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Branding     
 
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Is It Better To Rebrand Or Spend More Marketing?
Posted By: atul.sharda on 7/22/2005 2:36 AM (CST) 50 Points
We have a very weak brand that isn't recognised. Part of thr problem is that not enough marketing has been undertaken to date. However, the brand also lacks any real relevance to the service we provide and is weak. Therefore we are considering rebranding. But are not sure whether we should rebrand the entire service, parts of the service that have a direct relationship with consumers or just invest in some clever marketing.

Posted by: laura* Accepted Answer
7/22/2005 2:57 AM (CST)
Hi,

Just a few points for you to consider that may help your thinking as your question is kind of broad and I am not sure what business you are involved in, perhaps if you let us know that or answer some of the questions I pose it we may be able to come up with a better response.

Why is it weak or lacking relevance, who came up with it and how long ago?

Have you done research amongst your target audience to find out why they do not identify with your brand or have not purchased your product?

Is there a formal marketing plan in place that incorporates a branding strategy, if so has it been executed properly and measured or done on ad hoc basis?

What promotional campaigns and sales promotions do you run have they or have they not worked and what is in place to measure it?

I know it seems like I am giving you more questions than answers but the method to my madness is to draw your attention to what has created the situation then and only then can you make a decision. If it has been a wrong strategy identifying this helps you not to make a similar mistake with a new branding campaign. Alternatively you might be doing alright and if you have done the above things and been going for only a year or two a more concerted targeted marketing effort of your original brand may be enough.

The reason to not rush into this decision is that to change a brand wipes out the hard work and goodwill that may be already built up and puts you back to zero and spending money all over again for another branding campaign.

I hope this helps if you come back to me with a little more I will give you further advice.

Kind Regards,

Laura
 
Posted by: klopane* Accepted Answer
7/22/2005 3:29 PM (CST)
hello,

I agree with Laura that changing your brand altogether might be an even greater waste of resources. Is there any hope to incorprate your old brand into something new? Just to tweak it a little and then you can run a campaign that will reintroduce your company and your image to the public.

Katherine
 
Posted by: atul.sharda Author Response
7/26/2005 5:58 AM (CST)
Thanks, Laura and Katherine

Responses to your questions....

Why is it weak or lacking relevance, who came up with it and how long ago? It's weak as there is no recognition of the brand across related service providers and the target audiences. We recently undertook some qual and quant and this showed that potential users misunderstood the purpose of the service.

Have you done research amongst your target audience to find out why they do not identify with your brand or have not purchased your product? Yes we have and teh results were disappointing.

Is there a formal marketing plan in place that incorporates a branding strategy, if so has it been executed properly and measured or done on ad hoc basis? No there isn't - major problem area.

What promotional campaigns and sales promotions do you run have they or have they not worked and what is in place to measure it? There has been limited campaigning and the key problem has been that these have not been coordinated.
 
Posted by: suneel.yadav* Accepted Answer
7/26/2005 5:58 PM (CST)
Hi,

I think the solution can be divided into the following steps:
a. Since there is no existing relationship with the customers, you can go ahead with a re-branding exercise and relaunch the product on a new platform
b. Also the objective of launching this product and the goal that it will acheive has to be very clearly defined
c. Once this has been done, a very clear marketing and sales objective has to be drawn up with a blue-print of the brand for atleast the next 3 years with committment on the moneys from the top management

This will make the brand take off and then it will need to be sustained.

Hope this helps

Thanks
 
Posted by: sureet* Accepted Answer
8/2/2005 5:37 AM (CST)
Before we think of rebranding, we must do a diagnosis where the problem lies . Is the problem in the brand itself or the way it is marketed ? If the problem is not identified we might face the same problem in rebranding and use up precious resources in time, money and opportunities.

By saying if the problem lies in the brand itself, I mean
questions such as
What idoes it mean to its customers?Is the purpose of the brand clear ?
Does the name have a connect with the customers ?
How does it fare in comparison with other competing brands ?

If the answers to these questions are encouraging then probably the problem lies in implementation. The problem could lie in

Design of marketing communications such as copywriting
Consistency in marketing
Implementation on time
Co-ordination with various marekting and sales activities
Lack of sufficient budget
Reaching your customers
Payment terms
Visibility

In such a case, the attention should turn to the implementation part rather in redesigning the brand itself.
 
Posted by: StarsDie Accepted Answer
8/3/2005 6:18 AM (CST)
Good responses above. To add a bit, I'd tell that if you like your brand's name and logo - then no need to rebrand at all, but to write a good marketing program to make your brand strong. Invest your money in strategy. But if you are not happy with it yourself, if you see that the name leaves much to be desired, then you could try such an extreme measure like rebranding. But there must be a very well weighted decision of all decision-makers in your company. It is really a big money, you'll spend as twice as more on rebranding than on good strategy at the least, becasue rebranding is not only changing the name, you know... plus you will still have to invest in brand development of a new brand name, and you'll have to start from the beginning.
 
Posted by: adam* Accepted Answer
8/6/2005 12:14 AM (CST)
Do you have a weak brand or a weak product/service offering? If your product/service has any unique differentiating qualities, it is just a matter of identifying and articulating those -- if your product/service offering is weak, that's a whole different issue -- perhaps time to get out and start over.
 
Posted by: bdennis410* Accepted Answer
8/6/2005 1:49 PM (CST)
While we're at it. let's rearrange the deck chairs on the TITANIC.
All KIDDING ASIDE, the almost very first rule of branding is to relate the brand to the product/service you provide, whenever possible.
If that is not possible, then the brand should at least be easily recognized as relating to your product or service through the graphics of a logo.
There are tons of "temp.lates' AND "to do lists" that relate to constructing a brand, and you ashould review them. SEARCH 'branding programs + templates free" FOR SOME PLACES TO CONSIDER.
But maybe a better way is to just sit down with some blank paper, and this is the hardest part I KNOW, AND START: start by listing all the positives of your products/services; then list all the of best customers groups that could benefit; then list what you think an ideal logo would look like and that conveys the message of what your have outlined.
WHEN YIOU'RE DONE, START OVER AND DO IT AGAIN, BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE THOUGHT OF BETTER IDEAS, BETTER REFINEMENTS TO DEFINITIONS AND CUSTOMER TYPES.
Then you are ready to make the decision to rebrand or remarket.

Hope this helps,

Barry
NETWEB/Omni
 
Posted by: carrie77 Moderator Response
8/11/2005 7:54 AM (CST)
Hello all. I am closing this question since it's more than 2 weeks old. We do this to reward the contributions of participants in a timely manner + to give increased visibility to the newer questions.

Thanks for participating!
Carrie (Production Editor)
 


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