Rebranding vs Brand Refresh: Which one is right for you?

If you’re finding that your marketing is no longer bringing in the engagement or revenue it used to, your business looks outdated compared to competitors, or customers are looking beyond your brand to get products and services, it may be time to consider refreshing your brand or going for a full-scale rebrand to set your business back on the right path and maintain your competitive edge – not to mention that all-important brand equity.

There are big differences in how brand do-overs and refreshes work, and one option may be more beneficial than the other, depending on your company’s needs. Read on to learn more about the differences between a brand refresh and a rebrand, and which could be right for you.

How to choose between Rebranding and a Brand Refresh

The names are similar, but the purpose — and effects — differ greatly.

A business will opt for a brand refresh or a rebrand to achieve different goals. A brand refresh will bring outdated brands up to modern standards or give brands a boost when they have lost pace with market trends.

A rebrand is an altogether more radical undertaking that tackles problems lying deep within the brand. A rebrand takes a brand back to basics and builds it back up to completely reposition it within the market. A rebranding project aims to create a new brand identity that will change how customers, investors, competitors, and employees perceive your company.

What is a Rebrand?

The rebranding process brings a brand back onto the market anew after significant overhauls to its brand strategy, positioning, messaging, and identity. It’s much more than a simple change in logo design.

A rebrand allows a brand to entirely reinvent itself, reach new markets, new customers, and stand out from its competitors.

The benefits

Although taking on a complete rebrand is a big undertaking, the benefits of rebranding have been proven time and time again.

The benefits of a rebrand can include:

• distancing a brand from negative perceptions
• opportunities to enter new markets and increase prices
• attracting more valuable customers
• improving brand image and stakeholder engagement
• differentiation from competitors

When should you choose to Rebrand?

Many events can trigger the need for a rebrand, some much more positive than others.

When a business experiences growth, it can see its target audience grow, too. This means that its brand strategy must also change with a new visual identity to cater for new demographics and geography.

A business may also choose to rebrand when it goes through an acquisition or merger or when the brand has drifted away from its original brand strategy.

In more challenging situations, a business may rebrand if it finds it cannot keep up with — or outpace — its competitors because it cannot differentiate itself in the market.

Additionally, brands encountering fierce backlash from consumers become a more common occurrence thanks to growing consumer demand for accountability and the ever-present churn of debate via social media. Brands that don’t feel as though they can recover may find creating a new brand is the only way to keep the ship from sinking. In this case, a rebrand can reconfigure brand positioning, attract new audiences, and refocus a company’s brand story to weather the storm of bad press.

How often should you Rebrand?

It’s said that, on average, a business will undergo a rebrand once every 7–10 years. However, the main indicators a business should consider a rebrand include:

• its offering has changed or developed
• its audience has changed or expects different things
• its marketing strategy is no longer working
• it’s become out of date

It’s important to note that a rebrand can take between 12–18 months and require a healthy budget, so you should be certain a rebrand is the right way to go for your business.

Iconic Rebrands

Apple

In its 46-year history, Apple has expanded its portfolio of sub-brands and products well beyond computers, and that’s why its rebrand saw it evolve from Apple Computers to Apple Inc. This meant Apple could reposition itself in consumers’ minds as more than a computer manufacturer; it also made phones, and portable music players and provided TV streaming.

Along with its name change, Apple stripped away the rainbow colour palette from its iconic apple logo and replaced it with a monochrome alternative, signalling a shift into a sleeker, more sophisticated era that prized itself on smooth, intuitive user experiences as much as it did on its modern product designs.

Airbnb

Airbnb took on a rebrand to differentiate itself from its competitors. The messaging became clear; to take a holiday in homes listed on Airbnb meant you could belong anywhere, and that’s the very slogan they chose: ‘belong anywhere’.

Using a simple, evocative logo that could be used across every touchpoint, Airbnb’s new identity set the business up perfectly to be able to expand and succeed in every country in the world.

Facebook

Facebook is one of the most ubiquitous brands in the world, and its rebrand from Facebook to Meta draws on that ever-present nature the company has built up with its new infinity loop logo redesign.

However, the new brand, Meta, seeks to distance itself from the social media facet of the business and expand into the quickly developing metaverse — a digital virtual reality world that has opened up endless possibilities for a wide range of industries. It is a move that opens the brand up to new ventures away from social media, and distances it from the tumultuous history Facebook has had in recent years.

What is a Brand Refresh?

A brand refresh will keep the brand and all its essentials intact, and the brand’s market position will likely stay the same. However, a brand refresh will give the brand a new look, and the company’s brand messaging, tone of voice, and brand strategy will be given a makeover to enhance its functionality.

