flux branding

20 Qualities To Look for in a Top LA Branding Agency

How can you be sure the LA branding agency you choose is safe to trust your brand with?

Team of a branding agency

Your brand is your company’s lifeblood. It sets you apart from the competition, endears you to loyal customers, and wins over new ones. Before you dive into a relationship with a branding agency, you want to be absolutely certain your brand will be in good hands.

Hiring a branding agency is a unique, personal process – and it’s important to screen your branding agency carefully. Here are just some of the qualities you should look for before making the leap.

 

20 qualities your LA branding agency should bring to the table

Make sure your branding agency excels in all these areas before choosing to partner with them:

1. Strategy

Branding isn’t just beautiful typography and carefully-designed logos. For a brand to be successful, you need to uncover the reason behind every choice and map a clear path to the future. The LA branding agency you use needs a strong sense of strategy in everything they do.

2. Metrics for results 

How do you know whether your branding project was a success? Before you start a project, your agency should be able to help you set metrics for your results. This should include the impact of the new brand on your staff, customers, and bottom line.

3. Insight into your target audience

You know and love your customers. And your target audience expands beyond your current customers. An excellent LA branding agency will be able to gather and interpret data that gives powerful insight into your target audience, whether they’ve bought from you yet or not.

4. Understanding of internal branding

When you embark on a branding project, it should always be done with an eye towards executing brand-driven strategies in the future. Your agency will need a strong sense of how to successfully create and implement internal branding, as well as external branding.

5. Brand identity definition

ARBORA brand identity created by Flux Branding

ARBORA Brand Identity

You may already have a sense of your brand identity, but chances are good that it’s still a bit blurry. A talented branding agency will be able to bring even more power and definition to your brand identity, no matter how confident you feel right now.

6. Attention to detail

Because the last thing you want is a brand lunch, when you need a brand launch.

7. Creativity and innovation

Strategy, metrics, and research need to be the foundation of your brand. And building on that foundation are creativity and innovation, powering the strongest, most impactful brands.

8. Adaptability

No matter who you work with, company rebranding doesn’t always go exactly according to plan. Adaptability allows your LA branding agency to use their expertise on the fly, adjusting to any unforeseen circumstances that get in the way of your brand launch.

9. Transparency

Branding is a specialized field, and it’s easy to get lost in jargon, especially when it comes to results. Your agency will be completely transparent about every step of your project.

10. Strong communication skills – for you and your audience

Your LA branding agency will need to clearly communicate your message through your brand, but that’s not all. They’ll also need to communicate well with you about expectations, changes, deadlines, and creative work.

11. Responsiveness and availability

Hand in hand with communication comes responsiveness. Your agency doesn’t need to be available 24/7, but you should know when and how you can get a hold of them. You’ll also want to make sure that their availability lines up with yours.

12. Clearly laid out contracts and billing

A professional, trustworthy branding agency will have contracts that clearly define deliverables, timelines, and other key factors of your branding projects – including prices and invoicing.

13. Frameworks and processes

Flux Branding IDEA Method

Great agencies don’t fly by the seat of their pants. They use frameworks like the IDEA Method to produce excellent results every single time.

14. Experience in your industry

An LA branding agency that has experience in your industry brings an extra layer of expertise to your project. They don’t just know branding, they know branding and the unique quirks of your industry inside and out.

15. Ability to monitor and respond to trends

A Los Angeles branding agency might be situated near Hollywood, but that doesn’t mean they should jump on every sexy new trend. Talented agencies know exactly what’s trending and how today’s trends might (or might not) impact your brand’s future.

16. Positive reviews and case studies

Flax Coffee Branding Case Study

Flax Coffee Branding Case Study

Reviews and case studies offer a detailed look at what working with a particular agency is like. You can see what their strongest qualities are, how they tend to come at projects, and what others have enjoyed about partnering with them.

17. Strong team players

Your LA branding agency isn’t just one person, it’s many different professionals, all working together to create your brand. Besides working together with each other, your agency will also need to work with you and your team to create a brand that’s uniquely you.

18. Drive for excellence

Branding can literally make or break a company, so mediocre just won’t cut it. The best branding agencies are always improving and innovating to provide the best possible outcome for you.

As you’re researching, keep note of which agencies go above and beyond. Who impresses you, inspires you, and empowers you to create your brand?

19. Potential for a long-term relationship

Ideally, you want to update your brand every 3-5 years. So before you hire an agency, ask if you could see yourself working with them for not only the months it takes to finish this project, but for future projects, too.

20. Passion and pride

Finally, the best LA branding agency will have immense passion and pride in their work. It should shine through every touchpoint you have with them, from their blog to their website and from your first exploration call to the launch of your brand.

 

Creating memorable brands

As a branding agency in Los Angeles for more than two decades, Flux strives to better embody every one of these qualities, every day. When you’re ready to get started, get in touch. We can’t wait to create a memorable brand with you.

How To Find Your Los Angeles Branding Agency

At the time this article was written, a search for “Los Angeles branding agency” turned up about 56 million results. And that’s a real problem.

Businessman next to a compass undecided which la branding agency to work with

Branding is a serious project, whether you’re crafting your brand for the first time or undergoing a rebrand. You’re putting the future of your business in the hands of someone else.

Your brand influences how your customers see you. How your employees see you. Ultimately, an excellent brand should reflect how you see yourself.

Choosing a branding agency means you’re choosing a partner, a guide, and an expert. It shouldn’t be an easy choice. But it should be clear.

Which of those 56 million results can you discount immediately? Who should you schedule a call with? Who’s worthy of helping you shape or reshape your brand, and how do you know?

Flux has helped companies all over the world to craft their brand. Today, we’ll be helping you understand what made our Los Angeles branding agency the right fit for these companies – and whether we can help you, too.

 

How to choose a branding agency that’s a perfect fit

Company rebranding is a complex task. When you hire a branding agency, you’re starting a relationship with a partner that can help you handle that task down to the most minute details.

So, like any partnership, choosing your Los Angeles branding agency will require excellent communication.

You’ll need to communicate well internally, efficiently scope out potential agencies, and know how to choose someone once you’ve short-listed companies.

