Rebranding During a Recession
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Posted On :
Sep-09-2010
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Article Word Count :
526
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If you have a working business, you already have a brand, and if you were making money before the recession, it was an effective brand. Although it's hard to see the forest for the trees right now, this is the time to make hard decisions about what your business is and how you want it to be perceived.
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Now's the Perfect Time
We live in a time of economic uncertainty. Customers are distracted and unsure of themselves. As a result, their brand loyalties are broken. What they want is certainty and continuity. If you keep these concepts in mind, now's the time to rebrand your business. It’s a no-lose situation: your past customers will be impressed you've improved and reward you by returning; new customers will be attracted by your clarity and boldness.
You Already Have a Brand
If you have a working business, you already have a brand, and if you were making money before the recession, it was an effective brand. Although it's hard to see the forest for the trees right now, this is the time to make hard decisions about what your business is and how you want it to be perceived. What do you do? Why do people buy from you? Well thought through conclusions will help you reinvigorate your business and find success.
Clarify and Simplify
Rebranding your business doesn't have to be a complete design overhaul. It involves doing fundamental things you should be doing anyway. Look closely at the things you sell: Are they what customers want? Are they clearly marked and displayed? Do people know they're there? Nothing detracts from a brand more than visual noise. If you can expand this clarity idea from the micro-level to the macro-level, you're halfway there. This is where effective design comes in.
Learn From Coca-Cola
A brand is defined by its constituent parts, but the coordination of those parts is very important. Coca-Cola is a century-old sugary soda. Any of those last four words should mean doom for a product in this age of health drinks and supplement-spiking. But it always makes lots of money and sells lots of drinks. They do it by refining, simplifying, and clarifying their "brand" - year by year, product by product.
A perfect example is their current omnimedia marketing campaign. They've distilled their brand down to three things: that red color of theirs, their classic logo, and their familiar bottle shape. Together and apart, these three things are all over their packaging, machines, trucks, and advertising. They’ve methodically strengthened their brand by stripping away unnecessary elements, enabling them to clarify who they are and what they do. It's also empowered them to adjust when necessary, giving them marketplace flexibility the vast majority of companies will never have. It's a remarkable tour-de-force, and something every business should learn from.
And It'll Save You Money
Because they simplified their approach to color, Coca-Cola saved tremendous amounts of money on printing. If you can expand the simplification idea into other presentation and reproduction categories (signage is one example) the savings grow exponentially. It also gives you a sense of control over unpredictable costs, enabling you to strategize more effectively, letting you see "the forest for the trees."
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Rebranding During a Recession_32448.aspx
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Author Resource :
www.jameswoodsmarshall.com
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Keywords :
rebranding, recession, visual design, signage, james woods marshall, ,
Category :
Business
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Marketing
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