Branding is the identity you have created for your business. It incorporates the logo, brand colours and fonts but also much more, including brand voice and how your website looks. It’s worth giving your branding a refresh occasionally and New Year is a great time to do that.
Here are our best tips for reviewing your branding ready for 2021.
Refresh or rebrand?
Before you start, it’s important to understand the difference between a rebrand and a refresh of your branding. The two are different with different components and workloads – a refresh is much less work!
A rebrand will usually involve:
- Creating a new personality for the company
- Overhauling the whole company style guide including logos, colours and fonts
- Redesigning the website from scratch
To refresh your brand, you might:
- Tweak or change your current logo
- Add a new slogan relevant to your current products
- Change the colour palette you use partially or fully
- Use a new font that fits in with the direction of the company
- Create new marketing materials such as flyers and business cards
As you can see, a refresh can be a much smaller project than a rebrand. While it might not have as big an impact, it can help to refresh the look and feel of your marketing.
How to review your branding
A branding review will help you spot the elements that need refreshing, make the most of your existing marketing materials and help you to decide if your branding needs to be changed completely. It isn’t a job you do very often but the start of the year can be a great opportunity. Here are some of the questions to ask.
Is the brand outdated?
You don’t need to be at the height of graphic design trends with your brand because these change too quickly. But if you have been using your branding for a few years and it feels a little outdated or retro (and not in a good way) then this might be a sign you need a refresh.
Is the brand inconsistent?
Inconsistency is a common problem with branding. It’s usually caused when businesses create marketing materials over a period of time to serve different audiences or objectives. It’s vital that customers recognise your business whether they are online or looking at an advert in a newspaper, or visiting your physical business. So you need to make sure all your marketing materials – on and offline – follow the same style guidelines. A refresh can bring these things together and create a cohesive brand
Is the business growing or niching down?
Finally, the brand simply may no longer cover the whole of the business because it is growing and adding new areas, products or services, or you are focusing on a narrower niche. Maybe you have acquired another business and need a new brand for both. Or maybe you need to reach a new audience. These can be perfect times for a refresh.
Embrace the change
Refreshing your branding is a positive step – you are embracing the changes that you have seen in your company and communicating them to your customers. Plus it can be a great start to the New Year.
If you’d like more information about rebranding your business check out: How to rebrand your business in 7 steps.
Need help with rebranding or refreshing your business marketing? Let’s chat! As well as taking care of all your printing we’re also experienced marketeers and can help you create a bespoke brand identity that meets your business goals. We look forward to helping you.