These three pillars of communication are the difference between a project that runs smoothly and one you’ll need to shell out the cash to do over within a year, so let’s go through them in a little more depth.

Review the project internally

Team planning to work with a branding agency in Los Angeles is reviewing their needs internally

Whether you’re looking for a Los Angeles branding agency or considering options from anywhere, you’re going to encounter variety.

Branding agency services can cover everything from customer and market research to creative work and brand launches. Depending on your unique position, not all of these will be a fit for your brand.

Reviewing your needs internally – before you even schedule a call with an agency – will help you determine which services you’re looking for.

You’ll also need to review your budget. Branding is an investment in the health and future of your business, and that’s how you should review your budget line for a branding project. You’re investing in something, and a wise investment will pay off.

It’s important to have a sense of your budget, and also to be realistic with your agency. If you need a light refresh or a full rebrand will change the amount of work required, and an exact quote will depend on your needs.

Prepare for interviews

Brand Strategy (Who, What, How, Why)

If you’re looking at an experienced branding agency, getting that quote will be an involved process. Great branding agencies don’t pull numbers out of thin air. They take time to go over your wants and needs, where your brand is, and where it’s going to give you a unique quote.

Hiring a branding agency takes time and communication. Block off time in your calendar, make space in your research for meeting with agencies, and have questions ready to go.

The quote is just one of a series of questions you’ll want to ask a branding agency. You’ll also want to ask questions like:

  • Do you think we can or should accomplish all this in one project?
  • What’s your area of expertise? Does that mesh with the goals of this project?
  • How can we contact you with questions or concerns if we decide to move forward?

And chances are that the agency will use this time to interview you, too. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t be setting yourselves up for success. They’ll probably ask about your current brand, the overall health of your company, and whether you’ve worked with agencies before.

Be honest with the agency you’re speaking with at the moment. Effective brands are built on effective communication, and that can’t happen without honesty and trust on both sides.

The better you can get to the heart of what you need from your agency, the better you’ll be able to determine whether it is the right fit.

Ask about their methods and successes

Flux Branding IDEA Method

Flux Branding IDEA Method

Once you’ve established the trust that would land a Los Angeles branding agency on your shortlist, it’s time to dig a little deeper.

What gives that agency the unique ability to deliver a brand that’s just right for you?

First and foremost, you’ll need to understand their method. If an agency you’re looking at working with doesn’t have a method, proceed with extreme caution. Methods and frameworks allow agencies to deliver consistently great results.

Flux uses our unique, proven IDEA Method to craft brands from start to finish. “IDEA” stands for Ignite, Distill, Energize, and Activate – and each phase hones in on something specific that all great brands need.

The IDEA Method allows us to build the components of a brand step by step, creating authentic brands that stand out in the marketplace.

Once you know the Los Angeles branding agency you’re speaking with has a method, ask to see it in action. Great agencies will have plenty of successful rebranding examples to review.

This could also be a time to ask the agency what happens when things don’t go according to plan. This will give you insights into what a day in the life of working with them is like.

 

Find a Los Angeles branding agency you can trust

Your brand is the lifeblood of your company, and anyone you trust with it should understand the gravity of that.

At Flux, we are honored to guide brands on their journey of transformation. Change can be scary, but it’s the only way forward. We believe so much in the power of change, we named our company after it. While finding the right Los Angeles branding agency might feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, it’s all about finding the right fit. If you’re ready to take your brand from now to next, we’re ready to talk.

When you’re ready to start a project with us, just get in touch. We’re honored to be part of your brand’s journey.

5 Common Fears About Company Rebranding (and How To Overcome Them!)

There’s no way around it: Company rebranding is a massive project with equally massive consequences – one way or another. Some companies experience intense, rapid growth after a rebrand while others attempt rebrands that nearly destroy their business.

CEO in a blue suit is afraid of falling from a paper aircraft

These outrageous failures can leave you with massive fears about rebranding. If BP, Uber, and Tropicana can have rebrands go wrong, how do you know it won’t happen to you next?

The most common fears about rebranding show up as a series of “what-ifs.” When you overcome these, you can embrace your rebranding journey with open arms.

 

The “what-ifs” of company rebranding

All the anxious “what-ifs” you’ll encounter in rebranding come down to one question: What if you can’t make this rebrand a success?

Success in company rebranding starts by exploring why you want to rebrand in the first place.

Why do companies rebrand?

Maybe you’re dealing with a suddenly fierce competitor eating up your market share. Maybe your company is going in a different direction under new leadership, or following a merger. Or maybe you’re trying to distance yourself from something that had a negative impact on your brand.

Use your reason for rebranding to guide research into your customers, your competitors, and your company itself. To ensure you’re on the right track, let’s take a look at the most common fears around rebranding – and how to overcome them.

 

5 common fears about company rebranding 

It’s normal to have fears around rebranding, but they shouldn’t stop you from moving forward. Here are the most common fears, and a game plan for overcoming them.

1. What if your company isn’t recognizable after the rebrand?

You launch your rebrand to find that all chatter about your company suddenly stops. Even your repeat buyers slow down. Your rebrand went too far, and your company isn’t even recognizable anymore. It’s like you’re starting over, like no one even knows you exist.

That’s an extreme example, but it’s also a common fear – and for good reason. In 2009, Tropicana decided to overhaul their brand. They ditched the classic, recognizable orange and straw, for a simpler (read: blander) look.

Tropicana failed rebranding example

Not only did their customers dislike the new branding, some didn’t even recognize it! Tropicana was mistaken for a generic or cheap brand, and they saw a 20% drop in sales.

Overcome fears about being recognized by evolving, not overhauling

A brand that genuinely needs a complete overhaul is an anomaly. Company rebranding has to take your current brand equity into account. And there’s simply no reason to throw away your brand equity chasing the latest trend.

Think of your brand like a house. You don’t need to strip it to the studs to do a renovation. If your brand has “good bones,” don’t demolish it. Figure out what your brand means to people and what they do love about it before you start from scratch.

You can evolve your brand effectively, and a skilled rebranding agency will help with that. When it comes to something as important as your brand, there’s no need to go it alone. Call in the experts and let them draw a direct line from your brand’s past to its future.

