It’s riskier for a business to stagnate with its brand than it is to attempt change so that it remains current and relevant. Brands need to evolve as the world they exist in evolves, otherwise, they will become outdated and eventually discarded by their fans.

A brand refresh as opposed to a rebrand – what’s the difference?

A rebrand is a more significant project that involves major changes; these may include overhauling brand values, brand positioning, mission and vision statements and will likely require the involvement and approval of a wide range of stakeholders. It usually takes considerable time and expense to work through a rebrand. Rebrands can be helpful if the business is struggling or there have been major changes in the market.

A brand refresh on the other hand is a less extensive project; more akin to a mini makeover. It may involve a modernised logo, updated fonts, colour palette and imagery, a more relevant brand tagline and even a new tone of voice. It is often introduced as a soft and phased launch rather than a full-noise launch that a new brand or rebrand may be supported by. This means that you can introduce refreshed brand elements as it suits (e.g. when supplies are running low of printed collateral), keeping the costs down. And businesses can sometimes allow old and new branding to co-exist for a limited time while the rollout is being completed.

This low-key approach of keeping a brand modern via a brand refresh is accessible to smaller businesses and is something Flex Marketing regularly supports outsource marketing clients with. We help project manage a brand refresh, pulling in additional help from graphic designers if needed, along with coordinating with additional suppliers such as printing companies where necessary.

Top tips for a successful brand refresh:

1. Conduct a brand audit – to work out which elements of branding need updating, pull everything you can visually into one location and review it. You can also use this step to benchmark your competitors – does your brand stand out from the competition?
2. Plan the timing – are there any specific milestones such as a company anniversary or a new website you’d like to tie the refresh into or any deadlines such as new regulatory requirements…or have you heard that your competitors are refreshing their brand and you have the chance to refresh yours ahead of them?
3. Stay focused on your target audience – throughout the process of working on refreshed branding, keep your target audience top of mind – try and look at the refresh from their point of view. What will resonate most with them? What adjacent industries are they engaging with and what is the visual communication style that is popular? These experiences your target audience has outside of your industry also inform and influence their expectations and they are measuring your brand against brands outside your industry. Just because the other brands in your industry are lacklustre doesn’t mean there is no pressure to evolve; your brand has a real opportunity to stand out and wow your target audience by blowing the others out of the water.
4. Strike the right balance – as you have decided to do a brand refresh as opposed to rebrand, make sure you get it just right…not too big, not too small. If you don’t change enough brand elements, then it may not be enough for anyone to notice the difference or for it to feel fresh and new. That would be a waste of resources.
   
   If you change too much, then it might as well have been a rebrand because some of the changes would not feel logical. A refresh should come across as a natural progression and be non-disruptive. It shouldn’t leave your target audience confused and thinking “why have they done that” or “what does it mean?” A rebrand would be supported by much more communication to introduce the changes to customers and provide reassurance.
5. Get it uniformly adopted – Update any brand guidelines. Ensure that the revised guidelines are not only distributed across your company and to suppliers, but also accompanied by an explanation. A rationale for why they were changed, the story behind the changes and expectations of how they should be used. Reinforce those expectations with a person or team dedicated to looking out for any instances where the guidelines have not been adhered to. Often this person or team are called brand guardian(s).

There is a lot to take on board if you are not very familiar with marketing, however, hopefully, this article has helped you identify whether it is a brand refresh or rebrand your business needs. And if you have read this far, you will also be aware of some important aspects of a brand refresh to consider. If you need any help project managing either a brand refresh or rebrand, we are here to help lighten the load with Flex Marketing’s outsource marketing services. Get in touch to discuss your requirements.