Remodeling Your Brand for a Big Anniversary

Let’s be blunt. Your firm needs a makeover before the big anniversary year that’s coming up.

Your company does great work, but the last time you had a brand refresh, flip phones were still a thing.

You’ve been busy building your company, and as you contemplate the upcoming anniversary, you can see that the brand has become a bit messy around the edges. Parts are outdated, some things are inconsistent, and quite a few things need to be updated. You want to clean this all up before the big year of your anniversary. 

You are not alone; business anniversaries are a top reason firms rebrand. Anniversary years are a great time to grab attention and create marketing events to shout about. 

If you’re hitting 10, 25, 50, or hell – even 100 years in business, it is time to evaluate and see if it’s time to refresh or remodel your brand.

A tweak here, some new messaging there, and a visual upgrade could be all you need to feel ready for your anniversary year. This is referred to as a brand refresh.

Or it could be time to go deeper and reexamine your brand from the customer’s perspective and recreate your brand foundation from the bottom up.

Let’s take a look at what a brand remodel is and how you can bring your business into the present with a new look – just in time for your anniversary.

First up: What is a brand remodel?

We covered everything there is to know about brand rebrands in our blog about rebranding over here, but I'll quickly go through the basics here.

A brand remodel is a process you undertake when you have either outgrown or outlived your current brand. During a brand remodel, you'll rethink and reformulate your brand's foundation and the strategy that supports your sales and marketing efforts.

Brand remodeling is not a surface task – just like repainting your front door is not remodeling your home.

Brand remodeling is about taking the opportunity to evaluate, research, rethink, and revitalize the foundation of who you are as a business and how you market your company.

It is about finding and promoting your advantage in the market and rebuilding your brand foundation to support your marketing strategy.

If you've been in business for over a decade, you've probably outlived your current brand.

With a remodel, you want to rethink and reformulate what makes up the foundation of your brand. It's time to take the strategy that supports your sales and marketing efforts and create something new, something more modern and up to date with your industry's current flow.

It's like buying a pair of sneakers when you were ten years old and wearing them still when you're in your thirties. Not only are they too small for you, but they're probably not so stylish anymore.

It's important to stay up with the evolution of your business AND the evolution of your industry. You don't want your audience thinking you're stuck in the past, do you?

It's time to say goodbye, old sneakers, hello, comfortable, stylish new pair of shoes. Or, in other words, get yourself some nice new branding.

Should I remodel my brand for an upcoming company anniversary?

The process of rebranding can help you see your business from a whole new angle. It helps you figure out new and exciting things about your business and show you your work in a new light.

Remodeling your brand can help you realign your team and focus them on the right path towards what your target market wants and needs.

Celebrating milestones is definitely important, and plenty of companies have celebrated important anniversaries by updating their brand and seen improvements in their marketing and sales efforts.

Let's take Starbucks as an example. After decades of pretty much complete industry domination in the coffee world, they remodeled their logo and look for their 40th anniversary – and people loved it.

Starbucks is a huge corporation that is globally recognized – but the principle is still the same for smaller companies. A big anniversary is an excellent opportunity to create something new for your company. It can help you think about the relevancy of your branding. Is it outdated? Does it match your current values? Is it reaching the right audience?

If you think a change is in order, we can help you navigate this process to revitalize your brand.

How do I remodel my brand for my company’s anniversary?

We're not going to sugarcoat it – remodeling your brand will be hard work.

You might uncover some uncomfortable truths about the public's perception of your company – or you might find staff and the C-suite don't exactly share the same views on what good customer service looks like.

That being said, a brand remodel is worth the hours you'll put in. It can bring your company up to today's standards in both design and technology use, ultimately helping you continue to grow in the future.

With this in mind, let's take a look at a bird's eye view of the steps involved during a successful brand remodel.

The 6 steps for a successful brand remodel

Every business is unique, but there are generally 6 steps to remodeling a business for a big anniversary.

1. Identify why you're thinking of remodeling your brand

Ok, so we already know you're thinking of remodeling for your anniversary – but underneath that, what's going on?

Are you trying to fit into a new niche? Are you looking to bring your brand into the 21st century? Has your business pivoted and it is time to realign your brand and its messaging?

Consider doing a SWOT analysis for your brand – it'll help you analyze your brand and help you figure out what you want to address in your remodel.

2. Set clear goals

What are you trying to achieve? How will success be measured? 

After you figure out everything that needs to be updated with your brand, it's time to set out your business goals. 

These goals should be clear and attainable. Creating unrealistic goals for your business will only hold you back, so make sure you set realistic business, awareness, and efficiency goals for your company. 

3. Do internal and external market research

Evaluate your products and services against your target audience's wants and desires. What does your firm stand for or against?

Does your brand meet the modern expectations of the current market?

It's time to do some market research to help build a new and stronger brand for your business. Without market research, you'll just be guessing and using your own judgment.

If you study the current market carefully, you'll be able to identify who your competitors are, how they got to where they are, and how you can do better.

4. Define your brand's new, updated identity

A brand identity is both the visual and verbal identity that represents your company. It includes a bunch of different elements, including:

• Brand differentiation
• Brand positioning
• Brand messaging
• Brand visual identity

While we've put your brand identity into four bullet points, you read in like three seconds. The reality is those four bullet points will take weeks to define, create, and refine to be ready for your brand launch.

5. Apply your brand personality to everything 

Now that your remodel is planned out and organized, it's time to apply it to every inch of your business. You can't just apply this remodel to your website or your social media accounts. A successful brand is consistent. Make sure to implement it through every aspect of your business.

6. Launch and promote

Woo! The hard work is done, right? Well, the brain work is done, now it's time to promote the hell out of the awesomeness that came out of all that hard work.

It's time to launch your new remodeled brand and get the party started.

Before the big reveal, it's a good idea to start hyping up your changes. Focus on the benefits to your clients and your employees – they're the ones your brand remodel will affect every day.

Inform your audience that something big is happening for your anniversary. This will help all your loyal customers be prepared for the new change – and reduce as much friction as possible after the new branding roll-out.

See this infographic to get a birds-eye-view of what a brand foundation is and where it fits in your business.

Here at Branding & Beyond, we'll help you define your brand personality and build out a solid foundation that will make your sales and marketing more effective. Our Brand Foundation Program is a combination of done-with-you and done-for-you services to achieve your revitalized brand foundation.

We don't fabricate brands but find what already exists within a company and mold it into a beautiful verbal and visual identity.

If you're looking to remodel your brand before a big anniversary, then we have a proven process to find and define your brand. We can help you create a solid brand foundation that actually delivers.

Build your brand foundation today, and get in touch.