2. What if you lose customers?

You launch a rebrand to win back a market that’s drifting in your competitors’ favor… only to send more of your customers away. You lose customers due to the rebrand, and then you have to make a decision: Do you bring the old brand back and hope the customers come back with it?

The stress of a rebrand doing exactly the opposite of what you need is terrifying. But it definitely happens. In fact, it’s impossible to find just one example of a rebrand causing a company to lose customers. Every failed company rebranding causes lower sales, and a loss of customers (even if it’s only for a little while).

Overcome fears about losing customers by diving into research

Failed rebrands damage customers’ trust. It’s as simple as that.

Cable company Comcast rebranded to “Xfinity” in an attempt to get away from their reputation of poor customer service. The problem was, they didn’t actually change the way customer service functioned. The rebrand alone did nothing to increase customer trust or boost the brand’s reputation.

Comcast - Xfinity logo after rebranding

Other rebrands fail simply because they don’t connect with customers. Take Tropicana. They didn’t figure out that customers loved their classic red and white striped straw sticking out of an orange until it was too late. Without consumer research, the rebranding operates on the preferences of the board, not the buyer. Don’t guess at what your customers want. Ask them, then listen. Your company rebranding efforts will be all the better for it.

3. What if it ends up costing more than it brings in?

You hire an agency. You sink money into packaging and signage and website redesign. You make this company rebranding project a huge line item in the budget. And when you finally reveal it to the world, it costs you money.

That’s what happened to Gap in 2010. They sunk an estimated $100 million dollars into a “rebrand.” Only two problems: They didn’t actually rebrand, and their customers hated the new logo so much, they changed it back in just 6 days.

Gap failed rebranding example

Rebranding is about so much more than a logo and font. It’s the whole look and feel of your customer experience. Branding is about who you are and what you stand for. Gap’s rebrand failed because there was no personality to it. The new brand had no heart, soul, or history. Customers that were used to the classic logo were confused and unhappy– who was this new company?

Overcome fears about cost by solidifying your strategy

Gap didn’t roll out their brand update over time. There was no announcement, no campaign, no build up or even warning that they were planning to rebrand. To their customers, at least, it looked like Gap literally changed overnight.

People don’t like to be caught off guard. And when it comes to brand loyalty, this is doubly true. Your customers are looking for consistency, so rebranding needs to be done in stages. Creating a launch plan is a key part of any rebranding checklist. Your company rebranding deserves building excitement, not shock and a sudden drop in sales.

4. What if employees leave due to the rebrand?

Attracting and retaining talent is hard for most companies. Branding can help, and company rebranding may even be done in an effort to bring top talent into the fold. But what if you rebrand and end up losing employees instead of attracting them?

While exact numbers are hard to pin down, that may be exactly what’s happening at Meta (formerly Facebook). Their rebrand attracted negative attention from both outside the company and inside it.

In 2018, Facebook claimed the #1 spot on Glassdoor’s list of Best Places to Work. In 2022, after their rebrand to Meta, they fell to #47. And since Glassdoor operates on feedback from current employees, it’s safe to say they’ve had quite a fall from grace.

2018 Facebook Glassdoor Review vs 2022 Meta Glassdoor Review

Overcome fears about losing talent by including your employees in the rebrand

Branding should never, ever happen in a vacuum. We’ve talked about customer research, but your research shouldn’t stop there. Include your employees in the conversation. Why did they choose to work for your company? Why are they passionate about your brand? Or, if they’re not passionate, why not?

Your company rebranding project is about creating company culture as much as anything else. When your employees align with your brand, they’re significantly more likely to stay with your company, rate you as a good place to work, and spread the news about your brand.

And in today’s digital landscape, positive word of mouth from your employees is some of the most powerful marketing out there. Make sure your rebrand is aligned with your values internally and externally, keeping your employees and stakeholders involved throughout the process.

5. What if the rebrand is weaponized against you?

Your competitors are as excited about your rebrand as you are. Within days of your launch, people start to tear your new brand apart. They Tweet about it, they make memes about it, and you’re suddenly a laughingstock.

“They’re under new management and it’s barely the same company.” “I heard the old place closed down and this is some new thing.” “They’re trying to cover up a scandal.” 

If your rebranding is not strategic and thoughtful, it could easily be used against you. So how do you prevent it?

Overcome fears about your brand being weaponized: Research, strategize, and take a stand

There are three phases to overcoming the fear of a rebrand being weaponized.

First, research. Research your customers, your competitors, and the market as a whole. Otherwise, you might make the mistake Mercedes-Benz did. They attempted to launch their brand in China as “Bensi,” only to learn that in Mandarin, that word means “rush to die.”

Second, strategize. You want to give people a chance to adjust, but you also want to give yourself a chance to unpack the brand with your audience. What does the new brand mean? Why are you moving in this direction? And why now?

Finally, make a clear action plan for bringing your new brand to the world. Customers should love and trust your brand, even if a rebranding is in order. To make clear you aren’t trying to break with the past but rather evolve it, a step by step launch strategy is critical. There are tons of creative ways to bring employees, customers, and stakeholders into the new brand, but you must be thoughtful about how it’s done.

Rebranding can be risky, but it’s also hugely rewarding. If you’re rebranding to align your company with its true mission, you’re on the right track. When your brand reflects your core values, you have nothing to worry about.

Flux LA Agency Rebranding IDEA Method

Flux Company Rebranding IDEA Method

 

Evolve and excel with company rebranding

Brands aren’t meant to last forever. Companies grow and shift and change. And even if the company remains more or less the same, the culture changes. The key to successful company rebranding is holding onto your roots while expanding into the future.

Bringing your company into the future is important work – so don’t let fear hold you back from it. If you want some guidance along the way, our branding agency in Los Angeles is here to help.

How To Integrate Companies After Acquisition – 9 Important Steps

Working out how to integrate companies after acquisition is a rollercoaster. While you may be thrilled about the possibilities this new acquisition brings to the table, that doesn’t mean everything is going to be smooth sailing. There are still dozens of details to handle before you can pop the champagne on your successful acquisition.

