When's the right time to rebrand?

Do you cringe when someone asks for your website? Do you find yourself apologising for your logo? Is your branding a patchwork of styles from three different designers across five years? These are just three of the 20 signs Martin Sully shares in this episode. He also tells the story of how Martin Sully Design became Snapper Studio -- and why spelling out the problem was the only way to find the solution.

LINKS

Episode page: https://www.snapper.studio/episodes/when-to-rebrand-ep-10

Blog post – When to Rebrand: https://www.snapper.studio/blog/when-to-rebrand

Enjoyed this episode? The best next step is a free 30-minute Disovery Call with Martin. No pitch, no pressure -- just a straight conversation about where your brand is and what it needs. Book at https://clients.snapper.studio/discovery

Transcript

I regularly get asked these types of questions. And there's a bunch of things to consider first. So I want to give you a little bit of context.

I've been working with a client for about five years. I've designed them websites, sales documents, advertising. I photographed them and overall, I've managed their two brands. These two businesses work hand in hand with one another, and one of the businesses is completely shifting away from what they originally did. It's aligning closer to the second business, but they are still distinctly different.

Anyway, so they are thinking of merging and creating one stronger brand so that they can cut down on admin and position themselves for the next evolution of the business. And that's expected over the next two to three years. So we've had chats and one idea was pitched to me that they simply take the current brand -- the original stronger brand -- and morph the old second brand into it, giving you two almost identical brands.

This is a massive red flag no-no. Instead of making a brand that stands out, what you'll actually end up with is weakening the position of both of them. So there's definite pitfalls to rebranding, and this is where working with somebody that can logically see the downsides and the pros and cons is helpful.

What I would typically suggest is to sit down and work through a strategy workshop. Another facet to this story is they also approached other branding agencies to get their opinion on it. Not because they don't trust me, but they want to make sure that what I'm suggesting makes sense. So they were getting quoted. Ballpark $50,000 to $80,000. I suspect the figures are based on strategy, identity design, website build, and rollout of new collateral.

One thing that can really help you work out whether you need to actually rebrand is to ask yourself: what's my biggest single challenge right now? And how do I overcome it?

I've actually been in this position myself. I started a company called Martin Sully Design back in 2014, and I purely focused on design. But gradually, I found myself doing a lot more photography because it was a service I wanted to add in. I also found myself doing event photography. Whilst people got to know me, the perception that I was a photographer came about.

I wanted to shift this and make sure that I was still seen as a designer primarily. So the only sensible thing to do was to change the name and reposition the studio to reflect that I was a full service creative agency, not just a designer and not just a photographer. So yeah, the name Martin Sully Design no longer fit, which is where Snapper Studio came from. It kind of blended the two together.

Spelling out your problem is the simplest way to find a solution. Be brutally and painfully honest with where you are as a brand, where you are as a business.

A brand is about redesigning or rewriting your story. It's about revamping who the brand is and how you want to be perceived. There are 20 signs that you might spot that might tell you it's time.

Number one, you cringe at your brand name. Number two, you don't like your brand's aesthetics. Number three, you're embarrassed to show off your brand. Number four, you've lost confidence in selling your products and services. Number five, your brand no longer represents who you are. Number six, your brand isn't original or authentic. Number seven, you don't stand out from competitors. Number eight, your business model or strategy has changed. Number nine, you want to attract a new market. Number ten, you're struggling to attract your new market.

Number eleven, you want to raise prices. Number twelve, you're struggling to attract the right talent. Number thirteen, your brand is lacking an emotional response. Number fourteen, you need to disassociate your brand from negative press. Number fifteen, your brand is confusing. Number sixteen, you find yourself apologising for having a bad website. Number seventeen, you don't send your website link proudly. Number eighteen, your branding is a patchwork of styles from different designers. Number nineteen, you DIY-ed your brand but you want to take it to the next level. And number twenty, you find it hard to explain what your brand means.

I think those last four or five -- website, patchwork of branding, DIY-ed, and you've lost what your brand means -- they are like 20 really strong signs that maybe it is time for a rebrand.

And as for the cost, that's going to entirely depend on the amount of work needed to solve the problems that you're defining.