By Judith O’Leary, Founder and Managing Director, Represent Comms
A rebrand in the midst of a global pandemic? One that has devastated businesses big and small? It sounds like a crazy idea, I know. The financial and operational challenges posed by Covid-19 are widespread and would understandably make a lot of companies put the brakes on any plans to rebrand.
Yet as result of the pandemic, we are seeing businesses (Represent is one of them) re-evaluate their core propositions, their values, how they communicate, how they operate and even who they are targeting. This means now could actually be a great time to consider a rebrand. Here’s why:
Your business has evolved
Good businesses are evolving all the time. And none more so than now. Whether you have pivoted your business from in store to online, expanded into new markets, added new products or services to your offering or you are simply a different type of company from the one you were at the beginning of 2020, your brand should reflect that change.
At Represent, we recently undertook a rebrand because we are more agile and nimble than we were 18 months ago and we have a renewed focus on working with family-owned and family run businesses. Our clients have also had to become more digital over the last two years and so our product offering has become more streamlined too. The old brand no longer fit with the direction of the business, so we changed it. The process has been spearheaded by the team and has been a great source of motivation for them during this incredibly difficult and uncertain time.
Your customer is changing (and it’s harder to recruit talent)
Today more than ever, both customers and employees want to identify with a brand that stands for something, one that shares their values and social concerns and one that looks after their people. In fact, according to a global study from Zeno, consumers are four to six times more likely to purchase from and champion purpose-driven companies. This was true before the pandemic, but it rings even more true now. A rebrand can be a great way of communicating your values, your vision and your purpose with your customers and change how they see you.
A rebrand can also be an incredibly powerful recruitment and retention tool. According to a study from PwC, millennials who have a strong connection to the purpose of their employer are over 5 times more likely to stay. But does your brand reflect your purpose? And are your employees bought into that? If not, it may be time to have a rethink.
It’s global game
Amid slowing economic activity, COVID-19 has massively accelerated digital transformation. Given we have all been spending so much more time online over the last 18 months, businesses have had to upskill digitally in a big way, and fast. This has been a huge challenge for many businesses of course, but it has also resulted in huge opportunities for businesses to expand their footprint both in the UK and globally (without the need to invest in additional office space or personnel in a different country). Has your business flourished in this way? It may be time to consider whether your brand is still fit for purpose – does it match your new global footprint? Does it speak to your new customer bases or is it outdated and too regionalised? Certainly, food for thought.
The business landscape has changed, consumer habits have changed and technology has evolved – does your brand still reflect who you are and where you want to be? If not, it may be time to take stock and consider a rebrand. I was reluctant to invest in Represent’s recent brand change, but it has been 100 percent worth it. Our team is happier and more invested with who we are as a business and our clients know who we are and what we stand for. That can only be a good thing as we emerge from the pandemic.