When to move in a new direction (and how to stay ahead).

Branding and Rebranding

Branding is a two-way conversation

At its core, “branding” is connecting what you say about yourself with what your audience says about you. The more aligned the two are, the stronger the brand. Think about Nike, the famously “good at branding” brand: they tell us that everyone is an athlete, and therefore their products are made for everyone. Consumers have replied in turn: Nike dominates the list of top sportswear brands by a considerable margin. That alignment is why Nike’s brand is famously strong, and why most articles about “branding” (including this one) name-check them.

Good branding is a moving target

A brand is shaped by change: consumer preferences evolve, markets shift, and things go in and out of style. Just as fashion choices aren’t fixed in time (except, perhaps, for a perfect leather jacket), your brand’s identity can’t stay the same forever. Sometimes you have to put on a new shirt, for example, or get bangs. To stay unique, relevant, and successful, you have to revisit how you talk about yourself to make sure you’re still on the same page as your customers. And if you’re not, it’s time to think about a rebrand.

Whether your core values, your customers, or the times have changed, you need to keep up to stay competitive.

Rebranding guidelines based on our experience

With years of experience working with clients from the food and beverage, restaurant and hospitality, and other industries, I have identified patterns that we use as relatively simple guidelines for any kind of company. Whether you think so or not, every company, every product, every service has a brand. It’s important to stay on top of it.

With this post, we want to share some (hopefully wise) advice on an element of branding that we don’t hear about too often: rebranding. We’ll lay out 5 reasons, based on experience, of why a rebrand or refresh might be right for you and, if you check off any of these boxes, what to do about it.

‍Reason 1: Your mission has changed.

Sometimes, your Big Picture shifts. Maybe you used to focus on one specific challenge, and now you’re focused on two. Maybe the thing you bring to your customers resonates in a way you didn’t expect. Maybe you set out to make yogurt that tastes great and learned that you’re actually bringing value to the whole world of wellness.

That last example is the story of Chobani. Ahead of their 10-year anniversary, their creative team ran a vast survey to understand consumers’ perceptions of the Chobani brand. What they found in that survey surprised them: there was a shift in how consumers relate to food. Those surveyed consider Chobani yogurt as part of their overall wellness. Yogurt, it turns out, transcends the grocery store. The mission to “make the best yogurt possible” expanded into “support consumers on their path to wellness.”

To reflect that updated mission (which appeals to a wider audience), Chobani debuted a fully refreshed product line in 2017. The new look is softer and more welcoming, ready to connect with even more customers.

Reason 2: You’re expanding.

When North Carolina food manufacturer Seal the Seasons prepared to expand their locally grown, locally frozen, and locally sold fruits to grocery stores across the country, their first item of business was a brand audit.

Does expansion always require a rebrand? No, not necessarily. But it should always trigger a self-evaluation. What are your customers saying about you lately? Does what you say to your customers still hold true? Whether you plan to launch in new markets, move into distribution, or open more physical locations, your brand needs to be ready to scale for long-term success.

For Seal the Seasons, their brand self-evaluation clarified a major area of opportunity: the ability to connect with new customers. Shoppers browsing the frozen food aisle didn’t immediately understand what STS was selling by looking at the box. While the prominent“North Carolina” type might grab the attention of STS’ original Chapel Hill customers, it drowns out the product. To become a truly national brand, they needed to change that.

By partnering with design agency Make + Matter, Seal the Seasons refreshed their visual identity, packaging, and logo. Gone are the headline-sized state names, the bold, unnatural colors, and the crowded product imagery. The new package design conveys a down-to-earth, local brand whose product is the star of the show.

With refreshed packaging and products that stand out from competitors, Seal the Season grew its distribution to over 3,000 retailers across 35 states. Business is booming and, thanks to a refreshed brand experience, the frozen food aisle has never looked better.

Reason 3: You need to shake off an old image.

There are a million reasons that brands can hit a slump. You could get bad press, sometimes by no fault of your own. You could run into misaligned messaging when what you say about yourself isn’t what consumers say about you. It could be that your look needs a refresh to stay modern. To shake off an old image, start by revisiting your fundamentals: your customers, and your essence.

When the going gets tough, it might be tempting to rip up your brand and start over again. Time Warner Cable is a cautionary tale in that regard. What Time Warner heard from the market was that customers hated their brand, and hated it passionately—it became synonymous with bad service and maddening apathy. To change their image, they simply slapped a new look onto the same service, called it “Spectrum,” and called it a day. Not surprisingly, Spectrum continues to get the 1-star reviews that TimeWarner was famous for.