A brand refresh can result in a new logo, a new tagline, new fonts, and even some new products or services.

The benefits of a Brand Refresh

Although a brand refresh doesn’t dig as deep as a full rebrand, there are still a wide range of important and lucrative benefits business owners can access with a brand refresh.

Firstly, a brand refresh brings a brand up to date and ensures it is a strong brand and is still competitive in its current market. You’re able to modernise your brand while keeping its core intact, meaning the current brand can still speak to the same audience in the same market, but with an attractive, contemporary visual identity.

However, if expansion is the goal, a brand refresh can still facilitate this. New visual elements from a brand refresh may attract new customers, building on the company’s share in its current marketplace. Plus, by refreshing marketing materials, you can bring your brand back into the centre of public consciousness. Some iconic brand refreshes have got a lot of attention.

What is changed during a Brand Refresh?

What is changed during a brand refresh will depend on the needs of the existing brand. Generally, the following elements will be changed in a brand refresh:

• logo design
• visual identity
• service and product offering
• tone of voice

Old logos will be updated to keep the brand looking modern; visual identity will be changed to focus the brand; services and products may be tweaked to respond to developing audience expectations; and finally, tone of voice brings the whole package together, distilling the brand into a recognisable entity that customers will relate to, understand, and trust.

When should you choose to do a Brand Refresh?

A brand refresh streamlines a business. It discards what is slowing down progress and helps to clarify its goals, market position, and offering.

An attractive benefit of a brand refresh is, of course, that it puts less demands on time and money. A brand refresh can take as little as 3–4 months — a blink of an eye when compared to the years-long process rebrands can sometimes require.

If you’re already working with a good brand with a positive reputation, a rebrand will not be necessary to boost your company’s performance. A brand refresh can give you all the benefits you need to keep up with and overtake your competition.

How often should you do a Brand Refresh?

There is no particular schedule you should keep to when considering a brand refresh. It is more important to refresh your brand at the right time and for the right reasons.

Iconic Brand Refreshes

Starbucks

Starbucks turned 40 and embarked on a highly successful brand refresh that would tell the world it offered more than just coffee. In a rebrand that prioritised simplification and clarification, the Starbucks Coffee banner was removed from the logo. It freed the brand up to apply the branding consistently across the growing variety of products on their menus, from breakfast foods and salads to cakes and smoothies.

Papa Johns

Papa Johns — formerly known as Papa John’s — refreshed its brand a few years after a scandal saw its founder, John Schnatter, resign. Some would argue that its brand refresh would help to distance it from said scandal, but the company states the refresh aimed to put its pizza ingredients centre-stage in its messaging.

The Papa Johns colour palette includes red (tomato), green (fresh basil), white (pizza dough), purple (garlic), and yellow-green (pickled pepperoncini).

The stretched typeface makes reference to Papa Johns’ fresh and stretchy pizza dough, and the brand has also adopted a hand-drawn illustration style that highlights the brand’s playful persona and hand-crafted pizzas.

This refresh makes the brand all about its pizzas instead of focusing on its founder’s name.

Dunkin’

Dunkin’ Donuts was in the lucky position of being able to refresh its brand in the knowledge that its customer base were already using some of the changes. Dunkin’ Donuts became Dunkin’ — a name Dunkin’ customers were already using day-to-day thanks to its well-known “America runs on Dunkin’” campaign.

Dunkin’ took on a brand refresh to refocus as a speedy-service, beverage-oriented brand. Its iconic pink and orange colour palette stayed put, honouring its heritage while modernising its typography, identity, and even its menu to respond to changing customer desires.

Summary

A rebrand and a brand refresh are fundamentally different. The former will reinvent a business from the bottom up to set it off in a new direction, while the latter will take what is already working within a brand and run with it, letting go of anything that is holding a brand back.

Modernisation, clarification, and market share expansion are often the key benefits of a rebrand and a brand refresh, but business owners should do their research and carefully consider which option is right for their business before diving in.

How Studio Noel can help shape your brand identity

We are brand experts and love every part of the branding process, whether you’re looking to start anew or give your existing brand a new lease of life.

Our teams can help you to decide which direction will be best for your business and have the skills and knowledge necessary to guide you through the entirety of your branding project with individually tailored workshops, strategy sessions, and more. We can even help you create new brand guidelines so that your team is on board with the new look and feel of your brand.

We will work closely with you to understand your business, your challenges, and your vision for the future, creating a successful rebrand or refresh that will ensure your success for years to come. Contact us directly at michelle@studionoel.co.uk to discuss your branding needs!