From Uber to CareerBuilder to Google/Alphabet (and SeaWorld on the horizon?), organizational rebranding has been top-of-mind lately. Companies rebrand for a variety of reasons—whether mergers and acquisitions, reputational issues, or strategy shifts, among others.

No matter the reason, there's no denying that a rebrand is a major decision—and an expensive undertaking—that shouldn't be taken lightly.

A company's ability to execute has a direct effect on future success, so the process should be strategic, collaborative, and rooted in actionable intelligence.

Marketing is often at the helm of what is a cross-functional "mega-project," and its task is to ensure smooth, synthesized efforts.

Among the various areas to address, here are five to-do's that are vital for a successful rebrand.

1. Intelligence gathering

What needs to change? How do we get there? For the answers, it's important to survey the following:

  • Key internal stakeholders who have a firm grasp on your company's strategy. Their insights often inform subsequent surveys among other important audiences.
  • Employees. Make sure you collect enough demographic information (How long have they been with the company and in what function? And so on.) to understand the context of their responses.
  • Customers, particularly at types of companies targeted with your future strategy. As with your employee survey, it's important to gauge their perception of your brand now—along with whether they associate it with any of your aspirational attributes.
  • Market experts and analysts for additional insights about the landscape.

Often, an important output is whether rebranding will also encompass a renaming. That is, are perceptions of your company so steeped in your old positioning/reputation that they can't be peeled away?

At Brainshark—after more than 15 years helping companies improve all types of business communications—we recently rebranded to demonstrate our commitment to the sales enablement market. (Many of these tips are therefore based on personal experience!) Our intelligence gathering, conducted with a branding firm partner, confirmed that our roots in training and content, along with our history aiding sales, meant keeping our name would be an asset; however, it made sense to add a tagline to make our new focus clear.

In addition, an essential part of intelligence gathering is competitive analysis. Work with your team to achieve an intimate understanding of the market, including how competitors message and visually represent themselves, so you'll be equipped for differentiation.

2. Positioning development

Next, to create strategic, competitive positioning, synthesize the perspectives gleaned about your company and the market into key insights.

One critical question to answer: Do you want to take an extreme, new position or straddle the old one? If the former, how much of a departure will the new positioning be?

Your previous analysis should provide helpful guidance. Also, strive for positioning that's relevant and distinctive while speaking to both the rational and the emotional needs of your audience.

Another step involves collaborating on a positioning statement: an internal-facing statement identifying your company's target audience, frame of reference, points of differentiation and value. Though those are concise (often one sentence!), it's important to measure the impact of each word so you can articulate and justify its inclusion to the organization at large.

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Five To-Do's for a Rebrand That Rocks

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Robin Saitz

Robin Saitz is chief marketing officer at  manufacturing ERP/MES cloud software company Plex Systems.

Twitter: @robinsaitz

LinkedIn: Robin Saitz