Branding works, until it doesn't. But how do you know whether or not it's time to revisit your brand strategy? Today, we'll talk with Christina Tucker about the right time - and the right way - to embark on a rebrand.
We'll talk about:
And so much more!
Want to see an example of a rebrand?
See how we helped Augusta University through a recent rebrand.
Branding works, until it doesn't. But how do you know whether or not it's time to revisit your brand strategy? Today, we'll talk with Christina Tucker about the right time - and the right way - to embark on a rebrand.
We'll talk about:
And so much more!
Want to see an example of a rebrand?
See how we helped Augusta University through a recent rebrand.
[00:00:01.100] - Jackie
Hey there and welcome to another episode of the Weird, Smart podcast. Today is a day of introspection, folks. We're talking about brands. If you're brand stability episode left, you feeling a little shaky. Have no fear. Christina Tucker is here. Christina is the group director here at where Stewart. She's been in the biz for a long, long time. If anyone can help us learn when it's time to rebrand, it's going to be her. Christina, thank you for joining us today.
[00:00:28.330] - Christina
Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
[00:00:30.700] - Jackie
I'm excited to have you here. I've been looking forward to this interview because I miss hanging out with you. I appreciate it. All right. Let's get into it. Programs don't just happen, Christina. There is a progression that takes place before that decision is made. What do you think is the first sign that a rebrand is coming for a business?
[00:00:52.940] - Christina
It can really depend, you know, there are times where leadership is changing at an organization, they want a fresh slate in terms of what's happening with the business, from a marketing standpoint, environmental things, political things, all can influence a business to rebrand. So it really kind of depends on the history of the company, what's happening around in the world. They can all inspire change.
[00:01:24.500] - Jackie
Yeah, that's a really good point, because it's not always an internal thing. It's you have to if you want your brand to survive, sometimes you have to go along with the change at the times. Do you think the idea of rebranding scares businesses?
[00:01:40.250] - Christina
I mean, change is scary, risk is scary. Those are two things that are associated with the brand. So absolutely it is scary, but a lot of the times a rebrand ends up and in a positive outcome. And so it's worth the risk and it's worth the change and kind of mixing things up for your organization.
[00:02:04.880] - Jackie
Yeah, definitely. What do you think is maybe the scariest part of rebranding, like maybe just at the beginning of it or putting it out there?
[00:02:14.840] - Christina
I'd have to say probably just potentially losing who you are as an organization, especially if it's a company that's had a lot of equity and who they are as a business and the name and kind of identity that they've created for themselves over the years. So switching up something like that is a huge undertaking and can really be scary that you're going to lose kind of a sense of who you are, but you're trying to adapt and be with the times. And so that can be pretty scary for companies.
[00:02:47.000] - Jackie
You know, I never thought of it at such a personal level that you may feel like you're losing who you are if you if you change your brand. And that's not always true. When I was when I was freelancing, I just when we would have these conversations, we would always talk about, like, polarizing content. And it's never something just to, you know, upset an audience or customers or anything like that. It's, you know, standing firmer and firmer in your values and who you are and what your brand stands for.
[00:03:18.080] - Christina
And I feel like with brands, that's kind of the move that you you push your business into. It's just standing firm and firm in the values and missions that you want to represent and how you want to be represented in the future 100 percent.
[00:03:32.570] - Christina
You know, it's it's evolving to meet the needs of, you know, what you're trying to accomplish as a business and the market. So it certainly is kind of standing behind what you believe in. But but adapting and evolving at the same time.
[00:03:48.590] - Jackie
Yeah, exactly. Um, do you think before the decision for a rebrand comes about, are there any internal fixes that businesses should try before going down that road?
[00:04:02.420] - Christina
I don't know if I would exactly call it as fixes, but I would say that, you know, every organization that's considering a rebrand really needs to kind of study what's going on as their business overall. You know, make sure that they have the data and kind of the rationale, you know, to support why they're making this change or exploring this change, listening to their employees, listening to the key stakeholders of their business are all just very important aspects that most organizations should consider before they go into a rebrand.
[00:04:40.310] - Christina
You want to kind of have all your ducks in a row, all the reasons why this makes sense for your organization and then kind of take that leap to start the rebrand process.
[00:04:51.350] - Jackie
Yeah, because a rebrand is a really big step. It's a big move to make. But like you said earlier, it could be the right move. OK, so let's just say. As an example for a business, the decision's been made to do a rebrand, what can a business do to prepare their business for the rebrand?
[00:05:15.310] - Christina
So you're going to want to meet with different groups, depending on the organization type, you know, many different management levels to kind of get an understanding of what they feel like the business stands for any opinions that they might have. What are they currently love? What are they currently hope for in this new brand? Get some feedback. You want to take that feedback into the strategy that you have in regards to branding. And it will help inform your agency partners, your leadership team, with some key insights that could really help inspire kind of the overall look and brand that you're going for.
[00:05:57.160] - Christina
You know, just any other type of research, getting an understanding from your audiences, what are the pain points that you all have and kind of seeing the things that they love about your brand so that as you're developing a new brand, you can really make sure that the things that are qualities your customers love are still there in some way and form, shape and form. And and then from there, you know, kind of take anything that's an opportunity for improvement and kind of hit those head on in terms of what you're going to do from a brand standpoint.
