Freckle Newsletter Chapter 4

What is it? Re-branding can include the repositioning, revitalising, restructuring or redesigning of some or all of an existing brand's assets.

So why re-brand? The process can seem quite daunting and overwhelming - particularly amongst all your other daily work priorities! But it's fundamentally about addressing strategic business goals such as:

→	Better aligning your brand to meet shifting customer preferences.
→	Enabling extension of your products and services into new markets.
→	Establishing a cohesive and consistent brand for use across all media.
→	Revitalizing or modernising existing brand.
→	Managing changes in internal management culture/re-structure.
→	Showcasing your brand's social or environmental responsibility.

Your brand is one of the most powerful corporate tools available for maintaining and growing any successful business. The challenge of translating all the tangible and intangible products, services and experiences of any organisation into its "brand assets" is integral because these assets:

→	Impact your brand's positioning/perceived value in the market.
→	Represent what your organisation/product stands for.
→	Give your organisation/product its personality.
→	Give your organisation/product its personality.
→	Can (as a registered trademark) provide protection from your competitors copying your formula. This trademark can be in the form of a word, a visual logo (Coca Cola), shape (Coca Cola bottle), sound (Harley Davidson) and even smell (Chanel No. 5) of your product.
→	All of these enable a consumer to "connect" with your brand and (hopefully) become loyal to it!

Recent re-branding success?

Think about Apple. The brand has always stood for design-led, consumer-focused, innovative technology; however its sales were sluggish. The launch of its new product technology 'ipod' into the market a few years ago provided Apple an opportunity to revitalize its brand. With revitalised brand assets - namely a new visual identity, packaging and advertising campaign - to support 'ipod's' launch, Apple has successfully crossed into and now dominates a new market which for over 10 years had been owned by Sony.

Re-branding and Return-on-Investment (ROI)

Greater scrutiny on every activity's ROI to the business also underpins the importance of re-branding. A recent case study outlined in July/August 2007 issue of "Step Inside Design" showcased results for "a leading brand which had no advertising or consumer promotion activity...(and delivered) a $130 million increase in sales...exclusively the result of the new package/brand identity design."

As part of freckle's vision to be client-focused, results-oriented, innovative creative partners we've recently gone through a re-branding process ourselves. We wanted to present a clear vision of who we are by:

a.	creating a unique trademark reflective of our name 'Freckle' which can be used in any medium; and
b.	developing our positioning statement 'Creative Partners' which is reflective of both our message to clients as well as our internal culture.

Re-branding checklist

A few key things to remember when re-branding!

1.	Remember that your brand starts with your logo and corporate colours...but your brand also encompasses consumers' perceptions and experiences, the quality of your product/service, as well as how it's utilized in any retail and web environment.
2.	Have a plan to keep focused! As a starting point develop your plan identifying the following - situation analysis; objectives; target markets; budget; resources; timeframe; project leader; measures for ongoing assessment and tracking of results.
3.	Leverage existing brand equity and goodwill - sometimes a "new coat of paint" is all that's needed.
4.	Make sure your re-branding is relevant to the needs of your current target market.
5.	Be sure to test, test, test with your consumers.

And of course once you have re-branded, don't forget to:

1.	Have a set of clear and concise brand guidelines to educate your team on how to use your brand assets correctly. Nominate a brand custodian.
2.	Keep an archive and/or sample of each piece of branded work to maintain brand consistency.
3.	Launch your brand and let your clients know you've got a new outlook which is reflective of your business objectives.
4.	Maintain ongoing research with consumers to track recognition and awareness to evaluate your ROI.

Would you like Freckle to conduct a brand audit at no charge? we will provide a structured branding plan and recommendations to grow your business through design innovation.

Call Tiffany Frecklington direct on 02 9151 5918 or email tiffany@freckle.com.au