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Re-Branding: Must-dos to reshaping your image

by Michael J. Pallerino

Heart + Mind Strategies specializes in brand strategies (positioning, naming and portfolio architecture), and employee brand engagement and consumer insights/planning.

Over the years, it has helped refine and refresh strategies by employing the following five-point checklist:

No. 1: Define

First and foremost, identify and clearly define the catalyst or reason for rebranding.

No. 2: Engage

Once the case has been made, it’s crucial that leadership not only champions the process, but also plays an active role in building buy-in at every level of the organization. Everybody has something at stake with a successful (re)brand implementation.

No. 3: Measure, and then measure again

Establishing a benchmark through research and tracking (quarterly or bi-annually) against those metrics post-launch is paramount to sustaining a successful rebrand and providing further rationale for investment in the brand.

No. 4: Take stock

The excitement of a rebrand endangers the positive brand equity an organization has built over time. One of the most important activities, once measured, is to recognize existing equities to be brought forward and improved, while also identifying baggage you aim to diminish or leave behind.

No. 5: Ownership & accountability

Establish a brand governance system from the outset. Too often, rebrands lose steam without people and processes to act as brand stewards going forward. Building a cross-functional team not only reinforces engagement, but also helps ensure consistent implementation and sustained success.