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Does Your Brand Need A Facelift?

July 30, 2009
In the second part of this three-blog series, I tackle how to re-launch a brand that is no longer relevant with my friend and former colleague Maria Ross. Maria runs a branding, marketing and communications consultancy called Red Slice in Seattle and recently published an eBook on branding.

Sima: Hi Maria, thanks for continuing the brand dialog with me! Today I'm wondering what advice you have for businesses that have evolved over time and worry that their original brand is no longer relevant to their target market?

Maria: Thanks Sima. The truth is that every brand will need a refresh from time to time. This may include the brand identity, product mix and messaging, but the core mission, vision and reason for being should not  change.

As you suggested, it’s not as much about a brand becoming irrelevant as it is about the needs and values of your target audience evolving.

Your brand will always be the essence of who you are. The philosophy at Red Slice is that all good brand strategies start with the target audience and build from there.  So if your target audiences’ needs and values change, you absolutely need to revisit your brand strategy. It's never really set in stone but it too evolves over time. Be sure you are communicating with your audience in new and relevant ways (i.e. a revamped website, a new logo or different messaging).

For example, if your brand is about appealing to Tweens, let’s say, at some point that brand will need to adapt it’s look, feel and messaging to the changing tastes of that audience – but it’s brand focus on Tweens does not have to change if that is truly their reason for being.  Now, if you have a business appealing to Tweens that wants to follow them as they grow up, that is a big undertaking and will require you to revisit your product mix and continue to show relevance as your audience matures and their needs change.  That is a much harder game to play.  Note that retail shops don’t try to do this – they stay focused on their target audience and adapt their look and product mix accordingly.

Sima: Thanks Maria. To your point, I recently read an article about 8 O'Clock Coffee Company. The company is updating their brand by aligning with the popular TV series Mad Men and launching three new social media apps for iPhone and Facebook.

Another good example comes from global B2B manufacturer Johnson Controls. Its "Ingenuity Welcome" launch includes a stylish new logo, re-tooled website and a clever microsite to help catapult the company into the sustainability conversation.

Next Up
In the final post of this series we'll take a look at steps you can take to help consumers embrace and understand your brand.

About Maria Ross
Maria Ross is the founder of Red Slice, LLC and author of Build Your Own Brand Strategy in 10 Easy Steps, an eBook to help business owners  build a strong brand foundation that will save  time, money and heartache on all  future marketing efforts.
 
Maria has more than 15 years experience in all aspects of marketing including branding, advertising, field marketing, lead generation, events, messaging, press and analyst relations and communication planning. Maria received a B.S in Marketing, with a minor in Spanish from Indiana University, Bloomington. You can learn more about Red Slice and Maria's eBook here.

Posted by Sima Dahl on July 30, 2009 | Comments (0)