. Keep in mind, the rebranding might not

require an actual name or logo change. Think of McDonald’s referring

to itself as MickeyD’s in commercials to target a different demographic

from its traditional family audience. Relevancy: When a company realizes its brand is losing relevancy in

consumers’ minds, it might be time to rebrand. The Yellow Pages

rebranding is a perfect example. With the use of printed Yellow Pages

directories declining, Yellow Pages rebranded to YP and began to focus

more attention on the digital space making it significantly more

relevant.

Reactive Rebranding

Other times, companies rebrand in reaction to an event that is so significant that the existing brand must be changed. For example, reactive rebranding might happen in situations like the ones listed below:

Merger or Acquisition: When companies merge or acquire other

companies (and even when they break apart), rebrandings are often

required. That’s how we’ve gotten brand names like Pricewaterhouse

Coopers and Bank of New York Mellon. When AT&T broke up into

three separate companies in the late 1990s, Lucent Technologies was

born. These types of rebrandings are very common and often go

through multiple iterations. Legal Issues: There are a number of different legal issues that could

cause a company to rebrand. Trademarks are often at the root of these

rebranding examples. That’s why it’s so important to conduct an

exhaustive trademark search and obtain the trademark rights to your

brand name before you launch it. Competitive Influences: Sometimes a company’s competitors’

activities can be the catalyst to a rebranding. When a competitor

renders your brand useless or dated, a rebranding could help you regain

a foothold in your market and give you the facelift you need to

effectively strike back.

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Negative Publicity: Remember a company called Andersen

Consulting? It was part of a larger company along with the accounting

firm Arthur Andersen that was tied to the collapse of Enron. Andersen

Consulting was granted independence from its parent company in 2000,

and on New Year’s Day 2001, the consulting company was reborn as

Accenture, representing a great example of effective rebranding in

response to negative publicity.

Whether it’s your own strategic goals or macro-environmental factors that necessitate a rebranding, realizing that it might be time to rebrand is just the preliminary step in the rebranding process. Next, you need to determine the extent of the rebranding and how you’re going to get it done. That’s exactly what you’ll learn in Part 2 of the Rebranding Essentials series, so stay tuned to the AYTM blog for the next post!

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The different ways that a company may re-brand itself

It can be categorized as follows:(1) The brand name.(2) The logo, trademark, graphics, slogans or imagery.(3) Company livery, packaging or uniforms.(4) Advertizing.(5) Via new products or enhancements.

(1) Changes to the Brand name

This is perhaps the more obvious and straightforward way of re-branding. Such an approach could be as a result of a change in ownership or mergers such as with the UK Banking Brand, Lloyds TSB (from the merger of the separate banks of Lloyds and TSB), and the launch in South Africa of the new Brands Virgin Active, ABSA and the Fedsure Stormers. It could also be a result of the globalisation of a brand such as Starburst (from its previous UK Brand name of Opal Fruits) and Snickers (from its previous UK brand name of Marathon) in the UK. These two examples were as a result of a UK brand name needing to be realigned to an international Brand name.

Re-branding could also be seen as a key to a brand's future survival, such as with Nissan (that was re-branded from Datsun between 1981-4) or as a means of growing a brand without changing the product, distribution or pricing, such as with Arthur's, the UK second largest cat food brand that was re-branded from Spillers Kattomeat. This was a result of the realisation that the brand symbol Arthur could offer the brand greater leverage and awareness and the potential of growing market share and position in the UK in the early 1990s. Re-branding could also simply be a way of providing a brand umbrella to enable product diversification as done by FedEx (from Federal Express) in 1994.

(2) The logo, trademark, graphics, slogans or imagery

A symbol or logo can be an anchor that keeps a brand seemingly stuck in the past unless it is updated. Good examples of where this has been addressed successfully have been the Pillsbury Doughboy and Betty Crocker, whose images have evolved to keep up with the times. The same has happened to the logos of Brands like Shell, AEG, Afrox and 5fm.

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When it comes to slogans, companies will often change their slogan to keep abreast of the times. Perhaps one of the best examples of this has been Coca-Cola, whose slogans have changed regularly over the years.

Some of Coca-Cola's slogans:

1893: The ideal brain tonic.1960: Coke refreshes you best.1976: Coke adds life.1982: Coke is it.1988: You can't beat the feeling.1990: You can't beat the real thing.1993: Always Coca-Cola.2000: Coca-Cola enjoy.

Finally, imagery and associations are a powerful means of re-branding. For example, Levi's use of hip urban imagery in their advertising proved to be a powerful image changer and an effective way to move them away from the traditional association with miners and ranchers to reach a younger and trendier audience.

(3) Company livery

Company livery and packaging are powerful mediums to re-brand. Examples of this are companies like South African Breweries and Coca-Cola who have constantly altered their packaging design to meet the changing tastes of their market.

The same can be said with the change in livery of the likes of Alpha Limited in 1996, whose fleet of 800 delivery vehicles signalled a new look and positioning for their brand. Similarly, staff uniforms can be used as a means of a re-branding as done by companies like McDonald's over the years and more recently by the likes of ABSA.

(4) Advertising

Advertising is probably one of the most frequently used vehicles for re-branding as it is fairly easy, flexible and quick to change. It is a powerful way of reaching a broad or targeted audience quickly and is effective at signaling a change in positioning, however real or broad that may be. There are many examples of where advertising has either repositioned or strengthened brands, such as Standard Bank and Rand Merchant Bank. Other good examples of

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where advertising has built a new position for a brand or built a strong emotional link with the public are where companies have created a sort of soap opera out of their advertising. A few examples of this are: MWeb's current "Dave" Campaign, Vodacom's loveable character, Castrol's amusing "Boet and Swaer" series, Fresca's "Larry" and M-Net's "Magical Animals".

(5) Product enhancements or extensions

Enhancements or extensions to a product can be an effective way of re-branding as they can broaden the appeal, reach and scope of a brand in terms of its use and youthfulness. Cheerios, which was originally seen as a health-orientated cereal, was able to broaden its appeal through the introduction of Honey Nut Cheerios, which appealed to a wider audience of people who preferred pre-sweetened cereals. Likewise, Quaker Oats, the once traditional hot oatmeal, was able to overcome growing perceptions that it was inconvenient, not too tasty and even somewhat authoritarian, by introducing their single serving microwavable Oatmeal cups (with spices and sweeteners to improve the taste).

