Rebranding success—3 marketing makeover strategies for CMOs

For chief marketing officers and other marketing leaders, rebranding a company can be a thankless job. There's so much that can go wrong. And the chances are that any big problems caused by the rebrand will reflect on you. Some marketers who are all about the creative process have a field day with rebranding, of course. They get to brainstorm, try out all kinds of ideas and have fun with the journey. But when you’re in charge of marketing and held accountable for growth metrics, you have to worry about revenue as well. And in the months following a rebrand, any drops in the bottom line can easily be written off as your fault. So when I joined my new employer two years ago and learned about the possibility that we would be rebranding, I can’t say excitement was the first emotion I felt. Change is hard. A lot can go wrong. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs We’re now on the other side of it and certain some of these steps we followed along the way paid off. If your company is considering a rebrand, take heed. These steps could help save you a lot of headaches—and save you your job. Clarify your decision-making power From the beginning, get clarity on a crucial question: How much decision-making power do you have? Generally, CEOs are very hands-on with rebranding. And founder CEOs even more so. So, when the boss gives feedback on something in the process, ask: Is that a directive or a suggestion? Have an open conversation early on in the process. I discussed that with my CEO, and often repeated the question along the way. Ultimately, it’s your job to make the best recommendations you can based on your domain expertise as a marketer. Be unafraid to speak up and disagree if you think the boss is going down the wrong path. Explain, respectfully, why you think your strategy is better. It can involve simple tweaks like a new color palette or fundamental questions like a new name for the business. And if a directive is given that you disagree with—you’ve got to commit to it as if it was your decision. Doing this makes the process truly collaborative. In my case, some of my recommendations won out. At other times, I was able to embrace some of the suggestions coming from my CEO and other leaders. It was up to me to meld all those decisions together into a unified whole. Underpromise and overdeliver People by nature resist change. This is certainly the case for brands they love. We all know what it’s like to see a company suddenly switch up its logo, for example. We often dislike it at first but grow used to it in no time and forget about the old one. Plan around this, understanding the psychology. I worked to help my team, as well as the executives and our board, understand that no rebrand is ever seen externally in a positive light immediately. Even the rebrands of companies like Airbnb, a current success story, were originally laughed at. By setting expectations low about how our rebrand would be perceived, I lowered expectations. When things ultimately proved relatively smooth, it felt like a big relief. Ad Age Agency Report 2024 Revenue and analysis for agency companies Click here Handhold your customers Some companies choose to suddenly announce a brand change with no warning. It’s a “flick the switch” method. There may be times and types of rebranding in which that works fine. But for a full-on renaming of the company and everything that goes with it, we chose a different path. We informed our stakeholders in advance, held individual meetings with clients and discussed the reasons for the change. We vowed to help them with any challenges they’d face. We then announced the rebrand publicly a month before it even went through, giving everyone a chance to prepare and get used to the idea. In hindsight, and based on feedback we have received, I know that giving some of our larger clients and partners even more time would have been helpful. Next time, I would want to speak with even more customers earlier on in the process and ensure that they have everything they need to make the rebranding work for them. Sure, there continue to be some new tasks and minor pain points to solve, such as how to handle digital ad tracking. No rebrand is without any hiccups. But all in all, this system works. I’m able to feel great about the process, and proud of the work we did. And I still have my job. Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards Enter today as we honor the best in healthcare marketing Learn more here

Rebranding success—3 marketing makeover strategies for CMOs

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