Is it time to hit refresh?

Things are constantly changing. Just look at some of the big movies coming out soon: Star Wars, The Lion King, Aladdin… Okay, well some things change. And it’s important that your brand keeps up with the times with an occasional brand refresh.
Think of a brand refresh as being a little bit like renovating your home. It can keep your brand feeling modern and add to its value.
So, how do you know when it’s time to refresh your brand?
1. Your branding has become outdated
Styles come and go. Simplified logos, often without the wordmark, have been a recent trend, in part driven by the need for logos to be easily recognisable in smaller formats on smartphones and tablets. Just imagine how some brands would look today if they didn’t do the occasional refresh.

2. Your branding no longer reflects the core audience
Similarly, sometimes your branding no longer reflects your core target audience. In these cases, it’s important you refresh the brand so that it remains relevant.
3. Your brand is going through change
Sometimes a brand refresh can coincide with some other significant change your business is going through. Perhaps it’s a new look to coincide with an important brand anniversary or maybe you’re expanding or altering your offering and need the new branding to reflect this. One recent example was Dunkin’ Donuts dropping the ‘Donuts’ from their logo and name to reflect their increased focus on premium coffee over donuts.
Choosing what to keep and what to lose
If you’ve done your job well, your audience will have a strong connection to your brand. With that in mind, it’s important to not lose the branding elements that resonate most strongly with your audience. For example, while Google has changed its logo several times over the years, it’s always kept the quirky, colourful lettering.
Remember, you can never please everyone
When you do refresh your brand, be prepared for some negative feedback. Not everyone likes change and many customers may be annoyed at first (only to then be upset again years later when you do another brand refresh). Sometimes simply being able to explain the reason for the change can make all the difference. Recently, Slack refreshed their brand and while the initial reaction was largely negative, once people read the reasoning behind the changes, many did soften their opinion.
If you’re thinking of refreshing your brand, we’d love the chance to chat.

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