There are many options open to marketers, some more costly and extensive than others, to re-branding. However, re-branding must not be taken lightly as there is a great deal at stake. Brands today have been proven to have considerably more value than they were thought to have in the past.

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The Rebranding Process

If you think it might be time for a rebranding of your company, product, or service, then you need to understand the steps to take so your rebranding is successful. The primary 10 steps of rebranding follow:

1. Establish the reason for rebranding.

2. Identify your strategic goals for rebranding.

3. Determine who the stakeholders are both internally and externally.

4. Conduct research to validate the need for a rebranding, determine

consumer perceptions, wants, needs, and so on.

5. Define the budget for rebranding creative, roll-out, tracking and

ongoing research.

6. Create a new brand identity, messaging, and so on based on research

findings and strategic goals.

7. Plan the new brand identity roll-out, including advertising, production

(e.g., signage, printed materials, advertising, packaging, and so on). Be

sure to have plans in place for potential negative backlash a new brand

can cause. However, it’s hoped that you’ve identified potential negative

reactions during the research process and mitigated them through the

creative process.

8. Launch the new brand internally. Provide training and education to

employees and ensure employees understand, buy into, and advocate

the new brand. Ensure first-line employees are extremely well-versed

in and supportive of the new brand identity.

9. Roll-out the new brand externally.

10. Monitor consumer reactions, conduct ongoing research to ensure the

brand identity is working, and tweak, update, and communicate as

necessary.

In other words, don’t launch the brand and forget about it.Based on these

steps, the first things you need to do are define why you’re considering

rebranding, determine what your goals are for the rebranding, and identify

who will be affected or care about the rebranding. Once you’ve completed

those three steps, it’s time to start doing your research to determine the best

type of rebranding to do.

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Remember, rebranding is a normal part of every organization’s life-cycle.  This is a constant effort, with some seasons more devoted to it than others.

Rebranding ResearchYou should never rebrand without conducting research to ensure that your reasons for rebranding are valid and that your goals for the rebranding are appropriate. You need to be certain that the direction of your rebranding matches consumer wants and needs for your brand (or the brand that you want to become). There are many types of research that you can conduct to ensure your rebranding is successful, including:

Brand awareness research Brand perception research Brand expectations research Brand identity research Brand loyalty research Brand image research Brand values research Brand message research Brand strategy research

Rebranding research includes both consumer and competitor research. You need to understand all aspects of the market where your brand will operate in order to create a rebranding initiative that correctly tells your brand story in a manner that consumers will accept and the marketplace will bear.

Quantitative, Qualitative, Internal, External – Cover All the Bases

Begin with qualitative research that helps you explore consumers and competitors. This is the stage in the rebranding process where you can gather valuable information related to consumer emotions and perceptions. Use this data to formulate your quantitative research surveys, so you can measure, compare and assess opportunities. Quantitative research can help you define audience segmentation, messaging, brand positioning, and brand creative.

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Keep in mind, rebranding research can be done internally, too. Talk to and survey your employees, particularly front-facing employees like field sales representatives and customer service agents. These people talk to customers every day and have a wealth of information and insights to share. They can help you brainstorm ideas and form hypotheses that can be tested through consumer quantitative research.

Through your rebranding research, you’ll not only learn if a complete brand overhaul is necessary rather than a simple nip and tuck as well as what that new brand should promise to consumers.

Domino’s provides a perfect example. This is a brand that consumers had a very specific perception of — cheap, fast pizza that doesn’t taste very good but is perfect for late night binges by college students. Domino’s wanted to change its brand image and set out on a rebranding mission that ended with not a radical rebrand but instead an attempt to change that consumer perception by addressing it head on. Domino’s changed its pizza recipe and rolled out commercials, online videos, websites, and social media profiles where the company talked openly about its reputation for cheap pizza that didn’t taste very good. The campaign worked and today, Domino’s sales are higher than ever.

Don’t assume you know what your employees and consumers want. You need to talk to them to be certain, and once you have that information, listen to it. Many well-known brands have skipped that step and suffered the consequences.

Rebranding Identity: Create Your New Brand Identity

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Whether your rebranding goals and initiatives include creating a new logo, new packaging, new messaging, or establishing a new image, you need to create some form of a new brand identity. Fortunately, I wrote an entire series called How to Brand that teaches you how to create a brand in six easy-to-read parts. The first three parts of that series cover the basics that you need to follow in order to create your new brand identity. Follow the links below and read all three articles to ensure you know how to create a brand identity successfully:

1. Research the Market and Consumers

2. Identify Brand Values

3. Create Brand Messages and Brand Image

Rebranding Launch: Internal and External Brand Roll-out

When your new brand identity is ready for the world to see, it’s time to slow down. Don’t roll out your new brand without first doing an internal launch. If your employees don’t buy into your new brand identity, why should customers? You must educate your employees about your brand first!

You need to train all of your employees about what the new brand identity is, how it should be used, what it means, and why it matters. Don’t just give employees pens, paperweights, or magnets with your new logo or tagline printed on them, and don’t hand out laminated cards with the 10 new brand values or strategic imperatives. These are meaningless to employees unless you make them mean something. In other words, you need to turn your employees on to your brand. Make them believe in it, feel passionate about it, and become emotionally connected to it.

For example, CSC created a comprehensive website, the CSC Styleguide, that offers all of the information internal and external audiences need in order to understand and use the CSC brand identity. The internal section of the website is available to employees only and requires employee login to access. CSC took the time to understand how important internal buy in is to its brand success and invested time and money in providing easy-to-access information and educational tools so employees can get on board and stay on board with the brand. It’s a great example of a well executed rebranding launch.

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After your employees are comfortable with the new brand identity, it’s time to roll it out to consumers and the audience at large. Depending on how different your new brand identity is and how consumers are likely to react to it based on your consumer research that you conducted during the rebranding process, the extent of your roll-out might include advertising, direct mail, email, websites, social media, and more.

