Question

Topic: Branding

Rebranding

Posted by Anonymous on 4/6/2009 at 6:42 AM ET 250 Points
Hi All,

I am looking to pick the brains of the many marketing experts on this extremely useful site.

Our company has decided to rebrand to that of our parent company. The business reasons to do so are sound and it is generally agreed that this rebranding process is vital to our future development.

The plan so far is to gradually introduce the new brand name to our existing brand name, eventually dropping this after roughly a year.

What I am looking for is some advice as to what is the best way to communicate and promote this change both internally and externally. Over what space of time should this process take place?

If anybody can provide me with examples of customer/ staff letters, press releases etc that they have used I would be extremely grateful.

I am also looking for some novel ideas on how to get staff onboard with the process.

Again any help on this would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Pint Glass
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 4/6/2009 at 7:22 AM Moderator
    Is it just the NAME that's changing, or is it the BRAND IDENTITY. They are quite different, and it's important to understand that difference before you launch your re-branding.

    Among other things, you probably ought to find out what the current brand image is among customers and prospective customers. Then you might want to probe for the image of the parent company among that same audience.

    You want to examine each touchpoint that impacts the brand image to see what the change will mean (and will entail) for that touchpoint.

    There may not be a "generic" answer to the specific questions you pose. Each situation is different. It could be impacted by the industry, how long you've been in business, your specific customer base, the marketing plan, your sales/distribution network, etc.
  • Posted on 4/6/2009 at 7:42 AM Author
    Thanks for the speedy replies!!!

    Apologies for the broad initial post. Our brand identity is changing in an attempy to solidify our position as the leader in the national market that we operate in.

    We are also looking to compete with international competitors that will soon enter the market.
  • Posted on 4/6/2009 at 10:26 AM Author
    Conrad,

    Many thanks for your response.

    Regarding “getting the staff on board”: If you can show me a company that has had 100% backing from its entire staff when it has come to any sort of change let alone a brand identity change then I will buy you a pint! There will always be some sort of resistance to change.

    Moreover, when I said “that it was generally agreed that rebranding is vital to your company's future development”, this is meant from a management level as I do not think decisions like this are generally left up to individual staff members although their opinion is taken into account.

    Secondly, even though we are the leaders in our market place in what we do, a number of lucrative contracts are up for grabs in the coming years in the national market that we operate in, which has attracted the attention of some major players globally. We are looking to compete with these players by becoming part of a bigger brand (our parent company) which has an illustrious back ground internationally. Although, their brand name is not that well known in our marketplace as it operates outside of our borders.
  • Posted on 4/6/2009 at 3:20 PM Member
    Hi Pint Glass,

    I don't fully agree with what I've read above. Unfortunately, the staff does have a choice of whether to implement what management and marketing decides -- or not. And this is where brand strategies fail. Employees must fully understand and personally buy into it for the strategy to be made meaningful for your customers. However, having management's buy-in is a solid start.
    In the past 25 years of corporate identity and brand management, we've been "telling" our employees about our brands. It's simply not enough. We need to "involve" our employees in our brands for them to really come to life, everyday.
    There are a few techniques I can share with you, offline. You can learn more at www.theinvolvementpractice.com or call me at +1 203 364 1646. I'd be happy to explain how to take advantage of the opportunity you have to really make the master brand strategy effective.

    Tim

  • Posted on 4/6/2009 at 4:45 PM Author
    Hi Tim,

    Thanks for your response and the offer. I think I may have come across in the wrong way. Allow me to clarify the situation regarding staff.

    On the whole management and staff agree with the rebranding process as all parties involved understand the reason for doing so. After this, the formal decision to rebrand was then taken at a management level.

    At this time I am looking to formulate that plan and I see an important part of that plan is to get the buy in of staff members into the process. I want to include staff in the process because saying they are all for the process and doing what's right to achieve the end goal of a successful rebrand are two different things, for whatever reason.

    Basically I want to make it as easy as possible for staff members to buy in and ultimately communicate our new brand identity on a day to day basis, as a large percentage of our team would be front line employees with regular client contact.
  • Posted on 4/6/2009 at 7:29 PM Member
    Hi Pint Glass,

    I fully agree with your comments above. Our firm uniquely specializes in working on brands from the inside. We help to gain the buy-in of staff, and then move that support to action by changing employee behavior as it relates to the brand.

    My offer stands to chat about this on the phone and lend some advice on ways to approach your audience to gain the results you're seeking.

    Tim
  • Posted by matthewmnex on 4/8/2009 at 8:44 PM Accepted
    Hi All,

    I read through these various posts but I feel that most of the respondents here are shooting in the dark t a great extent since you have given very little real information about the current brand equity / brand recognition that you hold.

    Some questions:

    How long has the current brand been in the market?
    What is the typical length of loyalty of your customers?
    How long has the parent brand been in the market?
    What is the relationship between the businesses of your brand and that of our parent company brand? (in other words - if you are an engineering firm and the parent is an architectural company then there is a relevance but if your parent is a food manufacturer and their interest in your company is purely financial, then there may be no significant gain in changing the brand).

    There was a lot of talk here about asking the employees. Sorry to say, this is completely wrong. You need to ask your CUSTOMERS what they think.

    If you ask employees, you wil get opinions. If you ask CUSTOMERS, you will get DATA.

    Before any decisions are made, get a serious scientific survey out into the market and ask both customers and prospects what they know about both the brands. (try to ask some competitors too :) ).

    Do 2 separate surveys amongst random batches and don't indicate that there is any relationship between the companies or brands.

    You need a real NPS survey that will telll you what the strength or weakness of the 2 brands in question are.

    Don't just accept hat the management have decided, get some real scientific data to show them and then come back to your management with a serious proposal.

    You may discover that you have already acquired a lot more brand equity in your existing brand than you believe and you may be throwing away a great deal of value by ditching it. You may find that the management decision was the correct one but the data in your hand will provide you with the road map that you need to plan out the transition.

    Don't also rule out the big bang theory. Sometimes, you can make a bigger impact by simply dong the change in one big whallop. A slow transition could end up being more wishy washy and you end up degrading both brands.

    Don't be afriad to be honest with your customers and tell them - On June 1 we are changing. XX will Become YYY and here is why. Then do a massive re launch party and invite everyone - give them all a new brochure and a tshirt with the new brand on it :))

    Good luck

    Matthew
  • Posted on 4/9/2009 at 11:59 AM Author
    Hi Matthew,

    Many thanks for your response. it was very well received.

    Our parent company operate in the same industry as ourselves. We have been around for just over 20 years and our parent company have been operating for much longer but have had a presence here for the last two years.

    I find your idea about the big bang very interesting.

    Noel
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