Nick Farrar, director of Workbrands, gives advice on how to get the required investment when you are building your case for a brand overhaul
As marketers or brand professionals, we understand the intrinsic value of a rebrand to contribute to the company’s overall brand success. But how best to get board buy-in – particularly when in practice, the change is, more often than not, symbolised visually by no more than a typeface, colour palette and some graphics? Merely changing the visual elements, in fact, does nothing to boost the brand or overall profit if fundamentals such as brand strategy, personality and position remain the same. It can be a pointless exercise without a thorough analysis and the required investment.
Selling a rebrand to your board can feel like climbing Mount Everest – not impossible but definitely tricky. Here are my top tips:
Prove its worth
Justification will go a long way. Make sure you are clear on the reasons for a brand makeover: has your target audience changed? Are you introducing new products or services? Does your current brand look dated? Does it no longer stand out from the competition? Has your marketplace changed? Whatever reasons you have for undertaking a brand review, ensure your board is fully aware of them and understands the rationale.
Think like your board
When compiling your case it’s important to put yourself in your board’s shoes. They will want to know the return on investment (ROI) – ‘What will we get out of this?’ As a marketer, you will be aware of how a rebrand can contribute to overall brand success: increased brand awareness, transformed perceptions, standing out in the marketplace, increased employee engagement and attracting top talent are just a few of the potential benefits. However, your audience at your monthly board meeting might not see the immediate link. Share some of your hard-earned marketing experience and remind them potential clients make decisions based on perceptions and can disregard a brand in seconds. All it takes is a confusing message or ineffective brand. Tangible benefits will go a long way in getting their attention.
Pre-empt concerns
Still in your board’s shoes, work out all their possible concerns and make sure they are addressed head-on. These can include expenses, timescales, and roll-out. Provide them with a timescale and roll-out plan. How are you going to ensure the new brand will be used in the right way across all of your branches and offices? Also, be prepared for: “The last time we did this it took x months and cost £x and I can’t see what good it’s done.” Let them know how you’re intending to measure the ROI. A ‘before and after’ report can illustrate this really well; think about including stakeholder feedback, your pitch success rate, social media following and potential competitor responses. Using examples of what others have done within your market, and what they have got out of it can be another useful tool to help justify your case (this can often be found on their agency’s website).
Get feedback
Turn your presentation into a story from your clients’ perspective. Obtain feedback from a variety of clients to back up your business case. Their thoughts, issues and decision-making criteria will bring your story alive. What do they think of the current brand and how do they compare it to your competitors? As well as obtaining external feedback, ask employees from various teams within the business how they currently perceive the brand.
Visualise what you’re saying
Don’t just tell them, show them. Our brains are more receptive to processing pictures rather than text and data. Visuals can bring ideas alive, create excitement and buy-in. They reach out to people’s emotions – and emotions influence decision-making. Think about ways of using visuals for comparisons or the consequences of different strategies. Remember: a picture is worth a thousand words.
Keep the board involved
If their schedules allow it, invite the decision makers along to internal workshops and meetings with your agency. It will help them to further understand the rationale for decisions and recommendations and they can be assured of the alternatives that have been considered. It also enables them to pitch in themselves and provide their thoughts on the matter upfront, before any decisions are made that they wouldn’t approve of (meaning you don’t have to go back to the drawing board). Plus, it makes you fully aware of the results they are expecting.
Check you need a rebrand
The word ‘rebrand’ can sound expensive and might put your board off. Sometimes a brand refresh or updated marketing collateral is all that’s needed to achieve your objectives and will be a lot less time consuming. In most cases there are many things that can be done to reinvigorate the brand without changing the logo. For example, if your corporate communications lack consistency due to employees using different versions of the logo, typography, visuals and colour palettes, it can be difficult for clients to recognise the brand. This can easily be rectified by putting an online brand management system in place and doesn’t require investing in a complete redesign.