Don’t be afraid to get creative in an effort to spread the word about your rebranding and to raise awareness, recognition, and acceptance of your new brand identity. In 2010 after becoming an independent company, TimeWarner Cable launched a tweaked new logo. As part of the roll-out, Time Warner Cable Senior Vice President of Marketing Communications Marrissa Freeman recorded a very informal YouTube video where she discussed the marketing team’s thought process on why the rebranding was necessary and what it means to consumers. You can watch the video below, which was originally published on the Time Warner Cable YouTube Channel.

Time Warner cable wasn’t the first company to create a video and publish it on YouTube to launch a new logo. When AOL split from Time Warner in 2009, the company launched a new logo along with a sneak peak preview video that debuted on the special AOL Brand Identity YouTube channel one

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month before the new brand identity officially rolled out. The video not only debuted the new logo but also made it clear that the new AOL image would be trendy, modern, and young, a far cry from the previous AOL that still held the stigma of mailing dial-up America Online CDs to people. It was a great rebranding effort that was well-accepted. Check out that video below.Part 4 of the How to Brand series teaches you how to educate people about your brand — both internal and external audiences — and Part 5 teaches you how to create emotional brand involvement and branded experiences, so consumers are able to connect with your new brand identity, believe it, and trust it. Finally, Part 6 teaches you how to monitor brand perception to ensure your brand is going in the right direction. Be sure to read those articles thoroughly before you launch your own internal and external rebranding initiatives!Once you roll out your new brand identity, your work isn’t done. Next, you need to measure, research, and tweak, which you’ll learn about in Part 6 of the Rebranding Essentials series. Check back soon for that article on the AYTM blog.

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Measure Research and Tweak

You created your new brand identity and rolled out your rebranding to employees and consumers. Now what? How do you know people like and accept your rebranding? You don’t unless you monitor their thoughts, conversations and opinions, and measure the impact of those thoughts, conversations and opinions against your brand’s potential for success.

These days, it’s easier than ever to gather information from consumers (and employees) after you launch your new brand identity. Following are several options for monitoring, measuring, and researching consumer and employee reactions to your new brand using social media and market research.

1. Social Media Monitoring and Measuring

When you roll out your brand, be prepared to listen to the online buzz that might start afterwards. Everyone has an opinion and many are extremely comfortable voicing their honest opinions on the social web. Twitter and Facebook profiles are two of the best places to find these types of opinions published and conversations happening, but blogs, online forums, and other social web destinations are important to monitor as well.

There are many free and affordable tools that you can use to monitor your rebranding across the social web. Keep in mind, no social media monitoring tool is perfect, but they can give you an excellent idea of what’s being said about your brand. This enables you to jump into conversations and track sentiment and perception related to your rebranding effort. Using this information, you can tweak your brand, messages, and so on to ensure they’re successful.

Several options to monitor your brand across the web are listed below offering various types of data at different price points (or for free):

Monitter: Monitter is a free Twitter app that allows you to follow real-

time tweets about the keywords of your choice (such as your brand

name).

SocialMention: SocialMention is a free real-time social media search

and analytics tool. Just enter your keywords (like your brand name)

into the search box and get links, data, and more from dozens of

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websites, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many more. You

can see a snapshot of the information SocialMention offers in the image

shown at the bottom of this list.

Google Alerts: You should definitely set up free keyword email alerts

with Google Alerts, so you receive email messages with links to online

content that has been published and includes those keywords.

SproutSocial: SproutSocial is a social media monitoring tool targeted

to individuals and small businesses. Pricing starts at a very low

monthly fee and enables you to manage, monitor, and measure your

social media activities, including brand conversations. A free trial is

available.

Trackur: Trackur is a social media and online reputation monitoring

tool. You can also measure your social media reach and influence,

starting at a monthly fee that is a bit higher than SproutSocial. A 10-

day money-back guarantee is offered.

Radian6: If your budget is bigger, Radian6 is one of the most popular

social media management and monitoring companies with a variety of

tools to help you keep track of your social media activities and online

reputation.

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2. Research and Measuring

Social media monitoring allows you to listen to conversations while market research allows you to gather more information from your employees and consumers, including people who aren’t actively talking about your brand online. There are many companies and tools that you can use to survey your customers and employees.

For example, AYTM offers three ways that you can easily and affordably survey your customers and the larger consumer audience:

Survey your own customer or employee list: AYTM’s ListSurvey

tool enables you to conduct quantitative research and poll your own

customer list to learn how they feel about your brand on an ongoing

basis.

Survey the larger population using targeting criteria of your

choosing: The AYTM consumer panel is available to help you survey

people outside of your customer list. This is a particularly important

type of quantitative research for growth brands and businesses that are

considering taking their brands to new markets or geographical regions.

Conduct qualitative research: Through AYTM’s webcam video

response surveys and open-ended question and answer surveys, you can

gather deeper insight into problem areas related to your rebranding

launch. You can include these types of qualitative survey features when

you use AYTM’s ListSurvey tool or when you survey the AYTM

consumer panel

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Don’t forget that you should always directly ask your employees and consumers how they feel about your new brand identity when the opportunity arises. Whether you’re talking to them in person, on the phone, via email, or on the social web, take a minute to ask them their thoughts about your rebranding initiative. You can even publish a question on your business blog or on your own Twitter profile or Facebook page asking your followers to send you their thoughts. Informal research is important! When you ask people for their opinions, you not only get useful feedback, but you also make them feel valued.

3.Tweaking the New Brand

When you find potential conflicts between your new brand and employee or public perception of that brand, you need to dig deeper to determine the source of the disconnect. Is your messaging weak? Did you launch without properly educating people about what the new brand means? Is there a bigger problem with the rebranding such as a logo that consumers detest (like what happened to The Gap) or packaging that doesn’t resonate in consumers’ minds with the brand promise (as happened to Tropicana)? If you’re not familiar with The Gap or Tropicana rebranding mistakes,

You must identify problems early in order to effectively fix them before they grow into catastrophes. That’s why brand monitoring and research are vital to your rebranding success. It’s also important to keep track of metrics related to your rebranding. While market research can provide data related to employees’ and consumers’ feelings about the brand and social media monitoring can provide data about online brand buzz and sentiment, you should also be watching for increased traffic to your website, increased sales, and so on. After all, why rebrand if it’s not going to help your business boost sales and revenues in some way?

