When your sales are dwindling and you find that you are no longer getting your message through to consumers, it may be that the solution is not as simple as updating your product or adopting more rigorous, far-reaching advertising strategies. You may, in fact, require a brand overhaul. With a rebrand you do run the risk of alienating your current customer base and inconsistent messaging is never a money-making strategy. However, if you rebrand in a way that is effective, you can reap some huge fiscal rewards. Here are some of the advantages of rebranding:
Reach a new demographic
So many brands end up being pigeonholed in a way that makes them only attractive to one particular consumer type. This could be because of the length of time at which the brand has been operating. It may have occupied a place in the consumer subconscious for many years, or decades even hence building up a consumer perception that is hard to break. Reaching a new demographic in this situation is hard. However, it can be done. If your brand appeals to a demographic that no longer exists, such as an older consumer group now dying off, instead of trying to reach the generation behind with the same messaging and brand image, look to adapt your brand, change it entirely as old language, imagery and style won’t work on younger people. Use Social Media to drive a new image and combat preconceptions that your brand is old and outdated. Old Spice did this very well, by abandoning their older models and using youthful colloquialisms in their Social Media based ad campaigns.
Repair your reputation
You may wish to rebrand in order to repair your broken reputation. Negative sentiment can stick in today’s digital age and your brand can be damaged long term by a bad campaign or a widespread incident of faulty products. Tesco was rocked by the horse meat scandal in 2012, whereby the authenticity of its meat was put under intense scrutiny. In order to avoid long-term damage, the supermarket giant rebranded to erase its bad reputation for meat quality from the public consciousness. Its ad campaigns featured local farmers and emphasised the freshness of its stock and the transparency of its supply chain. The brand is now altogether focused on making sure its customers are aware of where its meat is sourced from, with flags of nations of origin on all packaging. This rebrand has helped to mitigate the anxieties customers have had towards the freshness and quality and even authenticity of Tesco’s meat products.
Reclaim your brand identity
Your brand image may have been tainted through no fault of your own. Many brands become associated with cultures or consumer sets that are far removed from the image that they intended to exude. Stella Artois became synonymous with binge drinking and violence, despite its yearning to be seen as continental and elite. In the case of Stella, extremes were taken to eradicate the brand’s negative connotations. For a start, it launched a new range of beers under the name “Artois”. It is rare that brands go to such a length to change their image, but in the case of Stella, their reputation was in tatters. To counteract the image of Stella being consumed by binge drinkers, it even launched a campaign encouraging consumers to drink the lager in 9 steps, to savor the taste and experience.
Boost Sales
Rebranding can also be a fantastic way of boosting dwindling sales. If you operate in a particularly competitive market, you may find that you struggle to generate sales and what you need is an overhaul of strategy and in many cases a full-on rebrand. In the budget supermarket world, it often becomes a race to the bottom to see who can offer customers the cheapest prices. Instead of getting caught up in this battle, some stores should consider rebranding as slightly higher end, or focus on an attribute which isn’t pricing. Morrison’s did this very well. Morrison’s who compete with Tesco and Asda for revenue in the budget supermarket marketplace, have begun to focus more on localism. Many of their ad campaigns discuss at length how products are sourced locally and prepared in store on the same day that they are sold. This sets them apart from the likes of Asda who are purely price focused. The rebrand allowed Morrison’s to compete for customers and avoid financial hardship, via a race to the bottom.
Rebranding could be the answer to resolving many of your companies woes. A clever rebrand can boost sales by making you stand out in a crowded marketplace. A rebrand can repair broken consumer trust as a result of bad press and help you reach a new and more lucrative demographic.
