5 Signs it’s Time to Rebrand | Lessons From Stanley & Lego
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Identify the 5 scenarios where a fresh brand identity could be the catalyst your business needs to stay relevant and competitive. Dive deep with Victoria as she shares real-life examples of how both Lego and Stanley rebranded to bring new life into their once dying brands.
Understand the underlying reasons for a brand overhaul and the undeniable power of strategic design in connecting with your audience. This conversation goes beyond aesthetics, emphasizing the significance of aligning your brand with market trends and customer expectations. Whether you're contemplating a rebrand or seeking to reinforce your brand's presence, this episode is your compass to navigating the transformative journey of rebranding.
Investment pains with rebranding [02:08]:
As a business owner, you might have invested a lot of time or a lot of money (or both!) into building your brand image and it can be really frustrating to think that it was a waste and you’re going to have to invest more money into a rebrand. Every year BrandWell gets clients that just invested thousands of dollars with another design agency but they felt that either the design agency missed the mark, things turned sour, or the brand isn't working for their target audience. Whatever the reason, they had to rebrand and that’s why they came to BrandWell. When this occurs, the best piece of encouragement is to look at the investment as a learning opportunity. It’s hard to do, but you’re really getting valuable insight on your audience, what they’re attracted to and how your brand is working to either attract or repel the type of people that you want to work with your business.
Reasons to consider a rebrand:
#1: Your brand is outdated [04:47]
If your brand has been around for a while, it might start to feel outdated, and your brand’s image should always reflect the present mission, vision, and values of your company. If any of those have changed over time, it might be time for a rebrand. Outdated branding will make you appear irrelevant, especially because your competition is going to be prioritizing their design, their website, and their online presence. If your competition is operating at a different pace than you, then you risk letting your business look irrelevant online.
Real-world example: Lego Brand [05:26]
In 2005, the Lego company was losing a million dollars per day. How did they get to this point? They’ve been a leader in the toy industry since the 1930’s but ended up over $800 million in debt and continued to lose money every day. Lego had lost touch with its customer base. They had stopped innovating, they didn’t prioritize rebranding when it was necessary and in doing so, all the other toy brands like Barbie and Fisher Price took the lead. Rather than looking to their customers to see why they weren’t buying from them anymore, they looked only to other toy brands and started to copy what they were doing. They veered away from their core values of inspiring creativity and started to produce toys that they other toy brands were creating, which hurt the company. Eventually, Lego brought in a new CEO and he realized that they had lost touch with their customer base. He initiated a rebrand to tell people that although they were not the same Lego brand from the 1930’s, they still held the same vision and values and that they were reviving their business. From there they went on to have their best year ever in 2015. This is an excellent example of how a rebrand can revive otherwise dying business but it’s also a good lesson in that you do not want to rebrand just because other companies in your industry are doing it, but rather because your current brand is no longer serving your audience.
#2: Your business name is changing [08:32]
Inside The Branding Business School, there is a whole module dedicated to naming your business and there is a checklist of things to consider as you’re naming your business so that you can not only find a name that’s available and trademarkable, but so that you will land on a name that will attract the right audience and serve your business for years to come.
#3: Your target audience changed [09:38]
You might change your target audience for a number of reasons. Maybe you started out taking on anyone who is willing to hire you so that you could build your portfolio and after being in business for a year or two, you've decided who you really enjoy working with and decide to niche down. Maybe the target audience that you thought you wanted to work with when you built your business wasn't actually the right fit for your offer. Maybe you're wanting to drastically increase your price point and you're going to have to get a new target audience who can afford what you'll be charging. Or maybe your offers are shifting as your business grows.
Real-world example: Stanley Brand [12:52]
In case you’re not familiar with the brand, Stanley, they have been around since 1913. For YEARS, their target audience was middle-aged, male outdoor enthusiasts. In 2019, there was an instagram account called The Buy Guide, and she posted about the Stanley Quencher and how it was great for keeping her drinks either hot or cold. That post went viral and Stanley paid attention. The brand had been suffering for a while, they had plateaued, and their sales were reflecting that. When they noticed a new demographic that was suddenly interested in their product, they rebranded. They saw this as an opportunity to revive their dying business and came out with a whole collection of cups with various colors and targeted towards women. They also started partnering with influencers. In 2019, before the viral video happened, they made $73 million in revenue. In 2023, Stanley grew to $750 million in revenue. This shows the power of changing your target audience and rebranding to meet their needs.
#4: Your brand identity is confusing [16:16]
If your brand identity is confusing, it can be difficult for potential customers to understand what you offer if your branding isn’t doing its job. Your brand should be easily identifiable and it should be memorable, and if not, then you need to focus on a rebrand. Examples of this could include: if you did a DIY in Canva, or if you had a friend of a friend who knew how to design and they whipped up a logo but there was no strategy involved. Design should be very strategic, particularly brand design. This is understanding color theory, understanding how fonts make people feel, and this is designing specifically for a group of people that want or need your services.
#5: Your competition is way ahead of you [17:18]
If your competition is ahead of you in terms of their branding, their marketing, and their website, a rebrand is probably not only going to help you keep up, but it will also help you not totally lose your business in the next couple of years. When your business looks irrelevant, when you are the one falling behind and everybody else is taking off, then there’s a chance your business is on its deathbed. When we fail to innovate, when everybody else is focusing on innovation, that is a big risk to your business.
#6: You’re expanding your products or your offerings [18:14]
If you are expanding your products and services, a rebrand can help you better reflect your new offerings. This can help you also attract new customers while still retaining your existing ones.
Tips before investing in your rebrand [19:35]
If 2024 is your year for a rebrand, here’s a few things to consider before doing so.
Do not invest in a rebrand if you don’t know your audience. Ensure that you have a strong idea or sense of the person who will be buying your product or service. You want to brand for an audience, not the other way around. Pay attention to the people that are buying from you and get really clear on who that persona is, because when you can provide that information in those insights to your designer, you’re going to get a way better final product that’s going to actually serve your business.
Do you have a brand strategy mapped out? This includes target audience but also how you’re going to connect your offer to your audience in all the different mediums through social media, through how you sell, through how you communicate with your brand voice. If you’re confused about this or if you’ve never taken the time to develop a clear brand strategy then you should consider taking The Branding Business School before you rebrand.
The Branding Business School Open Enrollment Begins soon! [21:18]
The next opportunity to enroll in The Branding Business School is February 19th, 2024. This course is only open to enrollment three times a year, so this is not something you can just sit around until you’re ready. The reason being so that you actually take action, because the sooner you take action, the sooner you see a return on your investment.
If 2024 is the year for your rebrand, make sure that you have a clear brand strategy moving into your rebrand, and of course consider The Branding Business School and BrandWell Designs to help you out with any of it. Feel free to send Victoria an email or a DM if you have any questions about rebranding that was not covered in this episode and she would be happy to chat more with you!
Key Quotes
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“When we fail to innovate, when everybody else is focusing on innovation, that is a big risk to your business.”
Victoria Marcouillier
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