Feeling it’s time for a brand update? Branding is not an evergreen game. It needs to be consistently maintained and updated. Over time, it may be in need of an upgrade. Our go-to solution: work with a creative branding agency, who has a stable of specialists in this precise area.

Creative branding agencies collaborate with clients to modernize the brand. Before taking the step of hiring an agency, it’s smart to clear on the ask.

This is a guide for marketers who feel their brand needs a refresh and are unsure where to start.

First things first, be clear on whether your brand is in need of a brand refresh or a rebrand.

Reinvigorating the tone and presentation of the brand’s overall style will bring fresh recognition. A brand refresh maintains a visual connection to how the brand identity was seen before.

When Eaze came to us they were solidly positioned within a very specific target constituency and had a certain look and feel that spoke to that segment. In many states, cannabis became regulated. Women made up barely any share of heart, mind or wallet. Based on the brand offering – cannabis on demand – women had a specific perception that was not leading to sales. Eaze wanted to keep the core look and offering intact, however, they were looking to speak, attract and capture this group’s disposable income and turn into a noticeable item on the P/L.

Our first step was to clearly define the strategic initiative and determine how to connect with this audience. Once we knew how we wanted to position the brand and speak to them – awareness → education → trial → purchase – we dove into the look, feel, tone and messaging. Instead of overhauling the brand, our method of refreshing was to create a brand within a brand that maintained their overall offering, tone, look and feel. MKMCreative took the core of the brand and translated it into something that would resonate with a female constituency by bringing in design elements, a color palette and moniker that resonated with the target.

Once rolled out, the curated collection of products wrapped in revitalized creative exceeded goals of targeted sales, expectations and most importantly cultivated a community of informed, satisfied viral advocates who quickly surpassed other segments as far as repeat purchase and word of mouth recommendations.

As far as commoditized brands go, Capital One is a great example of infusing freshness into a brand. Around 2012 when they purchased another bank – this industry is known for gobbling up each other and merging – Capital One took over the previous owner’s cafe format and modernized, a concept not generally synonymous with this goliath, institutionalized industry. One doesn’t need to be a Capital One customer to relax, work, plug-in or purchase something from Peet’s, their partner on this venture. Should one be an account holder or have a question or an item to sort, the cafe is always staffed with a Capital one representative to serve as a guide. The spaces have a nice vibe and intentionally used language, tone, messaging and creative that feels relevant.

In a rebrand, everything is up for change, including name, logo, brand value, promise, proposition, hierarchy of messaging and tone. Even product, service and offerings can be reimagined. Brands are best served by setting guardrails of what is in and out of bounds.

Remember when Lyft had a pink fuzzy mustache – attached to drivers’ cars and the jam was to fistbump, sit in the front seat and be chatty – we know, right?!

After catching on organically in their hometown of San Francisco, where they incubated, they wanted to thoughtfully and intentionally launch nationwide. MKMCreative was tapped as a key collaborator and partner in the process to reevaluate and rebrand. After deep research and discovery, the decision was made to keep the name and the well-known magenta color with a serious, stylish upgrade to the stache – while everything else headed for an reinvisioned upgrade.

The core of brand promise and value proposition around community was updated along with how that translated. Fistbumps, sitting up front and required conversation were no longer. Passengers could choose their own adventure just like the unveiled tagline said, driving you happy. How happiness was defined was now up to the consumer, not the brand.

After determining if you need a refresh or rebrand, a roadmap to achieve goals is required — MKMCreative’s preferred term is a creative brief. Creative briefs are documents that summarize brand objectives and the corresponding plan to achieve.

Creative briefs don’t need meticulous descriptions of every step the branding project needs – that’s where hiring an expert creative branding agency comes in – directional documentation ensures alignment and clarity and scope of the ask:

Creative briefs are critical throughout the process and provide a roadmap to success.

Meticulously following a creative brief is a process-based approach as opposed to a list of aspirations.

