Reilly Newman | A rebrand can be a fantastic decision for a brand when they need to pivot to take the business where the market is going or to even further their distinct position in the market.
Rebranding is a powerful tool when it is deliberately applied to a business for the right reasons. Rebrands can bolster the connection you have with your current supporters and it can help you reach new audiences as well. However, one of the things I love about rebrands is something that is rarely mentioned….
Reappraisal
To be reappraised is an opportunity for revaluation. This is great for your business!
You see, when you rebrand or repackage a product and frame it differently, it automatically makes the viewer’s brain want to reassess their perception of you. This is because they want to make sure their understanding of you still matches the meaning they have assigned to you. As a rebrand introduces new information to the viewer with a rebrand or even new packaging, it creates an unexpected gap where the brand didn’t align with the established understanding of the brand. The viewer must stop and reassess their defined perception of the brand to ensure they are still relatively correct. This gap they feel is your opportunity to appeal to them.
As a rebrand creates this moment of opportunity for you to capture more – or a different – audience, it is important to emphasize that this gap may have grabbed their attention, but your next move will make or break it.
As you capture their attention, now you must tell them why they should care. We have mentioned in both articles and podcasts, a brand must be salient. This is very important because capturing attention is not enough. You must prove salience during this rebrand reappraisal.
Rebrand Remodel
This reminds me of when homes are reappraised. Let’s say you have a rental property and it’s getting subpar tenants with subpar rental income for the area the house is in. This is like your business serving a decent audience who is willing to pay a decent price, it’s good, but with the market’s potential, you could do better. Your business could do better.
Let’s say you decide to remodel the home to increase its value. Just as you would rebrand to increase the value of your business, this result of a higher value would be from increasing the appeal and position in the market. A rebrand/remodel would now tailor the asset to perhaps where the market is going or simply have better curb appeal and a more designer-inspired kitchen. This will result in a more appealing offer that will increase its pricing power because it is offering more value or even just resonating with an audience more precisely.
Now that your business (whether company or rental) is more appealing to your target audience and even has pricing power, it can now be reassessed at a higher evaluation. Just as the bank will do this to your rental property, your audience does this to your brand. Their assessment of you will prove fruitful if your rebrand/remodel is deliberately done in a way that strategically addresses the current and future market.
Reprise
Now that your potential audience has noticed your rebrand, they take note and reassess their perception of your business. This reevaluation of your brand allows for them to take in new information and gauge what it means to them and if they should care. Ideally, your target audience will see the value and it will improve the perception of your brand and any other viewers who are not your ideal audience just won’t care and will move on. Your rebrand isn’t an effort to appeal to everyone, it is to stand out to that special audience that you bring the most value to.
Yes, rebrands can improve your overall presentation and make you look much, much better. Yes, rebranding can be of extreme strategic value to help you pivot and reposition or even focus more on an opportunity in the market. However, I find that we should always consider the reappraisal that is triggered by rebranding. This moment is of immense value and should not be wasted.