[00:06:32.650] - Jackie
I love that advice. It's very it's very pointed advice. You know, that high level. Yes. Well done. OK, so when it comes to the rebrand, who are the key players needed internally to make it a success, do you think?
[00:06:52.400] - Christina
Certainly if you have a marketing team or a marketing director, that person really should be involved leading the charge for this. If you don't have a marketing director or marketing team, that's OK. Not everybody has to have one, but it's certainly helpful, especially when you're working with an agency to kind of have somebody that has expertize in that line of business. I would also say that you want to have a nice mix of employees, both from a leadership management and kind of customer service level.
[00:07:26.150] - Christina
Obviously, it depends on the type of organization you have, the size of your business. But involving people at all levels is key because you get a true understanding of all the aspects of your business from the top down. This is really helpful to make sure that you're reaching your audiences in the right way once you've developed kind of this new brand refresh.
[00:07:48.440] - Jackie
I'm going to go a little off script. OK, can you think of an example of a brand out there that did a rebrand really well? Locally, nationally, ever in history.
[00:08:02.520] - Christina
Hmmm, let's see, really caught me off guard there.
[00:08:06.780] - Jackie
I know I'm I'm such a planner.
[00:08:09.720] - Christina
I don't let my research. Let's see.
[00:08:23.660] - Jackie
It's OK. The only one I could think of was Riverside. I didn't know if we could say that.
[00:08:30.980] - Christina
But I don't know. Well, if it comes back to me, I might interrupt you and say I've thought of that brand.
[00:08:36.800] - Jackie
OK, that sounds good. OK, all right. Is there anything the brand can do to prepare their customers or their audience?
[00:08:48.740] - Christina
I have thought I have thought of a brand that I think did a really great job in terms of involving themselves, and that would definitely be, I guess, university.
[00:09:02.750] - Jackie
Oh, yeah.
[00:09:04.400] - Christina
You know, they changed names multiple times. They had a little bit of an identity crisis for some years. And still, you know, that was a big challenge because people didn't know in the Augusta market. Did you go to Augusta College? Did you go to Augusta State was at Georgia Regents. And so I think they really did an amazing job in evolving what their brand story was. It's still, you know, and coming up with what their new visual identity was going to be, it really represented the university and what it stood for for all the years that it's been open and kind of united.
[00:09:43.800] - Christina
Not only all of the schools and colleges involved with the university, but just also the community, I think they did a really great job in taking their brand to the next level. And it's you know, the new brand is something that I can see lasting for a very, very long time.
[00:10:00.030] - Jackie
What are some of the things about that rebrand that you think are going to make it last?
[00:10:06.010] - Christina
I think the classiness and the kind of clean look and feel of the visual identity itself really makes it stand time. It's it's timeless, honestly. It doesn't it's not something that can be dated. It has key elements that represent the university, but also just keep feels modern enough to where, you know, you wouldn't look back at it 10 years from now and say, well, that needs a little bit of work. It's something that can stand the test of time.
[00:10:38.470] - Christina
I also think, you know, they're brand colors are strong. They're they stand out in a positive way. They have some great accent colors that really help important messages pop when needed. But they're kind of primary colors really are established and make them feel like a very, you know, reputable university to attend.
[00:11:05.050] - Jackie
That's awesome. And I have seen it. I wasn't here for the rebrand, but it looks really clean. So what is a piece of advice you would give an organization when they're working with an agency on their rebrand?
[00:11:20.920] - Christina
Be honest, an agency wants to hear the good, the bad, the ugly about your brand, any pain points that you have, any obstacles that you guys face as an organization. Also, be honest about the things that you really love or that you might be nervous about in regards to your brand. But it's not something that you want to lose. Being honest is the best because it just helps inspire the best work. So I think just kind of having that open line of communication with your agency about everything, whether it's creative or just the challenges that you guys face as a business, is so important in any agency client relationship, especially with the brand, because it involves you know, it's it's a very personal thing for a business to rebrand.
[00:12:14.350] - Christina
And the more you let your agency in, the better work that you're going to get out of it.
[00:12:20.170] - Jackie
That answer, thanks, I've got one more question for you. OK, how can a business tell if a rebrand worked feel like that's the big question?
[00:12:31.270] - Christina
That is a big question. And I think, again, there's quite a few different ways that you can answer that question. It kind of depends on what you're trying to accomplish with the rebrand. If you're trying to reach certain numbers, you know, whether it's gaining new customers or, you know, just something seeing more purchases happen. You know, you're going to see that obviously by the numbers. If it's more about just kind of reintroducing yourself to the different markets that you might care more about just having that positive word of mouth or getting some press coverage over it.
[00:13:11.110] - Christina
Basically, if you see upticks in a positive way, you know, you can tell that it worked and it really just depends on the goals that you're trying to accomplish. I think you kind of want a mix of all those things, you know, to really feel good about a rebrand. But obviously, when you define what you're trying to accomplish out of this and you start to see those results happening, you know, it's worked.
[00:13:36.290] - Jackie
Christina, I know you're the right person to ask to the show today. Thank you for coming on.
[00:13:42.160] - Christina
You're very kind, I'm happy to be here.
[00:13:45.340] - Jackie
All right. For everyone who's listening. Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you want to see a little bit more about Augusta University's rebrand, I've attached a link below in the description here. That's all from us today. I hope you join us next time. See you later.