When to refresh your brand?

We partner with companies to build a brand that breaks barriers and helps you achieve your business goals. Often, a refresh is necessary because of internal or external forces: a company outgrows its brand identity, or perhaps it doesn’t match its culture or communicate its focus as it has evolved over the years. In these cases, we come in with a scalpel, not a wrecking ball.

Here are three situations when you might consider a brand refresh and examples to illustrate what it could look like.

Culture change

We often work with new clients when there is a misalignment between brand and culture. Your outsides don’t match your insides. This might occur with new leadership, new team members, a change in values, or overall growth. Either way, a significant culture change calls for a brand change.

This was the case for our client Sensiba, an accounting and business advisory firm. As a B Corp, they focus a lot on culture. They needed an updated brand identity — visual and verbal — that aligned with their human-first approach.

Business change

A second reason your company might consider the need to make a brand tweak is because your business has changed. You could be acquiring a new company, launching a new product or service, or repositioning yourself in the market because of competition or growth opportunities.

Business changes create unique brand architecture issues bigger than your logo. This was the case for one of our clients, Fooji. We developed an intentional naming system that allowed them to launch new product offerings and expand their business. A brand refresh can help you get organized amongst these changes.

Time change

Time is relentless and dates us all. If your visual identity was created more than ten years ago, it likely wasn't designed to meet the demands of our current world. A logo must be scalable. Brand language must sound human and authentic. These weren't always the rules, but they are now.

We recently partnered with Peoples Exchange Bank on a refresh to update their recognizable brand identity. They needed to look and sound professional but current. They wanted to differentiate from their competitors without alienating their longstanding clients. We helped them achieve those goals.

If you are successful for long enough, a refresh is likely coming. Recognizing any of the above instances of change is a good place to start. We love helping organizations think through important decisions like this one. Let's talk if you are considering a change.