For example, if a brand simply wants to look more relevant, it might accidentally sacrifice what its current customer base loves about it. Understanding key current and aspirational constituencies is critical in both the rebrand or refresh process. With a creative brief in hand, brands are able to stay true to their main tenants while still providing a fresh face. Creative briefs set guardrails to ensure alignment between the creative branding agency and the client, giving the project a much clearer path to success.

Having a budget in mind before approaching an agency is vital. MKMCreative goes to proposal when a budget number is forthcoming. Funded programs have a number attached, if one is not provided, we consider the initiative to be in the conceptual phase and do not move to pitch or proposal. Determining budget parameters is key to the program and instantly aligns the brand and the agency and indicates if there is the potential for a partnership. Understanding budget in the development phase of the plan, enables the agency to best allocate team resources and funds over the course of the engagement to make the most out of the clients’ allotted funds.

One of the key components of building a creative brief is a description of the target audience and competitive landscape. It’s a simple and succinct version of a much longer and more thorough process known as brand discovery.

Without understanding current business, perceptions in the market, etc., it is impossible to know how to design an accurate roadmap for a new vision. Without discovery, the brand is simply re-built in the likeness of those who are already shaping it. Creative branding agencies do the heavy lifting in conducting this research.

What sounds like a daunting case of analysis paralysis is simply allocating the appropriate time required to learn about the brand’s target, like-minded and adjacent industries along with the competitive set. Once the proper due diligence is spent here, the agency is in a solid position to build an effective roadmap to success.

At present we’re in the midst of a rebrand. Initially, they came to us and said everything is on the table for change with the exception of the name. As we began discovery and kicked off conducting stakeholder interviews, almost everyone had nothing favorable to say about the brand’s name.

Our conclusion to date is that the name isn’t the issue, yet it is bearing the burden of the brand having little recognition and zilch credibility. Once we started to conduct discovery among their customer constituency, none of them had much to say about the name in either direction.

They thought it was ‘fine’ and really couldn’t be bothered in that they had wants and needs for other high priorities to be evaluated and revisited so they had a more seamless, highly functioning process and product. We imagine you can guess the moral of the story. In this instance as in many, it’s way less of a burden and more cost effective to conduct discovery then it is to simply guess what the target and end user desire. A lot of money was saved in not changing the name. Once a brand’s proposition, attributes, look, feel, tone, hierarchy of messaging is overhauled, the name will sit among them as a part of the overarching package and will no longer stand out as to why the brand isn’t where they want to be due to the name. It will be a well-thought collection of pieces and parts that are cohesive and sit together in harmony, while most importantly delivering on its newly defined promise and proposition.

The best part, business practices will be informed on how to best serve the target based on the brand’s goals and what the end consumer is seeking. The more that is known about who is being sold to and the general brandscape, the better position the brand will be in to speak to the target in the way they want to fulfill its promise and thrive.

While agencies do the heavy lifting, a branding project is a collaborative process. It’s a true partnership with each respective group responsible for sharing information and taking on action items. We think of it as the ultimate synchronized swimmer Olympic-style routine. One person, either agency or client-side, puts something out there, then somebody builds upon it to refine it and another person and perspective continues to enhance. The best results occur when both parties are invested, same as any other type of relationship.

We always announce post formal engagement, that we are no longer MKMCreative and the Client X, we are now Team Rebrand/Team Refresh. Seeing yourself as one unit to achieve and flourish might sound woo to some, to us it’s the sound way to success.

Agencies are the marketing experts, but nobody knows the brand like the people who tend to and care for it day in and day out. A big reveal near the end of the project is on track to backfire if the client doesn’t like the central idea. A collaborative process throughout ensures that the end product is deemed a success by all.

Creative branding agencies’ role is to facilitate designing the best future of the brand, then bring the vision to reality. In order for that to be successful, it’s important that both sides stay up-to-date and involved regularly. Rebrand, refresh, live activation, virtual show, experiential live activation…ready to start the process of working with an expert agency? MKMCreative has you covered.

Contact us.