Employees celebrating successful integration of companies after acquisition

The integration of companies after acquisition is a huge topic, but it all comes down to one thing: getting everyone on the same team. The sooner you can do that, the sooner the rough seas of acquisition will calm.

From your stakeholders to your c-suite to your employees and even your customers – everyone has to be on board for this project to be a success. When you make that happen, your company can go full speed ahead into a bright future.

 

How to integrate companies after acquisition in 9 steps

You’ll find there are many different questions to ask after a company acquisition. Some of these have to do with logistical issues like budgets, data, software, and systems. And those are certainly important, but they shouldn’t be the only things on your list.

When your teams have synergy, the logistics are much easier to handle. You don’t have to chase information down or try to play referee in interpersonal squabbles. Everyone is a single team working for a single goal – and your efforts in pursuit of that goal go that much more smoothly.

That’s why achieving synergy is the most difficult part of how to integrate companies after acquisition. Everything else hinges on it. So don’t try and go it alone.

Involve your teams in the process of the acquisition, and consider working with a rebranding agency to help you find the right strategy for integrating two potentially very different companies into one.

Taking an acquisition from transaction to a full integration can be a difficult process, but there is a roadmap you can follow. Use these 9 tips for how to integrate companies after acquisition to help things go smoothly:

1. Clarify your goals

SMART Goal Setting Concept

Before anything else, take a moment to think about your goals. When puzzling out how to integrate companies after acquisition, you need a metric for success.

Every company will have its rough spots. Processes will need to be updated. Data sets will grow and change. And some people within your team will have friction with each other, whether they’ve worked together for 20 years or met because of the acquisition.

Expecting integration to turn your company into an unbreakable machine isn’t realistic – or even possible.

So what do you hope to achieve? What happens after company acquisition processes are underway will largely be determined by your answer to this question.

If you’re struggling to find answers here, don’t worry. These questions to ask after a company acquisition can help you get started:

    • Why did you choose to acquire this company?
    • Where is the acquired company strongest? How do its strengths support your company’s weaker points?
    • What about the acquired company’s current brand, vision, voice, or team inspires you?
    • Imagine your company five years from now. How does the company you’ve acquired drive your success in the future?
    • What kind of metric can you follow to track your team’s progress?

Getting clarity on these questions can significantly help with how to integrate companies after acquisition.

2. Get leadership (and stakeholders) on board

Once you have your goals in mind, it’s time to start getting people on board. The next step in how to integrate companies after acquisition is getting leadership and stakeholders on board.

Stakeholders can be impatient, and executives often have a huge vision for the successful future of the company. But this can have a destructive impact on successful integration.

Patience will be KEY to success.

Remember, your teams have just met each other, and trust doesn’t happen overnight. Use the goals you’ve created to get buy-in on a methodical integration.

When you can show your stakeholders and executive team that you are making progress, they’ll be more receptive to your slow-and-steady-wins-the-race approach.

3. Ensure your cultures are compatible

Company culture iceberg model designed based on discussions and questions asked after a company acquisition during a board meeting

Before an acquisition, or as soon as possible afterward, it’s important to do a “culture audit.”

The more different your two cultures are, the more difficult the integration of companies after acquisition will be.

You need to know upfront how easy (or difficult) creating a company culture will be. It’s easy to misplace this step among all the logistical tips on how to integrate companies after acquisition, but it’s vital to the health of your team in the end. Your team is the fuel of your company, so it’s essential that they feel unified.

4. Make integration a priority

Don’t let your integration efforts become something that happens “when you have time.” The old adage that we make time for what’s important to us is true. And unless you make time for it, figuring out how to integrate companies after acquisition will be pushed back to tomorrow over and over again – until it’s too late to approach it intentionally.

5. Choose a point person

In front of a white brick wall with leadership drawing graphics are managers discussing what happens after company acquisition

At this point, you’ll want to pick someone who can clear the time on their calendar to take the lead integration. There’s going to be quite a lot of back-and-forth between the two companies, and you don’t want any information to be lost.

Choose someone familiar with what happens after company acquisition occurs, or someone who intimately understands the inner workings of the company. They should get a list of who to reach out to with different concerns and be the first person you update throughout the process.

Basically, they’ll handle the small stuff so you can take an aerial view of how to integrate companies after acquisition successfully.

6. Identify key employees

Redundancies are a normal part of acquisitions – but don’t jump the gun. Before you decide to keep anyone or let anyone go, do a thorough investigation. How and why did each person in each company get to where they are now? What does their growth trajectory look like?

These are important questions to ask after a company acquisition. When you can answer them, you know that the people who are staying with the company are the strongest assets you could have.

7. Create a plan for your brand

Shimahara Visual brand identity designed by Flux Company

Shimahara Visual Branding

The benefits of branding aren’t restricted to getting a competitive edge, but branding can certainly help you to retain your edge! When puzzling out how to integrate companies after acquisition, it’s important to remember customers, too.

“Under new management” is frequently used as a joke, but the consequences of customers and employees losing trust in a brand is real. Make sure you have a plan to help acquisition go smoothly without confusing your current customers or weakening your brand equity.

8. Update your internal branding

Since nothing happens without a solid team, internal branding should be a key part of the integration of companies after acquisition. Once you sell your team on your new brand, they’ll have no problem selling your customers on it, too.

Internal branding also gives you the space to really lean into the rich history of each company. This is especially true if one or both companies already have a strong internal brand. A big part of creating culture and synergy is showing your teams that they’re understood and that they have lots in common.

Internal branding allows you to show your employees what you already know: That combining these companies together will build an unshakeable team.

9. Refresh your external branding

Rakuten Logistics external brand refresh designed by Flux Company

Rakuten Brand Refresh

When you’re pondering how to integrate companies after acquisition, rebranding might come to mind. It’s tough to know when to rebrand during an acquisition – or whether you should rebrand at all!

Sometimes, a lighter brand refresh is a better fit compared to a full rebranding of both companies. Sometimes, an entirely new brand needs to be created. Whatever the strategy required, it’s important to address your brand. Acquisitions can be delicate times for your brand both internally and externally, and you don’t want to leave your customers or your team members wondering what’s going on. Even if it’s a small change, it’s guaranteed your brand will have to respond to the new acquisition in some way.

