How To Handle Brand Identity Redesigns

Notes on a rebrand... Last week we launched the new Bain Capital Ventures brand. A few nuggets of guidance from this and other rebrands for those embarking on a similar journey: 1) More doesn't mean merrier. Venture firms and partnership structures have a uniquely high number of stakeholders, but even at a startup the number of people who want a say in the rebrand can expand to an unmanageable level. Use the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) rubric or something simpler like the below to determine how you will get (but not necessarily incorporate) all the feedback from your organization. Example: - Owner: Marketer - Decider: CEO, Maybe cofounding team - Input: Leadership Team, Key Board Members, Key Customers Otherwise, you'll run into problem number two, in addition to a snail's pace timeline. 2) Learn from Frankenstein. Don't build a Monster. If you accept everyone's copy and design edits, you will end up with something nonsensical at worst and drab at best. Find a way to help people feel heard, but also help them understand that there needs to be a unified vision that flows through the entire project. It can't be a little of this, little of that. 3) Avoid messaging sprawl. It hurts to do this... I know. You should still have brand tenets, but above that there needs to be a SINGLE core brand idea. This will cause pain because you will have to get rid of the 6 good ideas in favor of one great idea. That idea should make your target audience feel something -- safety, inspiration, joy, etc. It can't be purely transactional. If you don't do this, you are living in a world of pure product marketing and brand can never be a moat. 4) What's the context? Your customer will often weigh your brand vs. other options. If you build your messaging without that input, you're missing a key part of the puzzle and building in a vacuum. What brands are formidable in your space? Build a grid of their positioning and make sure yours stands out. If you choose to go head to head on brand, make sure you can out-play them in both your words and your deeds. 5) Talk about it but also be about it. Lots of brands talk. Few brands DO. How will you bring the messaging you've worked on to life? How do you show up? What decisions will you make and what will you prioritize that aligns with your positioning? Without this, your brand is just an empty vessel. -- What's your best brand building advice?

Up to 60% of rebrands fail. The usual cause? Chasing a new look without a real plan. I’ve studied over 200+ rebrand case studies. The winners share four traits. The failures? They almost always prioritized aesthetics over strategy. 1. Strategy before beauty Three out of four consumers remember brands by their logo. That’s why most failed rebrands start there and end there. The successful ones invest months building a strategic foundation before touching design. 2. Voice that connects Brand voice isn’t just copy. It’s your personality across every channel. Nike doesn’t just sell shoes. Their voice is empowering, motivational, slightly rebellious, and it’s consistent everywhere. Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club both sell razors. Harry’s uses refined sophistication for premium buyers. Dollar Shave Club leans into irreverent humor for cost-conscious millennials. Same product category, opposite voices. Voice comes from knowing your audience, not guessing. 3. Visual identity with purpose Visuals work only after strategy and voice are clear. Tropicana learned this in 2009. They replaced recognizable packaging with a clean, minimal design. Customers didn’t recognize it. Sales fell 20% in six weeks. Royal Mail made the same mistake in 2001. They ditched 500 years of equity for a meaningless name: Consignia. The public mocked it. Within 15 months, they reverted, wasting millions. Visual identity should strengthen your strategy, not erase your history. 4. Live the change internally first If your team doesn’t believe in the rebrand, it will never take flight. Every employee must understand and live the new direction before the public sees it. McKinsey found that change programs with strong employee buy-in are 30% more likely to succeed. Internal alignment before external launch, always. Ignore this, and you won’t just waste money. You’ll destroy trust. LESSON: A rebrand isn’t about looking different. Kia proved it in 2021. They didn’t just tweak a logo. They redefined their purpose: “Movement that Inspires” and backed it with product innovation. Revenue jumped 18% to a record $60 billion. Kia invested in transformation, not cosmetics, and hit historic growth. In an example of what not to do, Gap launched a new logo on October 6, 2010. By October 12 - just 6 days later - they reversed it. Cost: $100 million down the drain. A new look only works if it’s built on a strong foundation. When you’re clear on why your brand exists and what it stands for, the visuals have power. They signal meaning people can feel. Get the meaning right, and the look will matter. Motto®

In the spirit of rebrands, there was a post earlier this week on Exit Five asking about the process behind launching a rebrand. I've worked on many rebrands in my career and I think too many companies focus on the announcement instead of the actual rollout. Rebrands are tricky (most are unnecessary too but that's a topic for a different day). It's more than just the visual identity, a rebrand will have an impact on your whole company and everyone associated with it. Getting the behind the scenes right is probably more critical than the launch itself imo. Anyway, here's what I shared: "In terms of the launch itself, I know this is obvious, but have a plan and timeline put together for the actual implementation. Think about the full customer journey. Everything from social to ads to website to sales materials to onboarding and in between. You’ll want to make sure you have a plan for bringing it all up to speed with a realistic timeline. If this was a refresh I’d recommend tiering it out (tier 0 are the pre reqs for launch, tier 1 are top priority must haves, tier 2 are fast follows, and tier 3 you address as you need to), but since this is a full rebrand, you gotta do it all—even swag. Next, avoid the big reveal with the people who matter (employees, board, partners, a few trusted customers, etc.). Set up time a few weeks in advance to run them through the changes, the timelines, and most importantly the rationale. They’re going to be your first line here so you want to make sure they’re prepared. They may also have feedback. You’re likely not going to need to react to most of it but you want to give yourself a little buffer in case they see something you don’t. From there, launch the thing! Don’t overthink the presentation, just launch it because things will likely get messed up and you’ll want to address them before making any big announcements and drawing too many eyeballs. When you’re ready for the extra attention, I’d write a blog post, record a video, and share a Linkedin post. The most important part of any announcement like this for me is the 'why.' Focus on the story, the major changes to your POV, how those affected your decisions with the branding, and how it’ll impact your business. With rebrands we tend to focus on the visual but when done right they affect your entire business. You’re likely going to surprise customers with this so you’ll want to use this moment to reassure them that this is only going to make your work better. Happy to answer any specific questions you might have but for me the key thing about rebrands is that they’re a promise for the future so rather than celebrating too much (although you should def celebrate a little bit 😊) you should use this as a time to reinforce that your business is awesome and that your customers are smart for giving you their money! Congrats!" Hope it's cool that I shared this Matthew Carnevale 😅 ✉️ Sign up for The Brief Creative newsletter at thebriefcreative[.]io