Brand monitoring, research, and measuring should be an ongoing process, so you always know how people perceive and feel about your brand. There shouldn’t be surprises in branding if you’re always doing the monitoring, research, and measuring that you should bedoing.

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Rebranding Mistakes

The Top 20 Mistakes Marketers Make When Rebranding — And How to Avoid Them

Smart marketers evolve their brands over time to keep them relevant. Some do it well, while others become the target of cynical bloggers. To gear your next rebrand for success, sidestep these all-too-common mistakes:

1. Clinging to history.Rebranding well means staying relevant. Assumptions made when the brand was established may no longer hold true. Analyze changes in target markets when exploring opportunities for brand expansion, repositioning and revitalization.

2. Thinking the brand is the logo, stationery or corporate colors.Brands encompass everything from customer perception and experience to quality, look and feel, customer care, retail and web environments, the tone and voice of communications, and more.

3. Navigating without a plan.Effective rebrands rely on a creative brief to keep everyone focused as the project progresses. Include sections for a situation analysis, objectives, target markets, budget and resources, timeframe, point person, known parameters, approval structure, stakeholders and metrics for assessing results.

4. Refusing to hire a branding consultant without industry experience.It’s ok to consider an agency that hasn’t worked in your specific industry before. Sometimes it’s ideal – especially if you’re serious about a turnaround. Smart companies recognize the value of a fresh perspective.

5. Not leveraging existing brand equity and goodwill.Dismissing brand equity when rebranding alienates established customers, while unnecessary overhauls can irreparably damage a brand’s perception. Consider the needs and mindset of the target market carefully before digging into the process. Sometimes a small evolution – or a new coat of paint – is all that’s needed to rejuvenate and make a brand relevant.

6. Not trying on your customer’s shoes.Simply calling your own 800-number or receptionist may reveal challenges customers face and inform your rebranding strategy. Take the time to navigate your own website, buy your products and return something. Better yet, ask a friend or family member to do so and learn from their experiences.

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7. The rebrand lacks credibility or is a superficial facelift.The rebrand’s story must be believable given the existing brand experience and customer perception. It must also hold credibility internally. If employees who live the brand day-to-day don’t believe, the target audience won't either.

8. Limiting the influence of branding partners.Good branding consultants are more than graphic designers. The best ones help develop new products, expand demographic focuses and even streamline business operations. Rein them in when needed, but don’t limit their areas of influence.

9. Believing rebranding costs too much.Good thinking doesn’t have to come with a multi-million dollar payout. You can get good thinking and solid strategy from small and talented branding agencies, consultants and in-house talent. Consider university students or small firms for cost-effective results.

10. Not planning ahead for adaptation.It’s tempting for team members to walk away after the final presentation, however this is just the beginning of the final stretch. The implementation process may require adaptation as the rebrand rolls out. Acknowledge the need to keep the team and consultants together throughout implementation.

11. Bypassing the basics.The value of perfecting your physical environment, marketing materials, website, etc., is decreased if your customers languish on hold for inordinate amounts of time. If your invoices and contracts are written in 7-point legal jargon, the brand experience declines. Keep all customer touchpoints in mind when rebranding.

12. Not calling the call center.Often ignored in brand strategy sessions, customer service and other front-line staff can yield valuable information. This is the proverbial buck – the place where customers are the most honest, no matter what research indicates.

13. Forgetting that people don’t do what they say. (They do what they do.)Use caution when basing rebranding strategies on focus group-type research. Unless you’re physically in the customer’s environment observing them using your product or service, you’re not getting the full story. Actual observation, while not perfect, will get you a lot closer to the right solution.

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14. Getting strong-armed or intimidated by consultants.It’s the client's responsibility to reel things in when necessary. You still know the most about your brand and organization, the value of a non-immersed, fresh perspective notwithstanding.

15. Putting the wrong person in charge.Assuming you’ve hired capable-to-outstanding branding consultants, the quality of the work delivered depends on sound, knowledgeable project management. Make sure your internal point person has the skills, time and resources to drive the agency to its most effective work yet.

16. Strategy by committee.Too many opinions delay the rebranding process and diffuse the focus needed to achieve ROI. Keep those with critical approval authority to an efficient shortlist, and assemble the smallest, most essential project team possible. Include a mix of levels – not just executive.

17. Rebranding without research.There’s a lot of lip service about customers, but in brand strategy sessions they’re often forgotten. Current and prospective customers should be front and center when creating solutions. After all, the customer will be your ultimate test. Check sites like ReBrand.com for informative case studies.

18. Basing a rebrand on advertising.An ad campaign and a slogan do not equal brand positioning. Brand strategy should lead advertising – not the other way around. Sometimes the most effective rebrands don’t include traditional advertising.

19. Tunnel focus.Focusing solely on your own industry can be limiting. When rebranding, cross-pollinate your thinking with what leaders in other industries are doing in regard to customer experience, retail experience and customer care. Pull in thinking from different industries and encourage your agency to do so.

20. Believing you’re too small to rebrand.Every brand needs refreshing to stay relevant as markets evolve. Smaller companies and non-profits are not immune. Like larger brands, they too have brand positions that need to be

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Rebranding strategies

To maintain its desirability a brand has to evolve. Managing brands for the long term, in the context of new market perspectives to which any company must adapt, often involves rebranding. Since a brand consists of tangible (the physical expression of the brand) and intangible (values, image, feelings) elements, rebranding is a specific brand strategy consisting of a level of changing those elements (Daly and Moloney, 2004):

Minor changes (aesthetics changes) which varies from a simple face lift, to restyling, to revitalising the brand appearance or aesthetics which may have dated and be in need of change. Intermediate changes (reposition) which consists of using marketing tactics especially communication and customer service techniques to favorably reposition an existing brand name, thus giving it a new image.

Complete change (rebranding) case in which the name is new to stakeholders, so they don't know what the brand stands for. Therefore the values and image of the new brand must be communicated to all stakeholders through an integrated marketing communications campaign.

