Evolution is key to your business staying competitive. So what does that mean for your brand?
As markets constantly change, there’s one thing that will always stay crucial to your success: your brand’s identity and recognition.
Brands aren’t static—they’re dynamic, living entities. Just like all things living, brands too need to adapt and grow to what’s going on around them. Simply put, an ever-evolving brand is a relevant brand.
So how do you know that it’s time for a brand update?
A good pulse-check is when your brand isn’t drawing in the customers (or employees) you want. Perhaps your brand is outdated and your reputation hasn’t kept up with the times. Or, maybe you’ve focused on simply updating your products and services but the brand perception is out-of-date.
Evolving or completely overhauling a brand has been on the rise.
A recent UpCity survey found that 51% of businesses changed their branding since Covid-19(1)
Key growth strategies are brand repositioning/evolving and rebranding.
Brand Evolutions and Rebrands are sometimes used interchangeably. They represent different processes with distinct goals and scopes. Both offer plenty of possibilities. Understanding the differences between brand repositioning, evolution and rebranding is essential for guiding a business toward growth and relevance.
Repositioning:
This is a strategic shift that involves changing how you market your brand or product—with establishing a new position in the minds of customers. A complete overhaul of the brand’s core identity isn’t needed here, rather subtle adjustments in design, competitive position, partnerships and marketing channels to keep the brand relevant and better align with market needs and opportunities.
Brand evolution:
This is continuously fine-tuning with incremental changes the brand's identity and messaging to keep it in line with changing consumer behaviour and market dynamics. It might be to target new markets, appeal to new needs or shift with consumer trends.
Brand repositioning and brand evolution are typically short-term strategies—done knowing that small adjustments can have a significant impact on your audience and ultimately, your sales.
Why Evolve your brand?
Brand evolution is vital in order to stay true to your mission—while attracting new customers and keeping it resonant with existing ones.
Benefits of a Brand Evolution:
- Intense Emotional Connection: With so many options available to consumers, a brand must go beyond offering just functional benefits. It needs to resonate emotionally—sometimes even subtly, subconsciously.
- Stronger Positioning: Small visual changes can make your brand more appealing and reinforce its position in the market and in consumers' minds.
- Enhanced Reputation: A brand evolution not only helps customers differentiate your products but also elevates your company’s reputation, influencing stakeholders, employees, investors, suppliers and distributors.
Fears of Brand Evolution:
- Losing Current Customers: This is a common concern—but one that’s easy to work around. Your loyal return customers already love your brand and a brand evolution gives them even more reasons to stick around. Conducting research can help you gauge how your audience perceives you—and give you peace of mind before you dive into a brand evolution.
- Chasing Trends: While it's tempting to make your brand look more “trendy”, an evolution should be strategic. If you're not careful, you risk altering your brand too much and losing valuable equity.
Rebranding is a far more extensive process.
It is a complete transformation of the brand—from the name, logo, mission and even the company’s core values.
Rebranding is typically undertaken when a company is shifting direction, entering new markets, merging with another company or trying to distance itself from past failures or a negative image. It's about creating a fresh competitive advantage, turning a totally new page.
Rebranding is a long-term process, often signalling a new chapter in a company’s history and offering a chance for a fresh start.
Benefits of Rebranding:
- Financial Power: A strong brand is one of a company’s most valuable assets and a powerful lever—and baseline—for future growth.
- Connection to Customers: It can help better meet the expectations of both customers and shareholders. People are visual, a rebrand boldly reinforces reinvention.
- Increased Brand Awareness: A rebrand can significantly boost visibility, helping to attract both existing and new customers across various platforms.
- Tactical Alignment: Rebranding helps align your company’s identity with current customer needs, especially if your existing marketing feels outdated or misaligned.
- New Customer Engagement: If you're offering new products or targeting a different market, rebranding can help you connect with that audience and expand your customer base.
Fears of Rebranding:
- Customer Acceptance: Today’s customers are more understanding of a brand’s need—or want—to change. As long as the rebrand benefits them and doesn’t create extra effort on their part, they’re likely to embrace it.
- Confidence in Execution: Rebranding requires thoughtful strategy, creativity, dynamism and flawless execution. The stakes are high, and getting it right is the first step.
- The cost of not rebranding: Many companies are realising that not rebranding can sometimes lead to their brand falling behind. This is a costly place to be—more costly than investing in a rebrand.
Startups and rebranding go hand-in-hand: Startups often rebrand as they grow, especially when their initial branding no longer aligns with their current goals or market direction.
Rebranding becomes the top way to reflect their changed business model or target markets. Rebranding is never just about a new logo or colour scheme—it’s a comprehensive process that impacts every aspect of the business. One that should be done with strategy.
Quick Fire Tips for Deciding Between Repositioning/Evolving or Rebranding
Evolving/Repositioning:
- Your brand’s core identity is still relevant but needs a fresh perspective.
- Market research suggests there are some new customer segments to tap into.
- You believe in enhancing your brand’s perception to drive market growth.
Rebranding:
- The company is entering a new market—perhaps shifting its business model or a sweeping new offering.
- You've outgrown your original mission, product line or identity.
- A merger, acquisition, or change in ownership requires a new direction.
Avoid Costly Mistakes
Avoid making changes without a clear purpose, no matter whether you’re repositioning, evolving or rebranding.
Strategic decisions help build strengths, while aimless changes can leave your brand vulnerable and dawdling. Your audience plays a central role in your company's success—from brand recognition to revenue. If you fail to engage them, you risk confusing or alienating your loyal customers.
Always remember your brand story
As you navigate any changes in your brand, it’s important to remember that branding is never just about visual elements. Branding is about fostering recognition. Then, nurturing trust and loyalty.
Rebranding is not something to be done on a whim. It requires planning and strategy. It is more than just "designing" a new look. It’s about defining your market position, how you’ll communicate this and do so authentically.
Your consumers are savvy—they can spot inauthentic attempts from a mile away. So, be genuine in your approach so your brand can be seen how you want it to be seen.
However we have reached a tipping point where “authenticity” has become so curated that it has lost its significance. Being “real” isn't enough anymore — everyone claims to be real. What really matters is understanding human behaviour and recognising the underlying triggers that shape it.
In the end, a brand must remain relevant without being reactionary. It’s about evolution and transformation—but it’s also about staying true to your core values and purpose.
