What is a Rebrand and What are the Pros/Cons of It?

Rebranding once again has recently become a popular conversation after the big switch from Twitter to X. However, rebranding has a much larger history of creating conversations, from successful rebrands that change a company’s whole perception to failures that lead to massive outrage. Rebranding can be one of the riskiest things a brand can do and contains many pros and cons that should be considered before making the big change. This could lead many to asking the question: what is rebranding? And what are the pros and cons of rebranding my company’s image?

What Is Rebranding?

Rebranding is the process of changing your company’s image and how it is portrayed to mass audiences. This can be as simple as changing your logo to a full rehaul of your company’s name and image. Rebranding is very tricky and should not be done just to be done, the most successful rebrands serve a purpose to grow a brand from the current situation it is stuck in. Here are a few pros and cons that can help you decide if a rebrand is the right choice for your company.

Pros of Rebranding:

Appeal to a new audience

Has your target audience grown out of your brand? Or do you want to appeal to a different more profitable target audience? Rebranding is a great way to change the type of consumers your brand appeals to. Many brands will rebrand to a more modern feel and aesthetic to increase its popularity with younger audiences. 

If done correctly a rebrand can appeal to a new audience while keeping your current clients interested. This is one reason why market research is essential to every good rebrand. By doing extensive research to what your new target audiences respond best to you will be able to more effectively implement changes that will give you the results you want. This could be as simple as a modern new logo to a whole revamp of style and messaging. 

Raise profits 

Appealing to a new audience can be a great way to increase prices. Many brands can become stuck marketing to an audience who is price sensitive, making it hard to raise prices when expenses increase. By changing the market you are targeting with your branding you can make changes to your product that will help your business while avoiding the expectations of your previous brand. 

A great example is Lego who has in recent years expanded its reach to older generations through rebranding itself to appeal to older consumers who will spend more on premium products. By working with brands with an older fan base, like Friends and Big Bang Theory,  who will spend more, Lego has been able to reach an older audience who will spend more while also keeping its sets who appeal to younger generations. 

Changes Perception

A rebrand is one of the best ways to change your customers’ perception of your brand and the products and services you offer. After many years of reinforcing your brand’s image to be seen a certain way it becomes hard to successfully implement changes without backlash. Once your audience becomes familiar with your brand and its expectations it’s hard to change how your business works without changing the image around your brand.

Expanding into Markets 

Rebranding is a great way to change your audience’s expectations of your brand. If you want to expand your business model into a new more profitable industry. Many companies want to expand into new markets or industries that are growing but can’t with their current brand identity, which is why rebranding is great for changing what your target market expects from you.

Distancing from Negative PR

Rebranding can also change the perception of your brand if it has seen a lot of negative press. Giving your whole brand a new image can distance it from previous negative attention and provide a route to grow an audience who perceives the company the way you want. Such as the Facebook rebrand to Meta which served to distance the company from negative PR it was receiving, as well as pivoting itself into a hot new expanding industry. 

Cons of rebranding:

Losing Brand identity

If a rebrand is implemented poorly it can lead to mass confusion from your core audience. In cases of extreme rebrands where the name and imagery of the brand is done without any marketing or press it can lead to many consumers in the dark. 

Losing all brand identity can be a negative when you go from an identifiable brand to something unfamiliar. Popular and familiar brands can have an inherent value and worth of their own making it harder to rebrand. In cases like this it is important to not lose that name value when rebranding and taking the consumers 

Negative reaction

Rebrands without a sense of purpose or goal can oftentimes receive negative backlash. When a brand builds a dedicated audience it also gives a promise to that audience and when that is changed consumers can feel betrayed. Bad rebranding can feel like it is going against everything a brand used to stay for and cause your target audience to seek alternatives. The most notorious example of this is New Coke, when Coke changed both the branding and the recipe of the original everyone loved. This created large disapproval and backlash forcing the original to come back years later.

This is why extensive research into your target audience is necessary in every rebrand to test the feelings of who you are trying to reach. A rebrand should amplify your brand in the eyes of consumers while staying true to what they want. A poorly developed rebrand can lead to a decrease in sales as your brand loses what made it popular to begin with.

Increase in Marketing Budget:

Effective rebranding efforts usually bring a hefty price tag with them. In many cases it’s essential to have a marketing push or risk leaving consumers without the knowledge of the change. Many rebrands require months of resources and planning to implement as well as lead ups to the actual day itself. Many of these marketing campaigns need to be simple and coherent using the new brand identity while making it clear the brand is switching to the new brand image. These kinds of marketing campaigns can require a lot of resources and lead to losses when compared to the revenue increase your company sees. 

In conclusion, rebranding can be a smart and powerful marketing tool when used properly. However there are many significant risks to keep in mind when implementing a rebrand, questioning in many cases if a rebrand is the best idea. Want to rebrand or change your company’s image? Our marketing experts at Raze media have all the helpful insight to help manage your brand’s image. Contact our team today and see what we can do for you!