When adopting a rebranding strategy, corporate executives can select one of the following six strategic options or a combination of them (Kaikati and Kaikati, 2003):

Phase-in / phase-out strategy. The new brand is tied in some way to the existing brand for a specific introductory period. After a transition period, the old brand is gradually phased out.

Combined branding. The strategy combines the existing brands. As an example, umbrella branding may be appropriate for some companies while a single banner brand is used worldwide for almost the entire product line of the company. The global brand is sometimes used as an umbrella or endorsee brand.

Translucent warning strategy. This strategy relies on alerting customers before and after the actual brand name change. This is usually accomplished through intensive promotion, in-store displays, and product packaging.

Sudden eradication strategy. This strategy involves dropping the old brand name overnight and immediately replacing it with the new name, with no transition period. This strategy is appropriate when the organization wants to disassociate itself from its old image. Drying brands with no hope of resuscitation are viable candidates for a sudden

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eradication strategy, but companies have to develop a well-thought-out policy for handling the death and burial of their aging brands.

Counter-takeover rebranding. This variant applies usually after an acquisition. While acquirers tend to hold on to their own brand to show that they are the dominant owners, in counter-takeover rebranding, the acquirers reverse roles. They abandon their own brand in favor of the acquired brand, an admission by the acquirers that the acquired brand is more popular and respected than their own brand. Although this strategy is less compelling, it may be appropriate when competitors are aggressively gaining global clout by building up their respective global brands.

Retrobranding. Through this strategy, companies reinstate a name they abandoned some time ago, thus admitting an error and trying to regain lost or potentially lost customers.

Another approach of the rebranding strategies frequently cited in the literature is that of Kapferer (Kapferer, 1992), who sees four renaming possibilities as it follows:

Interim/Dual. This means there is some form of interim arrangement before the new name replaces the old name or legacy brand. If Brand A is taken over by Brand B, an interim arrangement may be that AB comes to identify the interim brand. Eventually A is dropped completely and B remains as the new brand name. This strategy clearly acknowledges the value of the brand equity in the legacy brand and facilitates the absorption of that equity into the emergent brand.

Prefix. This method is appropriate when two or more brands merge but none of the existing brands will be used as the new brand. The new brand is added as a prefix to the legacy brands. After a period, the legacy names are removed and the prefix name remains as the new brand. Again it is intended that the attributes and values of the legacy brands become part of the new brand, as stakeholders are given time ro adjust to the new prefix brand before the old ones are removed.

Substitution. As the name suggests, this approaches involves substituting or switching from the old to the new name, or indeed to a completely different name. Whereas it may be described as a sharp, swift and clean strategy, it should not be carried out without considerable research. Hasty removal of a name that has positive meanings for stakeholders could result in adverse consequences for the company. As focus group researches demonstrated, customers and

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employees of rebranded companies might feel sorry to see the old brand go, as it's been part of their life for several years. These remarks show a strong emotional attachment to legacy brands and so well planned communication and reassurance to stakeholders are recommended to minimise confusion and resentment.

Brand Amalgamation. This strategy is typically suited where two strong brands merge. Amalgamating the names brings the strength and values of the two brands together and the resulting equity may be greater than the sum of the parts. However, the amalgamation still needs careful management so that the attitudes of stakeholders of the individual brands are assured and reinforced.

Stages of a Rebranding Strategy

In order to be successful, a rebranding strategy should follow certain steps. These steps may be grouped into three fundamental stages (analysis, planning and evaluation) each implying certain aspects that must be accomplished.

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Source: Daly and Moloney, 2004: 35

Analysis. All aspects of marketing planning should be anchored in, and be developed from, a situation or market analysis. In general that should examine quantitative and qualitative issues such as: market size and potential, market attitudes and preferences, and competitor strengths and weaknesses. Specifically brand audits should provide the market's perspective on the brands involved in rebranding, showing their strengths and weaknesses and those of competing brands. Collecting such market information requires the application of standard marketing research and auditing methods. However, internal marketing should also commence by researching management's and employees' attitudes in the legacy brand company. The same marketing research techniques used for external research can be used to learn about management's and employees' perceptions, attitudes, fears and aspirations.

Planning the Communication to Internal Customers. Having discovered the attitudes of internalcustomers, a company must now develop both communicationsand training programs to gain the support and commitment of employees and train employees in the acquiring company's policies and procedures. Planning the internal communications program should follow the general guidelines for planning integrated external communications.

Planning the Renaming Strategy. One of the four approaches to renaming, interim/ dual, prefix, substitution or brand amalgamation, is recommended. The brand audit should help management decide which of the four to use. However, renaming can be an emotional issue for customer, management and employee. Many times, boardroom sentimentality has ensured that legacy brands have been retained as part of the new brand. Still, the choice of a renaming strategy should be made in an objective manner.

Planning the Rebranding Marketing Plan. To terminate a well-established and well regarded brand, and so a valuable asset, is a serious decision. The rebranding marketing plan follows well laid out principles of marketing planning, from situation analysis, self-analysis, assumptions and scenarios, through planning and implementation, to resources and budgets. It is axiomatic that each element of the mix be planned for the rebranding project. For example, decisions must be made about product benefits, product range, pricing, integrated communications, and all other elements of the mix. There is clearly a

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close link between participants and the internal training program. Employees play a pivotal role in customer satisfaction and in the achievement of corporate objectives so it is vital that participant roles are clearly defined and that they are trained to achieve both technical and functional quality.

Evaluation. Many opportunities to refine the campaign will have been missed if evaluation is not carried out throughout the planning process. Such staged evaluation allows any aspect of a plan to be altered as the need for such change becomes evident. In addition, a review or overall evaluation should be held at the end to take a more holistic view of the planning process.

TIPS ON SUCCESSFUL REBRANDING STRATEGIES

When thinking about rebranding your company’s products or services, think about a true rebrand, not simply a name change or color and logo redo. Customers will know it’s the same thing in a different package. A muddy dog with a frilly hat on her head is still a muddy dog. If you are rebranding because of poor sales, you may want to look into other reasons why your products sales are slowing. Could it be the product’s performance, formula or general reputation? A consumer poll through a marketing and research team might be in order as a way to figure out what could be wrong with your brand.

