“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.”- Richard Branson.
As the wealthiest man of the United Arab Emirates with an astounding wealth of US $11 Billion plus, Majid Al Futtaim is a true believer of the quote by Richard Branson that no matter the nature of the corporation, it is important to keep changing. In order to continuously improvise and present the corporate identity of any company in a more refined form, corporate rebranding is the only essential marketing strategy to adopt. In the most technical terminology, rebranding of any corporation is the overall improvement in the roots of the brand by adding value through making changes in the brand identity which outshines a whole new ideological representation for a business.
Rebranding – Simplified
Not sure it makes complete sense yet? Well, in simpler terms, it extends to introducing variations in the name of the corporation, the terminology used to define or reflect the corporate culture, the symbolisation of the company in terms of logo, the design and overall blueprint of the corporation etc. The main goal is to come up with a more polished brand image of the corporation, directly targeting the director and indirect stakeholders, including the consumers, the competitors, the investors and others. For example, the Saudi Arabian Logistics corporation revamped its logo with a fresh look to reinstate its brand identity amongst its target audience all around the world.
At present, the need of the hour is survival for almost all businesses today. And so, it is of high importance to move forward and respond to competitors and market dynamics to maintain your brand position from becoming obsolete. This has, over the last few years, become more necessary as the ease of the Internet brought about corporate competition not just within the country, but on a global level altogether. In short, the demand for corporations of different nature is lower than the supply, leaving the leaver in the hands of the buyers to pick and choose the form of their choice.
Reasons For Corporate Rebranding
There are no set reasons that encourage corporations and businesses to invest in corporate rebranding. However, according to experts and research, every business should refresh its branding tactics every 8 to 10 years to ensure all stakeholders, including the customers, remember the essence of the brand at all times. Usually, the reason or reasons behind the branding work together as a combination of several different factors that include the following, with relevant business examples.
1. Bad Market Brand Image
As the potential barriers to entry for start-ups and new businesses in any industry today are relatively lower than years ago, a small data breach or one bad customer review can result in a bad brand image in the market. This can result in a sudden dip in demand. For example, Dominos became the lowest pizza market share of only 9% in 2009 due to bad customer feedback. However, by successful rebranding, by highlighting the negative feedbacks and using them as a trick to attract an existing customer base, Dominos became the market leader in 2016 with a 15% market share.
2. Outdated Brand Positioning
As the entire world is witnessing technological advancements at the speed of light, keeping up with the ongoing trends and maintaining customer satisfaction is the prime requirement. At times, due to failure to keep up with technology, the corporation’s current brand image might be outdated or less impactful, eventually causing a loss of customers. For example, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company launched its first-ever brand campaign as a 95-second video commercial to portray the power and strength of the UAE as a whole. The campaign targeted all-important Emirati citizen aspects to directly reach out to the target audience.
3. Growth Potential
For many corporations who have been in the market for over five years, focusing on expanding into new markets to increase their current profitability is an effective growth opportunity. Gone are the days when financial growth was the mere target as now diversification and global expansion is the end goal. With the corporate rebranding, it becomes easier to collect missed opportunities and convert them into beneficial scenarios for businesses. For example, Saudi Aramco, the largest oil and gas company in the world is investing nearly 200 million euros to elevate its brand image and profile with effective advertising tactics, in the global markets.
4. Scope For Increased ROI with Digitization
As the majority of the target audience for any corporation, today prefer online mediums to interact and purchase with the company, opting for digitisation of the overall brand is highly necessary. With the help of corporate rebranding, you can successfully place your brand in a better market position, targeting a wider range of target audiences. For example, Lego, which is one of the most successful toy companies in the world, was trapped in crippling debt in 2003 when they became outdated amongst the customers. However, with successful corporate rebranding and the addition of digital channels, it managed to come through as “Apple of Toys’ shortly after relaunch.
Steps For Rebranding
Step 1: Brand Auditing
This is necessary to understand the nature of changes required in brand ideology, image, environment, customer communication, overall identity, etc.
Step 2: Repositioning Tactics
This allows strategic implementation post combination analysis of competitor, target audience, main brand value, different product consumption strategies, communication strategies, etc.
Step 3: Restyling
This step holds high weightage as it is directly related to the corrective changes in the visual identity of the corporation. It involves two stages, the first one being conceptualisation of new logo and style and the second stage consisting of adapting the other visual content as per the newly formed conceptualisation in stage one.
Step 4: Communication Strategy and Promotion
This is an essential step as it requires a study of the customer adaptation and reaction to the upgraded rebranding of the corporation. Especially for the existing customers, this new change can bring about a sense of doubt and so it is very important you conceptualise the new rebranding design with a more effective message for the audience.
Step 5: Final Introduction
This step is the final decision of the corporation to launch the rebranded image into the market effectively with the right tool and tricks.
Wrapping up!
Overall, even though corporate rebranding comes with a set amount of expenditure and additional resources, it is still an essential investment for the future of any corporation. If you are still confused about how to proceed, reach out to Vowels for effective branding solutions to help you modify your brand image as per your new vision. Whether it be style guidance for the brand or overall corporate rebranding responsibility, they have customised solutions for all your queries.
