How Can You Rejuvenate an Outdated Brand?

I was asked this by CMO Times and they published my suggestion as follows:?

Conduct Market Research

One tactic I’ve used successfully to update a brand is market research. This type of work is often ignored, but is key to understanding two important factors:

1)??? What’s the issue with the current brand, and why is it perceived as outdated or irrelevant?

2)??? What would customers or buyers want in a rejuvenated brand?

Understanding both how past customers were lost, and what potential new customers want, is key to moving forward. With that knowledge, a new brand and brand strategy can b created that is diametrically opposed to the old one. (In particular, it’s critical that the new brand address how it had been perceived and to highlight how it is different now.)w past customers were lost, and what potential new customers want, is key to moving forward. With that knowledge, a new brand and brand strategy can b created that is diametrically opposed to the old one. (In particular, it’s critical that the new brand address how it had been perceived and to highlight how it is different now.)

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Examples

The best way to talk about how to do this is to give a couple of examples. First, I’ll give you two examples of larger organizations, and then an example of what I’ve done.

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IBM

If ever there was an image that needed an update, it’s IBM’s. Perhaps because it’s been around since the early 1900s, the name IBM came to the forefront of business with the invention of the first personal computer (PC) in 1981. For years, it was synonymous with successful Fortune 500 companies.

But with the changes in computers and the internet, the company shifted its focus from the hardware world to the consulting world (selling its personal computing division to Lenovo in 2005).

So while IBM hasn’t changed its corporate logo in the past 20 years, it has changed the name of its operations for clarity. In 2021, the name of their Global Business Division changed to what it really does : IBM Consulting.

In their coverage of this, Horses for Sources points out the branding advantages of this name change:

• It made it more clear exactly what they do
• It positioned them more competitively against Accenture and Deloitte, their biggest competitors
• It simplified their organizational structure? ?
• It helped with talent acquisition ?
• It helped IBM’s value, as they’ve moved away from their product revenues to professional services revenues.???????????????????

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Hubspot

Hubspot is a B2B data management platform that was founded in 2006 and its brand has been evolving over the past 18 years, running as fast as possible to keep up with the rapid changes in the digital marketing industry.

What does it do? Hubspot tracks marketing campaigns for marketers, so they can see what marketing is successful and generates business and leads. And it also collects customer data so it’s great for B2B sales.?

If you read their history, the company was founded to help companies shift from “outbound” marketing (think emails and other outreach) to “inbound” marketing (attracting visitors to their websites). Hubspot grew to $15M in sales until it shifted its focus to education in 2012. ?

They did two things: first, they launched their Hubspot Academy, offering valuable information and insights to digital marketers. (In 2019, they did a major rebrand to improve navigation on the site, to personalize user experiences, to provide content filters to make finding information easier, and a UI design to enhance the overall experience. https://www.hubspot.com/company-news/hubspot-academy-launches-redesigned-website )

In the same year, they launched their signature event, now called Inbound. This is one of the largest and most successful annual marketing events, attracting thousands of marketers. ?Hubspot’s brand shift, from marketing themselves to educating marketers (through their academy and their conference), and then focusing on enterprise users (and less on small businesses, as they did at the beginning) has made them the juggernaut they are today.

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TWST Events

As I’ve noted in a Success Story on my Two Beagles Marketing website, I've had the priviledge of working with a 20-year-old brand in event technology that focuses predominantly in the financial services sector. Their branding had a look and feel from 20 years ago, which wasn’t helping it to attract younger users who are used to refreshed looks every few years.

In addition, the company had three product offering categories and three websites, but not one over-arching brand. This made it difficult to cross-sell their services, and to generate awareness for their clients that they had capabilities well beyond what many of them were seeing.?

The answer was and new brand, created from scratch. The goal was to:

• Unify all three product category offerings
• Appeal to younger buyers in the financial B2B industry
• Generate valuable leads online (inbound leads, as noted above)

The rebranding was a resounding success, as the company went from not getting any inbound leads to now getting 5 – 10 valuable leads per month.

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Do you have a rebranding story?

I’m always looking for new stories, so pleas share yours. Or, if you’re thinking of a rebranding, let’s talk.