For a true rebranding to take place, there needs to be a new exterior, a new coat of paint so to speak, a new logo; but, there needs to be something new under the hood as well. Once customers get past the shiny new outside, and they discover the inside is still ‘business as usual’ you may lose the remaining customer loyalty that did not jump ship when you changed thing in the first place.

Changing a brand to promise something and then delivering on that promise is one of the main ideas behind rebranding. If you can give your customers more than you promised, something better than what they expected from the first product in the retooled version, you will retain customers and gain many more from word of mouth advertising.

Do not dismiss brand equity when rebranding your companies product because it could alienate established customers. Several unnecessary overhauls could damage a brands perception, so it is important to think

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about the mindset and needs of the targeted market before settling on a retooling of your product.

Do not put on blinders when it comes to rebranding and only your industry. Look at what other companies and brands have done when they rebranded. Look at what worked for them when it comes to their customer’s experiences, customer care, retail experiences, and your employee’s experiences. Try not to overlook anything but compare what they did to what you plan on doing to see if it’s a viable option before flipping the switch on the changes.

All brands need to rebrand or refresh once in a while to stay up-to-date and relevant with the world around them. Don’t think you are too small, too big, too old or whatever to rebrand your products, services or a portion of the company.

Remember that true rebranding is not an instant process, it rarely happens overnight and all at once. It may take years for consumers to recognize a new, improved brand.

Is Rebranding Necessary?

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Something has either gone wrong or, more often, your business results are not meeting your expectations. A disappointing business quarter, loss of market share, changes in competitive mix, a new product or service, acquisition, or buy-out names are just a few of the events that require such an effort. There must be a sound business reason to do rebrand because there must be an important return on investment when your company or brand takes the dive.

Contradictory opinions exist regarding the process of rebranding. One is that rebranding is essential for business success; to evolve the brands so as to make sure that it keeps abreast of the competition, and meet the consumers ever changing preferences. The other side of the coin depicts an opinion that rebranding should be avoided at all costs. If brands like Kodak and Coca Cola can be market leaders why should rebranding ever be considered? Generally many companies consider rebranding as a 'Cosmetic Work out'. When companies fail to establish one brand, or companies whose brand had been through any kind of scandal, may go for a rebranding process. Here, the intention is to erase the previous brand image and establish a fresh one. Some others have positive reasons; like mergers, or a company that is expanding its product line. Rebranding can be successfully applied to new products, those that are still in the process of development or even to mature products. As this is a very complex process, utmost care must be taken. The new brand should be launched with much empathy and care. This involves a methodical process of proper strategy, personal interactions and memorable visuals.

Types of Re-Branding

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There are mainly three types of rebranding they are :-

Corporate re-branding Product re-branding Small Business re-branding

Let’s look into each of them carefully.

Corporate rebranding

Corporate re-branding is defined as “the practice of building anew a name representative of a differentiated position in the mind frame of stakeholders and a distinctive identity from competitors” (Muzellec et al. 2003, p. 32). However, by taking a wider perspective on corporate re-branding it can be seen as a two-fold area. First, it is related to corporate visual identitychange, including e.g. corporate name and logo change (for corporate visual identity system, CVIS, see, e.g. van den Bosch et al. 2005, 2006; Melewar et al. 2006). But, second, it is also related to the corporate internal processes, including e.g. corporate values change (Lomax and Mador, 2006), employee participation and internal marketing in the company. Therefore, by taking a wider perspective of the phenomena, corporate re-branding is defined here as follows:

“Corporate re-branding is a systematically planned and implemented process of planning, creating and maintaining a new favourable image and consequently a favourable reputation for the company as a whole by sending signals to all stakeholders and by managing behaviour, communication, and symbolism in order to proact or react to change.”

Potential reasons for Corporate Rebranding

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Corporations often rebrand in order to respond to external and/or internal issues. Firms commonly have rebranding cycles in order to stay current with the times or set themselves ahead of the competition. Companies also utilize rebranding as an effective marketing tool to hide malpractices of the past, thereby shedding negative connotations that could potentially affect profitability.

Corporations such as Citigroup, AOL, American Express, and Goldman Sachs all utilize third-party vendors such as Lippincott that specialize in brand strategy and the development of corporate identity. Companies invest valuable resources into rebranding and third-party vendors because it is a way to protect them from being blackballed by customers in a very competitive market. Dr. Roger Sinclair, a leading expert on brand valuation and brand equity practice worldwide stated, “A brand is a resource acquired by an enterprise that generates future economic benefits.”  Once a brand has negative connotations associated with it, it can only lead to decreased profitability and possibly complete corporate failure.

Rebranding due to a need to differentiate from competitors

Companies differentiate themselves from competitors by incorporating practices from changing their logo to going green. Differentiating from competitors is important in order to attract more customers and an effective way to draw in more desirable employees. The need to differentiate is especially prevalent in saturated markets such as the financial services industry.

Rebranding a company’s brand image should be supported by tangible actions to give substance to the message: otherwise, the company is not delivering on its promise. As explained in Kreative Rebranding, a book by Montreal-based rebranding agency Les Kréateurs: “Concrete actions allow you to distinguish yourself from competitors that don’t walk the talk.”

Rebranding due to a need to shed a negative image

Firms rebrand intentionally to shed negative images of the past. In a corporate sense, rebranding can be utilized as an effective marketing strategy to hide malpractices and avoid or shed negative connotations, and decreased profitability. Corporations such as Philip Morris USA, Blackwater and AIG rebranded in order to shed negative images. Philip Morris USA rebranded its name and logo to Altria on January 27, 2003 due to the negative connotations associated with tobacco products that could have had

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potential to affect the profitability of other Philip Morris brands such as Kraft Foods.

In 2008, AIG’s image was damaged due to its need for a Federal bailout during the financial crisis. AIG was bailed out because the United States Treasury stated that AIG was too big to fail due to its size and complex relationships with financial counterparties. AIG itself is a huge international firm; however, the AIG Retirement and AIG Financial subsidiaries were left with negative connotations due to the bailout. As a result, AIG Financial Advisors and AIG Retirement rebranded into Sagepoint Financial and VALIC (Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company) respectively to shed the negative image associated with AIG.