Time Warner’s rebrand went so wrong because they didn’t listen to their customers. To shake off a bad image, they should’ve reconnected to their base, listened to what customers wanted, and updated their services and brand accordingly.

Here’s an important point about rebranding: updating your image doesn’t always require a massive redesign or marketing campaign. Sometimes, small changes can have a big impact. Most brands exist on a continuum that evolves with the times. You don't want to trash your entire history—it’s good to pay respect to that past. But you can certainly eliminate aspects that are no longer relevant.

Colt 45 is a good example here. They recently recognized the need to reimagine their look and tone. Their tagline, “Works Every Time,” stopped working. It felt old and a little cringe-y. The logo and package design hadn’t evolved in ages and read as “lowbrow” in comparison to its peers. So they partnered with Standard Black to tackle a challenge to “reinvent the brand, with respect.” Colt 45 didn’t need to change their fundamentals but rather get rid of old elements that were no longer working.

The result is a simplified tagline, “Every Time,” and a less busy logo and design style. They didn’t need to reinvent so much as edit, and the refresh established Colt 45 as a modern brand grounded in tradition.

Reason 4: Your ideal customer has changed.

Atlanta Brewing Co. started brewing beer back in 1993 when small craft breweries were niche and could amass a small but cultish local following. They were a darling of the Atlanta drinking scene and rode the early wave of the microbrewery trend that would quickly dominate beer culture across the US.

As with most legacy microbreweries in the next decade or so, Atlanta Brewing Co. faced two brand challenges. First, a tide of new craft beer brands were popping up and competing for relevance (and shelf space). Second, Atlanta Brewing Co. was navigating how to stay authentic and relevant to its original fans while also serving a growing audience. The pressure of competition and the struggle to connect with its audience drove the company to try a full rebrand.

Sort of like Time Warner (but not as egregious), they completely changed their brand by updating their name to “Red Brick Brewing Co.” and redesigning their packaging to match the new logo and visual identity. The thinking might have been that to reach a larger audience, they had to ditch their scrappy, cultish brand to make something more commercial. As it turns out, that rebrand didn’t stick. So they went back to their roots and tried it again.

Just as consumers grow up, Atlanta Brewing Co. realized that their brand needed to grow up, too. Not reinvent, but refine. Partnering with CODO Design, they re-launched their beer under the original name, gave the old logo a makeover, and brought the look and feel of the brand into the modern era—all with a nod to their deep Atlanta roots.

Once you’ve done the work to create an incredible product that reaches beyond your original niche audience, it’s important to turn your eye to the larger opportunity and ensure that your brand is accessible to that larger customer base. In the end, it worked out well for Atlanta Brewing Co.

Reason 5: You need to be more relevant.

Being ubiquitous isn’t the same thing as being relevant, which is a truth that established brands sometimes miss. Take Burger King, a brand that for a while felt both everywhere and nowhere. From Shake Shack’s global expansion a few years back to the Impossible Burger’s meteoric rise, burgers are a particularly zeitgeisty food. Yet Burger King, a brand established in 1954 with over 7,000 restaurants, was being left out of the conversation.

Over a brand’s lifecycle, it’s normal to require a refresh at some point. But a rebrand for relevance isn’t about adopting trends or following the competition. If Burger King were to rip off Impossible Foods or Shake Shack, consumers would read that as inauthentic.

For their 2021 rebrand, Burger King revisited the fundamentals—the look, feel, vibe, and personality that originally established Burger King as a dominant brand in the burger world. The new visual design, which rolled out across the logo, uniforms, packaging, marketing campaigns, and every other touchpoint across the customer journey, reflects Burger King’s core brand. It’s retro, fun, irreverent, simple, and delicious.

Theirs is a good example of what to do when you lack relevancy: look inward to find inspiration. The rebrand will follow.

‍Think you’re ready to rebrand?

If so, start exploring your options. Pick an agency that you feel comfortable with, that you feel understands your company and your goals, and that can break it down without an air of mystery.

About Coppergate Design Company

I'm here to help brands find their voice, and translate that voice to products that resonate with a passionate audience. Our clients are our partners in crime: I measure success by how our work together helps your company grow. Want to chat about your company, products, or goals? Drop a line to michael@coppergatedesign.com

5 Reasons You Should Refresh Your Brand