Take this example: Budweiser and Guinness are both beer brands. But that doesn’t make a potential acquisition easier for one of them. Nearly everything else about them is different – their visual branding, their messaging, their entire ethos. An acquisition requires that two very different companies come together, without alienating existing customers and employees. A branding agency can craft the right strategy to make this a reality.

 

What happens after company acquisition is over?

At the end of the day, a successful acquisition ends with a single successful company operating under a united brand. These steps for how to integrate companies after acquisition only scratch the surface on how to bring two companies together into something greater than the sum of their parts.

After you’ve sorted out how to integrate companies after acquisition, you’ll still have a lot of work to do. Part of that work is crafting a compelling brand – internally and externally – that anchors your company.

Your brand is who you are, and an acquisition will change that, however slightly. Working with a brand identity agency can help you create something that your shareholders, teams, and customers will fall in love with.

Why You Need Internal Branding + 6 Tips for Success

Internal branding is the unsung hero of some of the world’s most successful brands. When we talk about branding as a whole, it’s easy to reduce it to just a logo. And even once you cross the threshold and see branding in a more holistic light, internal branding is often forgotten.

It shouldn’t be.

Office workers that show strong teamwork are holding a green megaphone with text “TOGETHER”

Branding or rebranding is a massive project, so missing something during the process is not uncommon. However, with all the focus on your customers, it’s easy to forget the people that determine the success of your business in the first place: your employees.

Internal branding allows you to be a strong positive force for your employees, not just your customers. Employees at companies with strong internal brands are powerfully productive, creative, intentional advocates for your brand in ways your customers can’t be.

Like external branding, internal branding is a project you must take seriously. Unfortunately, even companies that understand the benefits of branding don’t see the value of internal branding. They end up half-heartedly putting something together.

They make sure the logo is sprinkled throughout the building. Employees get branded e-signatures or business cards. The company values are on the wall somewhere. Maybe they host a yearly Christmas party or throw a ping-pong table in the break room and call it good.

But none of it is done intentionally or strategically. They end up with a lot of parts that don’t form a cohesive whole.

So how do you create a cohesive internal brand? Let’s discuss our top tips for successfully crafting your company brand.

 

Internal branding: 6 tips to set yourself up for success

When your internal brand is an afterthought, your employees won’t be engaged or passionate about your brand. They won’t go out of their way to talk about your company to their friends and family, won’t post about it on social media, and probably won’t be too thrilled to come to work.

The key to successful internal branding is understanding that your employees are every bit as important as your customers. (Maybe even more so.) They’re the engine of your car, and you need to fuel them. If you don’t, you won’t get far. If you do, you’ll be astonished at how far they’ll take you.

Here are the best ways to achieve successful internal branding:

1. Listen to your employees

CEO planning to improve internal corporate branding is listening effectively to employees' feedback

Step one of internal branding perfectly matches step one of external branding: research. Instead of researching your customers, however, you need to research your employees.

What do your employees think about your brand?

Why did they come to work for you in the first place? Why did they stay?

Do they believe your company solves an important problem?

Do they feel their work is meaningful?

These questions are only the beginning. Before you can create a strong internal brand, you need to know how your employees currently see your brand.

Sometimes, your employees already have a good sense of the brand, but they don’t feel engaged by it day to day. They may like the idea of your brand but not see how it applies to them.

In other cases, your employees may not have a great sense of who you are as a company at all.

Understanding where your employees are coming from allows you to see where your internal branding is strongest and where it’s weakest. Most importantly, it allows you to look for branding agency services that can turn your weaknesses into strengths.

2. Build excitement

Once you know what your employees need, it’s time to build excitement. You need to know when to rebrand for the biggest impact, and you need to guide people through the change.

Internal branding is especially hands-on. You won’t be launching your brand out into the world. You’ll be creating a shift in the way your employees think about the people they spend so much time with.

No one likes massive change. So when you change your internal brand, tell your employees – in no uncertain terms – exactly why you’re making this change.

What problems are you trying to solve?

What benefits will they see in their everyday lives?

Why does this rebrand matter to them?

Building excitement for an internal rebrand isn’t just about getting people fired up. It also gets people ready to put in the effort required to change the entire flow of the workplace. Without this step, your internal rebrand can fizzle out before it really begins.

3. Take your values off the wall

Don’t worry; if you have a painting or poster with your values on it, that can stay. But it shouldn’t be the only way your employees experience those values. When your employees see a visual representation of your values, it should reinforce their experiences, not introduce new information.

If you value honesty, create space within the company for people to give their unfiltered thoughts. Build time into meetings for candid discussions around the pros and cons of decisions. Give people a chance to really be honest.

Employee presenting her ideas for product improvement

If you value sustainability, create a company-wide reward system for sustainable actions like recycling. Allow employees to volunteer with green initiatives on company time. Make sustainability show up front and center in the daily operations of your company.

These are just starting points for creating tangible values. In today’s increasingly aware culture, customers and employees are starting to demand that companies put their money where their mouth is. They don’t want to hear that you care about sustainability, diversity, or honesty. They want to see it.

4. Hire (and retain) in alignment with your brand

What does your application and hiring process look like right now to an outsider? Does your brand shine through every step?

For most companies, the answer is no. The job listings are perfect clones of listings for any other company. There’s no vivacity, no personality, no reason to work for that company other than a paycheck.

Don’t let your hiring process be like that!

Your hiring process should reflect what it’s like to work with you. What do you expect your employees to do day-to-day? How do you expect them to interact with their co-workers, team leads, and executives? What kind of person are you hoping to hire?

Internal branding allows you to reach candidates that don’t just have the right qualifications, but the right mindset.

And when you have a strong internal brand, retention does an interesting thing. At first, you might notice a sudden exodus of employees that are no longer a good fit. But once the people who don’t align with your brand are gone, hiring and retention get easier than ever.

5. Create culture

Creating company culture is a complex topic on its own. Cultures develop at a macro and micro level, from your overall company culture to the cultures of specific departments and teams. Internal branding should guide all of them.