Rebranding due to emergent situations

Rebranding may also occur unintentionally from emergent situations such as “Chapter 11 corporate restructuring,” or “bankruptcy.” Chapter 11 is rehabilitation or reorganization used primarily by business debtors. It’s more commonly known as corporate bankruptcy, which is a form of corporate financial reorganization that allows companies to function while they pay of their debt. Companies such as Lehman BrothersHoldings Inc, Washington Mutual and General Motors have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. New Generation Research - Experts in Bankruptcy Research On July 1, 2009 General Motors filed for bankruptcy, which was fulfilled on July 10, 2009. General Motors decided to rebrand its entire structure by investing more in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac automobiles. Furthermore, it decided to sell Saab Automobile and discontinue the Hummer, Pontiac,and Saturn brands. General Motors rebranded by stating they are reinventing and rebirthing the company as “The New GM” with “Fewer, stronger brands. Fewer, stronger models. Greater efficiencies, better fuel economy, and new technologies” as stated in their reinvention commercial. General Motors' reinvention commercial also stated that eliminating brands “isn’t about going out of business, but getting down to business.”

Drivers and goals for corporate re-branding

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The main drivers for corporate re-branding are decisions, events or processes causing a change in a company’s structure, strategy or performance of sufficient magnitude to suggest the need for a fundamental redefinition of its identity. Reasons for corporate re-branding include change in ownership structure (mergers & acquisitions, spin-offs, private to public ownership, sponsorship),corporate strategy (diversification and divestment, internationalization and localization), competitive position (erosion of market position, outdated image, reputation problems) and in external environment (legal obligation, major crises or catastrophes). (Muzellec and Lambkin,2006.) These drivers and reasons refer especially to corporate name change but most of them can be considered as drivers and reasons for logo, slogan or value change.

Re-branding goals can be divided into two groups: reflecting the new identity of a company(e.g. if a company has gone through major changes and even the new identity of a company is formed) or creating a new image. In both cases the re-branding process includes both internalisation and externalisation, i.e. affecting internally employees and the culture, as well as externally all the stakeholders and the images they have of the company. (Muzellec and Lambkin 2006.)

Level of change in corporate brand

The level of change in corporate brand may vary from minor, evolutionary changes to a complete, revolutionary change (Daly and Moloney 2004; Stuart and Muzellec 2004; Muzellec & Lambkin 2006). Evolutionary re-branding refers to a fairly minor development in the company’s positioning and aesthetics that is so gradual that it is hardly perceptible to outside observers(Muzellec & Lambkin 2006). It varies from a simple face-lift to restyling or revitalizing a brand which may need a change (Daly and Moloney 2004) and usually considers minor changes in slogan or logo only (Stuart and Muzellec 2004). Revolutionary re-branding, on the other hand, describes a major, identifiable change in positioning and aesthetics that fundamentally redefinesthe company. Revolutionary change is usually symbolized by a change of name (Muzellec & Lambkin 2006) or changing name, logo and slogan simultaneously (Stuart and Muzellec 2004). Also corporate values may be changed (Lomax and Mador 2006). In revolutionary change the name is new to stakeholders and they do not know what the brand stands for. The values and image of the new brand are communicated to all stakeholders (Daly and Moloney 2004).As seen, the current literature has concentrated almost only on the visual aspect and values of the corporate brand lacking, for example management and personnel behaviour.

A process model of corporate re-branding

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A proposition for a process description of corporate re-branding is suggested next. Seven main phases in the process are distinguished: triggering, analyzing and decision making, planning, preparing, implementing, evaluating and continuing. The process is described from a corporate perspective. The process includes several actors both inside and outside the corporation. It shouldbe noticed that the phases might be intertwined and/or overlapping, and do not necessarily follow each other in this order. Furthermore, the phases are seen as consisting of several sub-processes which include several phases and can be, again, intertwined and/or overlapping in a sequence of time. Next, the main content of each phase is described in more detail.

Triggering is the first phase of the process. It consists of driving forces behind re-branding, namely, decisions, events or processes causing a change, including change in ownership structure, corporate strategy, competitive position and external environment. As an extension of the previous literature, change in ownership structure may happen, not only from private to public ownership (Muzellec and Lambkin 2006) but also from public to private ownership.

“It [corporate re-branding] began when we distinguished this business from public sector operations/activities.”(Marketing assistant)

Analyzing and decision making includes analyzing antecedents of the current situation i.e. market analysis, competitive analysis, competitor analysis, and recognizing possibilities. In addition, the internal aspects, including the previous corporate brand, are analysed.

”..What kind of insight do we have here, what is our vision, what do we want.” (Marketing manager)

The decision to re-brand is often made by a handful of people, generally by the management (Griffin 2002). A brand team is formulated which consists of top managers.

“And because the managers are committed to it [corporate re-branding], it will progress that way” (Marketing manager)

Planning is seen here as a wide phase of a corporate brand plan creation. It includes e.g. an envisioned end stage, goals and vision for a new corporate brand formulated on the basis of corporate values. This phase includes several decisions and consists of the several sub-processes of re-positioning, re-naming, re-structuring and re-designing (Muzellec et al. 2003; Kaikati 2003) the company before the new corporate brand is launched.

“What are the elements with which we get that? To design a strategy and tactics for that, and how do we reach that goal.” (Marketing manager)

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In addition, the decisions in this phase include at which level – corporate, business unit and/or product level – in the company the re-branding will be executed (Muzellec and Lambkin, 2006), and whether the change will be minor or major in nature (Daly and Moloney, 2004; Lomax and Mador, 2006; Muzellec and Lambkin, 2006) and are external stakeholders needed, for example in visual identity creation. At this stage stakeholders, like customers and employees, might be important sources e.g. for pre-testing or even developing a logo or a new name. The planning phase somehow overlaps with the next phase of the process: Preparing.

