Evolving your brand is a lot like updating your favorite app – it needs to stay current to function, be user-friendly to avoid frustration, and look appealing to keep audiences engaged – but if you change too much, too fast, you risk alienating loyal users who flocked to your platform for a reason. In today’s fast-moving world, brand core values must grow and adapt without losing their values and voice. This challenge is both an art and a strategy. Follow this brand-refresh guide for a step-by-step walkthrough of the most essential strategic steps. We’ll help you make sure your evolving brand identity is both authentic and effective.
Basics of Brand Evolution
At the heart of any successful brand evolution lies a deep understanding of your brand’s core values, a clear strategy for growth, and a commitment to consistent messaging. Whether you’re refining your visual identity, refreshing your messaging, or repositioning in a changing market, it’s critical that your company masters innovation without disconnection. The most seamless brand evolutions hit three major milestones:
Now that we’ve outlined potential pitfalls, let’s take an even closer look at how to balance brand core values with an evolving brand identity. The (matter) team strongly recommends working your way through each of the following guidelines to maximize the success of your brand evolution strategy.
Revisit Your Brand: Core Values, Voice & Vision
To continue the app metaphor above, think of your brand core values as the source code to its continued success: Altering the interface is fine, but tampering with the foundation can crash the whole system.
Your best path through this marketing minefield is consistent brand messaging, even as your brand’s personality, products, or services grow and adapt. Answer the following questions about your brand core values to maintain consistent brand messaging and stay grounded in your authentic purpose.
- What is your brand’s “why”? Come back to its foundational purpose to make sure a clear through-line is always present.
- Can you identify non-negotiables? What aspects of your brand must remain constant even as it evolves?
- How do your brand’s core values compare to current market trends? Anchoring your evolution in authenticity is key, but so is staying relevant and giving customers what they need and want.
Assess Your Need for Brand Evolution
Just because you can evolve your brand doesn’t always mean you should. Like upgrading a wardrobe, you need to know whether it’s time for a seasonal refresh or a total style overhaul. Rather than spending precious time and resources when a brand evolution strategy isn’t even necessary, take a few beats to evaluate the external and internal signals that suggest it’s time for change – or time to stay put.
- Is change necessary or helpful right now? Tracking and recognizing market shifts, audience changes, and internal company growth can help you determine whether your current strategy is on-target or not.
- How is your brand performing? Auditing your brand’s current performance and perception can help your creative team gauge the need for a new brand evolution strategy.
- Can you differentiate between a full rebrand and a brand refresh? Brand refreshes are common and fairly quick. You’ve likely undergone several refreshed iterations since your company’s inception. A full rebrand, however, requires a much larger commitment of time and money.
Maintaining Consistent Brand Messaging Across Channels
A brand is only as strong as its story, and that story needs to be told cohesively. In a multichannel world, mixed messages can dilute trust and cause audience confusion. Instead of initiating a complete departure from your original tone and content, focus on crafting a consistent brand messaging that creates alignment across every platform, from your website and social platforms to your customer service scripts.
- Is your content, customer experience, and communication aligned? Focus on creating a customer-centric culture, understanding customer needs, establishing clear communication channels, and ensuring consistent messaging across all touchpoints. Which tools are at your disposal to ensure message consistency? If your current content tools are widespread or disjointed, centralize your brand assets and templates while providing extra employee training to streamline your processes and capitalize on consistent brand messaging.
- Is your strategy underperforming? Rather than adopting a set-it-and-forget-it mentality of brand evolution, implement a review process and regularly audit content across all platforms and channels to make sure your new brand evolution strategy is keyed in and on-target.
Execute Your Brand Evolution Strategy with Precision
After you’ve revisited your brand core values, assessed your need for evolution, and ensured consistent brand messaging across your digital ecosystem, it’s time for the marketing rubber to meet the digital road.
- Refresh your brand’s tone and voice while staying aligned with its core personality.
- Set goals and define success metrics.
- Update brand guidelines and involve stakeholders.
- Train and align your internal teams.
- Rely on competitive benchmarking and audience research.
- Balance innovation with consistency.
- Decide between a phased rollout and a big reveal (both have pros and cons).
- Communicating the evolution to your audience.
- Monitor the evolution’s reception and make adjustments based on feedback.
A Deep-Dive Into Brand Identity: An Iconic Club Gets a Contemporary (matter) Makeover
The American Kennel Club has diligently advocated for all the canines of the world for more than 140 years. This level of commitment is honorable, creates a trustworthy reputation, and has established the AKC as a stalwart of the non-profit community – but it’s also held the organization back. Outdated messaging left younger audiences behind, and the brand needed a modern refresh to engage Millennial and Gen Z demographics.
The (matter) team approached the AKC brand evolution with dynamic energy, creating and launching a gorgeous new campaign that not only raised brand awareness but also connected emotionally with today’s dog owners. Here’s how:
(matter) More With a Brand Evolution Partner by Your Side
Our team of experts has decades of combined success with maintaining consistent brand messaging while developing highly effective brand evolution strategies. If this brand refresh guide has whet your whistle and you’re eager to set your brand on a new growth path, reach out to (matter) for more detailed guidance on evolving brand identity. We’re always here to help your brand matter more.
