Manchester based Pixel8 is a design, branding and marketing agency with clients ranging from Manchester United and Kellogg’s to over fifty small and medium sized companies across the UK.
Developing successful rebranding strategies is at the core of Pixel8’s business. Joint managing director Jamie Watson answers questions about corporate branding.
What can rebranding bring to a business and what are the driving factors behind a rebranding exercise?
More often than not, small and medium sized businesses (SME) need a brand refresh rather than a total rebrand. Small businesses, especially fast growing ones, find that their branding no longer represents what they do and where they want to be after two to three years.
Brand positioning, company strategy and vision changes over time but SME’s are in the fortunate position of being able to react quickly, and refresh their brand every few years.
SME’s can move faster than larger companies and a brand refresh is much less expensive and disruptive for a smaller company. For example, next time they need to order a box of printed stationary, they can simply change the branding to represent the refreshed look. It should very much be seen as evolution as opposed to revolution.
Without frequent brand refresh, a brand will hold a company back and make it seem smaller than it is. You want your brand to represent where you want to be in a few years time – not where you were a few years ago.
Can you outline a successful and a not so successful rebranding exercise, and give your view on why one rebranding was more successful than the other?
Royal Mail rebranding itself as Consignia in 2001 has to be one of the all time worst rebrands. The public and the media lambasted the new brand from the moment it was revealed and a hasty retreat followed. Costing £2million, the new brand identity was in place for only 16 months, before the “Royal Mail” name reappeared. Consumers identified with Royal Mail and its heritage. The key to refreshing a brand is to keep the best bits, which Royal Mail had failed to do.
What are the fundamental steps you should take before undertaking any rebranding of your business?
You must be sure about your brand positioning now, how it’s evolved and most importantly, where you want your company to be in the future.
This is a process a SME should go through every two to three years, but there are no rules! The faster a company is changing the faster the brand needs to evolve.
Expensive market research is not so relevant to an SME becuase most SME owners tend to have an intuitive feel for their business and for their customers. Companies should look at growth, where you can add value, think about your competitors, your strengths and what’s achievable in the next few years. Owner managers often know their customers well and personal feedback is far more valuable that expensive research.
What are components of a good rebranding? How does the logo, typeface, copy, advertising etc all work together to create the new brand image?
All these elements work together as part of a good brand refresh.
Typeface needs to work on both paper and on the web. Logos need to work in two colour as well as full colour and in all different sizes, from a business card to a 24-sheet poster.
It’s important not to get too hung up on the logo design, which most people think is the key component of any brand re-fresh. The important part is that everything works together to reposition the business.
Can smaller companies benefit from rebranding their business?
Refreshing yes, re-branding no.
Smaller businesses can refresh their brand much more cost effectively and quicker than large corporate brands. A brand refresh should be budgeted for every few years to stay ahead of the game. It does not have to involve any major changes to the company, but simply to update the brand so it reflects the evolution of the business.
Do you think that SME’s would benefit from expanding their branding?
Sub-brand development is very important as a company grows and moves forward. Â Small businesses often make the mistake of concentrating only on the umbrella brand and not differentiating their product or service groups. This can be confusing to both salespeople and to customers.
Identifying the benefits of the product mix and differentiating each product or category is essential. It’s all too often impossible to understand what a business actually does.
SME’s need to start to think of brand development not as changing their logo, but as reviewing, defining, differentiating their offer.
How should a business approach revitalising their brand without destroying or risking the key values of their existing brand?
A company can revitalise their brand without destroying it with a brand refresh, rather than a total rebrand. A refresh tidies up the brand and updates it to represent where the business and the brand is heading, without losing its distinctiveness and identity. This is a very important point as businesses should always keep the best elements of their exiting branding.
Owner-managers often fall into the trap of identifying the best bits based on their feeling as opposed to the reality of the situation.
What are the pitfalls that smaller businesses fall into when looking at rebranding their company?
The major pitfall is spending too much money. A brand refresh is not a one-off event. Companies need to refresh their brands every few years and to regularly budget for it.
Fear is another major factor. Many SME’s that we work with are initially scared to define their product mix and take a smoke and mirrors attitude towards their offer. I think they believe they are staying flexible by being vague about the nature of their products or services, when in fact; they are simply failing to communicate about their products and services.
A pitfall of not regularly refreshing your brand is that your business will look small. SME’s need to punch above their weight to compete and if you still look the same as you did five years ago, your brand is not reflecting how your company has grown and matured.
Brand can be a very emotive thing for an owner-manager – their business is their baby! Good feedback from customers ensures they are focusing on the best parts of the business, and changing those that have become obsolete.
How can large corporations save time and money managing their brands?
Online brand guides save time and money and are the fastest way to update brand information or any new requirements. Pixel8 designed Manchester United’s online brand guide and it’s been a complete success.
For examples of Pixel8’s corporate branding designs, please see our portfolios for:
Gap Consulting – Microsoft Dynamics CRM Gold partner
Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust – Not for profit sports centres
sorrymate – Motor bike accident solicitors
LiveWire – Packaging design software
Tipton Training – Dr. Paul Tipton dental training
For more information about rebranding your company, please call Jamie Watson at Pixel8 in Manchester on 0161 228 6489 – 0845 230 1336 or contact us by email
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