Preparing consists of preparing the plans and pre-testing for launching (the next phase of the process). For example, preparing includes re-designing how the corporate aesthetics (Daly and Moloney, 2003), including the corporate visual identity system (CVIS) (e.g. Baker and Balmer, 1997; Van den Bosch et al., 2005; 2006), will be changed. Key elements of a CVIS are the corporate name, logo, color palette, font type, and a corporate slogan and tagline and/or descriptor (see, e.g. Van den Bosch et al., 2005). Often an advertising agency is utilized; they help especially with communications, advertising, media buying and/or with new visual identity development (Lomax and Mador, 2006).

“Drafts and proposals of redesigning were conducted in co-operation [with an advertising agency] for the managers.” (Marketing assistant)

Launching is about communicating the new corporate brand first to internal stakeholders and after that to external stakeholders (Gotsi & Andriopoulos, 2007). Internally, the brand can be introduced through internal brochures, newspapers, annual meetings, workshops, intranet (Daly and Moloney 2003), team meetings or training/education. To external stakeholders the new brand can be communicated through press releases, advertising brochures and in routine communications, including for example business cards, office stationary, emails and personal contacts. In addition, a new CVIS can be applied on stationery, printed matter, websites, vehicles, buildings, interiors, and corporate clothing (Van den Bosch et al., 2006).

“When a new corporation began all the external signs of the brand had to be renewed starting from business cards.. [and].. office stationary”. (Marketing manager) “For example in our

reception, clothing is important; it is for the customers, and a brand should exist thereas well. And it will, as an insistence from the personnel, that they want [to represent the corporate brand] with their appearance, that they are not messy. In a way it reflects the

welfare and essence that relates to a [corporate] brand.”(Customer service team manager)

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Evaluating includes measuring the success or failure of the process. Measuring is difficult, and therefore it is suggested that corporate re-branding should be evaluated with regards to its initial goals (Stuart and Muzellec, 2004). Kaikati (2003) suggests monitoring and tracking reactions periodically. At its best, evaluation covers all the phases of the process. The goals reached, e.g. awareness among stakeholders, customer surveys and corporate image surveys are also ways to evaluate the success of the process. In addition, profit and attractiveness as an employer can be considered as well as an evaluation.

Continuing is the last phase of the process. All the issues for the phase were found through a case. For customers, it includes the quality of the corporate operations, in this case the quality of the services and fulfilling the brand promise. For the personnel, continuous orientation and education need to be offered. For the management and personnel, it includes the continuous consideration of the corporate brand strategy in every action. And, finally, it includes a visible view of the service environment.

“..for a flower to be flourished it insists on nurturing and care, it is a little bit same here that it [corporate brand] needs to be maintained continuously.. And of course, revised when

needed.” (Marketing manager)

A proposition for a process description of the seven phases of corporate re-branding is presented in Figure 1.

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Factors affecting corporate re-branding process

Corporate re-branding necessitates synergy between marketing, human resource management and strategy (Hatch & Schultz, 2003). The context determines the involvement of different stakeholder groups in the process. Staff, customer and communications agency involvement at varying levels are found. Often the process is more complex and time-consuming than thecompanies anticipate. (Lomax and Mador, 2006.) Therefore, it is assumed that corporate rebranding may be conducted in several ways.The case highlighted that when corporate re-branding is initiated by drivers for change, important factors affect the process. These include personnel, who ultimately create the corporate brand through behaviour, all corporate communications as a supplier of the information on the change both for internal and external stakeholders, and management support and common view during the whole process.

“Building a [corporate] brand is an issue of the whole personnel” (Marketing assistant) “It is the personnel.. who produces our “product” in a service encounter”. (Marketing manager)

Special characteristics of the industry, for example, health care is “sensitive” industry, changes in the industry structure, as well as ethical and regulatory issues in marketing are important factors affecting the process. In addition, the special characteristics of the company, in this case the special characteristics of professional services, e.g. the abstract nature of the service, collegialcontrol and confidentiality, affect the process as well. These are presented in a Figure 2.

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Product Rebranding

As for product offerings, when they are marketed separately to several target markets this is called market segmentation. When part of a market segmentation strategy involves offering significantly different products in each market, this is called product differentiation. This market segmentation/ product differentiation process can be thought of as a form of rebranding. What distinguishes it from other forms of rebranding is that the process does not entail the elimination of the original brand image. Dexxa computer mice are rebranded Logitech devices sold at a lower price by Logitech in the low-end market segment without undercutting their mid-range products. Rebranding in this manner allows one set of engineering and QA to be used to create multiple products with minimal modifications and additional expense.

Following a merger or acquisition, companies usually rebrand newly acquired products to keep them consistent with an existing product line. For example, when Symantec acquired Quarterdeck in November 1998, Symantec chose to rename CleanSweep to Norton CleanSweep. Later on, the company chose to reposition its entire product line by grouping products into a bundle known as Norton SystemWorks. Symantec is not the only software company to reposition and rebrand its products. Much of Microsoft's product line consists of rebranded products, including MS-DOS, FoxPro, and Visio. Another example is the rebrands of GeForce 8-series GPU into 9-series by nVidia. The reverse can also happen, as when AlliedSignal acquired Honeywell, Southern Railroad of Long Island acquired Long Island Rail Road, andChemical Bank acquired Chase Manhattan Bank. In such cases, the acquiring company rebrands itself with the acquired name.

Another form of product rebranding is the sale of a product manufactured by another company under a new name. An original design manufacturer is a company that manufactures a product that is eventually branded by another firm for sale. This is often the case with international trade. A product is manufactured in a place with lower operating costs, and sold under a local brand name.

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Small Business Rebranding

Small businesses face different challenges from large corporations and must adapt their rebranding strategy accordingly.

Rather than implementing change gradually, small businesses are sometimes better served by rebranding their image in a short timeframe – especially when existing brand notoriety is low. “The powerful first impression on new clients made possible by professional brand design often outweighs an outdated or poorly-designed image’s weak brand recognition to existing clients”.

A change of image in a large corporation can have costly repercussions (updating signage in multiple locations, large quantities of existing collateral, communicating with a large number of employees, etc.), while small businesses can enjoy more mobility and implement change more quickly.

While small businesses can experience growth without necessarily having a professionally designed brand image, “rebranding becomes a critical step for a company to be considered seriously when expanding to more aggressive markets and facing competitors with more established brand images”.

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Page 40: Re Branding Draft Report 2

Rebranding Page 40