Using your internal brand to create culture is similar to taking your values off the wall. It’s all about creating day-to-day experiences that allow your employees to experience your brand – and each other.

Is your brand bright and playful? Consider hosting a happy hour or mini-golf tournament to give your employees the chance to get to know each other off the clock.

Is your brand scientific and determined? Host workshops or guest speakers to foster a deeper understanding of the problem your company solves.

Is your brand out-of-the-box and innovative? Escape rooms can appeal to the problem-solvers your teams are made of and give them a chance to work together in a more relaxed environment.

Knowing and liking their co-workers colors your employees’ perspectives on your brand. They don’t see your company as a faceless monolith. They see it as a real community – something they’re excited to be a part of.

6. Make yourself memorable

In the age of social media, being “shareable” is more important than ever. Your packaging or social media presence might be shareable to your customers, but what about your employees? Are you doing and saying things they want to share?

Company newsletters rarely get read, but there are other ways you can share your brand identity with your employees.

A social intranet platform is a great place to post shareable graphics, quotes, and benefit announcements that your employees can’t wait to share with the world.

Branded merch, and other “swag” give your employees a way to bring up your brand in casual “off-the-clock” conversations.

Artists and contributors wearing Spotify Studios branded apparel designed by Flux Branding

Spotify Branding

 

Reaping the benefits of internal branding

Internal branding is a big project. Creating consistency within an organization is difficult, but the payoff is incredible.

Imagine what would happen if every one of your employees was as dedicated to your brand as your customers are. What would customer service look like? Would there be more innovation at your company? What would your turnover rates look like?

There’s a reason people love to work at start-ups, and it’s not money or status. Start-ups often have strong internal branding. They sell their employees on the brand hook, line, and sinker.

Here’s the thing: Any company can do that. All you need is a powerful internal brand. And working with a brand identity agency can help you create (and meaningfully launch) your brand to transform the way your employees see you.

If you’d like to discuss how to create a successful internal brand with our brand identity experts in Los Angeles, reach out to our team today.

20 Questions To Ask When Hiring a Branding Agency

When you’re thinking about hiring a branding agency, you generally end up in one of two situations. You either can’t contain your excitement over all the possibilities a new brand could offer… or you’re so overwhelmed you don’t know where to start.

A client with bulb head thinking of the best questions to ask when hiring a branding agency

Wherever you are, there are a few questions you’ll need to ask to set yourself up for success. These are questions both for yourself, and for any branding agency to choose to partner with in your branding (or rebranding) journey.

So what are the most important questions to ask when hiring a branding agency? Let’s dive into the top 20 questions to consider before you begin.

 

Questions to ask yourself when hiring a branding agency

First, there are a handful of questions you’ll need to ask yourself when going into partnership with a branding agency. These questions will make the hiring process smoother – and ultimately, make the project run more smoothly.

Before hiring a branding agency, make sure you can answer these questions.

Vintage letterpress wood type WHY and HOW brand questions in a cabinet

1. What am I expecting from working with a branding agency?

Take a moment to set (or examine) your expectations. Branding agency services cover a wide spectrum. What you expect might not align with an agency’s area of expertise or even be something possible to achieve.

A business’s success is the result of many different parts working together, and hiring a branding agency is only one piece of a larger puzzle.

2. How much experience do I have working with agencies?

Have you had negative experiences with agencies? Letting these dictate your view of agencies is all too easy, but it’s usually not beneficial. Instead, listen to agencies you’re considering with fresh eyes, allowing yourself to be curious about the process.

If you’re new to agency work, expect it to be different from an employee/employer or a freelancer/client relationship.

3. Do I have buy-in from my whole team?

Hiring a branding agency all on your own is rare. Usually, you need approval from several people. Make sure no one is on the fence. If your C-Suite doesn’t agree, the project will be harder on you and the agency.

4. What is my budget?

This question will help you narrow the field when deciding which branding agency to hire. Does your budget match the problem you need to solve? Are you being realistic about what your resources are and the going rate for the services you’re looking for? Being clear about your budget allows you to focus on what really needs to be done, right now.

5. How much do I know about my customers?

Brand market segmentation mind map

You can skip this question if you have a robust collection of customer data. If you’re unsure, now’s the time to review.

Do you need to know more about your customers?

Some agencies can help you with customer research, but others don’t. Before hiring a branding agency, make sure you know whether you need this service.

6. Do I have a vision for my future brand?

You’ll probably be asked this question a lot when hiring a branding agency. A successful brand isn’t solely built on your vision, but your vision is important. If you don’t have a vision for your brand, crafting a brand that you can believe in is more difficult for you and your agency.

Take some time to look at your competitors and non-competing brands for inspiration. Then, put together a vision board or document that reflects the kind of brand you want to build.

7. Do I have time blocked off for working with a branding agency?

Agencies take a lot of work off your team’s plate, but they still require active effort on your part. You’ll probably only need to block off time for meetings and giving feedback on work. Make sure you’re able to fit this process into your schedule.

8. What have I already tried?

Review your past and present brand identity before hiring a branding agency. You and your agency can use this review as a starting point.

If you’ve tried things that didn’t work at all, let your agency know so they can avoid repeating the mistake. On the other hand, you can also let them know of any promising directions you’ve unearthed.

9. How will I measure success?

This is one of the most important questions to ask when hiring a branding agency. A good agency won’t get started without a metric for success. Bringing one to the table can open up a dialogue about reasonable goals to set before the project begins.

10. When am I expecting to start and finish this project?

Hiring a branding agency will look different when projects are a year away compared to a month away.

If your branding project is something you’re considering for down the road, now is a great time to subscribe to several agencies’ newsletters to get a better feel for their knowledge base and communication style.

Once you know how, when, and why you’re coming into a project, you’ll be able to start looking at agencies you may want to hire. Then, it’s just as important to know what questions to ask the agencies themselves!

 

Questions to ask when hiring a branding agency

Here are the most important questions to ask a branding agency to help ensure the agency you’re hiring is a good fit for your company.

Branding team having a meeting with a client

11. What is your area of expertise?

Is the agency you’re on a call with an expert in fresh, trendy brands? Well-established, mature brands? Which industries are they most well-versed in?

If they tell you “everything,” dig into that more. Do they have separate teams? Specialists that come in and revise? One person (or one team) can’t be an expert in everything. And expertise is required to craft an exceptional brand.

12. How will you provide the deliverables?

You will decide on deliverables as part of your project scope with your branding agency, so this question will help you ensure there are no unpleasant surprises at the end of the project.

Some agencies will have physical deliverables, while others are 100% digital. If your agency uses any software you aren’t familiar with, this question should help unearth that, too.

13. Do you have a portfolio of published work?

Sky Ala Moana branded billboard crafted by Flux branding agency

Sky Ala Moana Branding

Published work allows you to see “before and after” shots of other brands your branding agency or rebranding agency has helped. When hiring a branding agency, handle portfolios carefully.

Agencies without published work aren’t guaranteed to fail you, but they are inexperienced. This means hiring them is a risk, and you’ll have to decide whether it’s a worthwhile one.

14. What is your process like?

Flux Branding IDEA Method

Flux Branding IDEA Method

The branding process is a snapshot of working with them. Where does their process begin and end? And why? Asking about an agency’s process is an excellent way to get to know them.

If an agency tells you they don’t have a process, it’s a good idea to politely inform them you’ll be looking elsewhere. Your brand is too important to risk on work that isn’t carefully thought out.

15. How can I contact you with questions?

When the agency answers, follow up by asking if this will be your point of contact for the whole project. You and your team will encounter questions or concerns from time to time, and you’ll need to communicate that with your agency efficiently.

16. What are your values?

Branding is an intimate process. Your brand is a reflection of who you are as a business and as a team. Before you start a project, make sure that you and your branding agency share the same values. Otherwise, you probably won’t end up with a brand you can be proud of.

17. How have you handled projects that didn’t go to plan?

Mistakes happen. Not every project is a winner. Sometimes, this is because of mistakes the agency made. Sometimes it’s because of clients who weren’t willing to accept an agency’s expertise. And sometimes it’s for reasons outside of anyone’s control.

Before hiring a branding agency, ask about their fallback plans and policies for when the unexpected happens.

18. Do you think this can or should be accomplished within one project?

The agency you’re talking to will probably have some recommendations on how to maximize the success of the project. Just like asking about their process, this question helps you measure the depth of an agency’s expertise.

If you have no plans and are just wondering how to rebrand your business, don’t worry! Let your agency know that you don’t have anything in mind yet, and see what they recommend.

19. When will we start to see results?

This is a great time to discuss the success metric you set up previously. Remember, success metrics and timelines will be an open dialogue when hiring a branding agency. As in other questions, you can allow your agency’s expertise to give you a realistic picture of when you’ll see results.

20. Do we trust each other?

Once you get through all these questions, there’s one more question to ask before you sign a contract with a branding agency. It’s the most important question of all – and it’s about trust.

Without trust, a project will fall apart.

As an experienced branding agency in Los Angeles, Flux knows the importance of trust firsthand. We handle each brand with care because we recognize that putting your brand in our hands is an enormous act of trust.

We will work closely with you and your team to ensure you have all the answers you need and are comfortable moving forward with us and our branding process. Reach out to start the conversation about your brand transformation today.

Creating Company Culture With a Thoughtful Rebrand

Creating company culture can sometimes feel out of your control. You may have an idea of the culture you want in your business. Maybe you’ve even gone so far as to come up with a culture-first employee handbook. But something has gotten lost along the way, and now, you have a culture problem.

Black and white collage of employees having fun at work

There are a few signs that indicate a culture problem within an organization. Struggling to attract and retain talent is a strong indicator that your culture needs to change. A merger or acquisition can create a culture problem, too.

The confusion of what (and who) stays or goes can lead to a culture of uncertainty and mistrust.

And sometimes, companies encounter a culture problem as a result of rapid growth. You didn’t have time for creating company culture deliberately, and just fell into one as a result of whoever was leading the teams day-to-day.

So how do you solve your culture problem?

Branding.

Most of the time, companies view branding as external – the way you communicate with your customers. However, branding is just as crucial internally. A well-crafted brand will inform the way you communicate with your employees and the culture you create with them.

 

Why does rebranding affect company culture?

Since internal branding is often an unfamiliar concept, let’s unpack the effect that branding has on creating company culture.

The benefits of branding are rich and varied. Benefits like more revenue, increased customer loyalty, and a stronger connection with your customers tend to take center stage. And that makes sense, but branding doesn’t end there.

Internal branding boasts often-overlooked gems – like higher retention rates, seamless mergers and acquisitions, and a mental and emotional boost to your employees.

Your brand communicates who you are as a company. Your customers care about that, absolutely. And so do your employees. They want to know who they’re working for, and they want to know what it means to work for and with your company.

Creating company culture through branding gives your culture focus, direction, and an avenue to connect with your employees in a truly meaningful way.

 

What are the benefits of creating company culture?

So what are the benefits here? What does creating company culture look like on a day-to-day basis?

The steps your company takes and the benefits you reap can cover a wide spectrum. Your rebranding agency can help you determine which steps you should leverage to bring the most value to your company.

You might add work perks – like a coffee bar, ping pong table, and/or company-funded after-work events. From there, you could take it up a notch and increase benefits, put policies in place to ensure everyone takes vacation time, and/or create learning events to help employees grow.

At the highest level, you might re-examine and revamp your leadership style, team communications, and mentorship or internship programs.

Taking these steps leads to both tangible and intangible benefits. The tangible benefits are easy to measure – higher productivity, low turnover, and a boost in revenue as a result.

But the path to those tangible benefits goes right through the intangible ones, so let’s take a closer look at those.

Attracting and retaining top talent

Group of top-performing employees giving high five and celebrating success at their office after an internal rebrand

Employees, now more than ever, want to feel that they align with the company they work for. Without a clear internal brand or a strong culture, there’s no way for your employees to know if they align with your company.

A thoughtful internal rebrand can help with this. Your rebranding checklist should include announcements and company-wide meetings. These meetings will bring your team up to speed with the new brand – including what you keep.

After the rebrand is over, your brand position and brand identity will shine through many different touchpoints. Every time your employees see branded material, they’ll be reminded of what you stand for.

And it’s not just current employees, either.

Great companies are almost as hard to find as great employees. So when a business puts in the work of creating company culture, word travels fast. Your business will be recommended to friends and family as a great place to work, and you’ll have more high-quality applications than you’ll know what to do with.

Boosting employee happiness (and productivity)

Your employees will be able to recommend your brand because they align with your beliefs, but there’s more to it than that. Understanding why your company exists, what’s unique about it, and who it serves adds meaning to their day. That meaning boosts employee happiness.

Your employees won’t be showing up just for a paycheck anymore. They’ll be showing up to champion a cause they believe in. Who wouldn’t be happy to do that?

The work of creating company culture adds to that fulfillment even more. Your business is no longer just a company, it’s a community. As humans, we thrive on community. We crave it. Creating it within the workplace makes your employees not only happier, but more productive.

Productivity goes up as a result of understanding that our work has meaning and value. Your employees become invested in the success of the company. They understand that the work they do directly impacts that. Then, they want to do more of their work – and do it well.

Creating high-energy, high-impact teams

Everyone envies high-energy, high-impact teams. There are books, seminars, and entire conferences on how to create teams that move the needle without burning out. Internal branding can help with this.

Why do companies rebrand in search of high-energy, high-impact teams?

Strong brands create passion. Passion creates relationships.

Your employees don’t want to feel like they’re cogs in some huge, mysterious machine. A rebrand can take the mystery out of your company. You’ll educate your employees on the problems you solve and why you solve them. And employees can get to know their co-workers on a personal level through the events that are part of company culture.

Creating company culture with your brand allows each individual to feel like they’re actually on a team. This opens up communication, creativity, and problem-solving within your teams. They’re all on the same side. They’re all solving the same problem, and it’s a problem they want to solve.

Ensuring seamless mergers and acquisitions

Two businessmen shaking hands after a successful merger and acquisition

Wondering how to rebrand your business during a merger, sale, or acquisition is completely normal. It’s a sticky situation, and there are countless factors to manage. Your external brand may undergo few changes, if any. On the other hand, you might need to create something totally new.

Either way, your internal brand will need a lot of attention.

A solid brand strategy process will make sure your brand does everything you need it to – both internally and externally.

Internally, your rebrand needs to communicate the value of employees on both sides and unite them under the new brand. Without this, an “us vs. them” attitude can creep in. This attitude makes the merger and acquisition process much more difficult.

Creating company culture and leading with a strong internal brand allows your employees to find curiosity about their new co-workers. They’re all seeing the brand with fresh eyes, learning new things at the same time.

And when the rebranding is guided by a third party – like an agency – even the highest levels of management can learn about and explore the brand as a team. An impartial third party will ensure everyone’s voices are heard.

An expert-level agency will know how to guide different values into the final brand. They’ll weigh everyone’s wants and needs carefully when assisting in creating company culture. And lastly, they’ll determine what to incorporate and how to incorporate it for the highest level of success.

 

Internal branding: how to make your employees love your brand as much as your customers do

Branding team cheering after implementing a successful internal branding for their client

If all of this sounds like you need to sell your employees on your brand, you’re on the right track. You do need to sell your employees, but not on your products or services. You need to sell them on your identity, your personality, and mission.

Internal branding is especially tricky for that very reason. Paradoxically, internal branding is also especially liberating. It allows you to rediscover why you fell in love with (or even created) your company in the first place.

Creating company culture translates that love for your company and its mission into everyday life in your company.

When your mission and values are clear in everyday life for every person in your organization, it shows for your customers, too. In better customer service. In higher-quality products. In problems that get solved more efficiently than ever.

Internal branding and creating company culture are difficult. There’s no question about it. But there’s also no question that the work is worth it. Choosing an excellent brand identity agency will take most of the work off your plate while allowing you to take in all the benefits.

Get in touch to start creating company culture with an intentional rebrand today.

How To Rebrand Your Business

Wondering how to rebrand your business? Congratulations! Every business reaches this phase at some point in its life. Brands need to shift and evolve as the business grows and changes.

A rebranding strategist generating business branding ideas

Of course, the steps of branding and rebranding can be confusing and complicated. They can vary depending on the size of your company, your target market, your products and services, and why you’re seeking a rebrand.

Fortunately, there are a few steps that are consistent across every effort when learning how to rebrand your business. These steps make for a great jumping-off point when you’re embarking on a rebrand.

While no article will be able to guide you through a successful rebrand start-to-finish, you can gather valuable information about what to consider and plan for.

But before we go any deeper into how to rebrand your business, let’s explore what rebranding is and why it’s important.

 

What is rebranding?

The Groveland Hotel rebranded messaging wheel created by Flux Branding

The Groveland Hotel Rebranding

Rebranding is the process of changing your brand.

When many people think of branding, they think of brand identity – the visual elements that allow you to identify a brand, like the color scheme, logo, and font. But a brand is more than the visuals.

Your brand is the essence of who you are as a company. This includes your mission and values, who you serve, how you’re different from your competitors, and why your company exists in the first place.

A rebrand takes a deep dive into all of these things. Does your current brand reflect them accurately? If not, what needs to change? Since branding is so comprehensive, learning how to rebrand your business is naturally a complex process.

If you feel your brand identity needs a change, but the other parts of your brand are still healthy, then you may be looking at a brand refresh instead.

What is a brand refresh?

Rakuten Super Logistics brand refresh by Flux: an LA rebranding agency

Rakuten Brand Refresh

Unlike a rebrand, a brand refresh typically only updates the visual elements of your company. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by advice on how to rebrand your business when all you really need is a light refresh.

During a refresh, your color palette, logo, and typography are changed, while the core elements of your brand remain the same.

Of course, there are some instances where you DO want a full company rebrand. Let’s discuss some situations where a rebrand is called for.

 

When should a company rebrand?

Companies rebrand for many different reasons. Some of them are good, while others are… not so good.

The benefits of branding can be huge – increased customer loyalty, a bigger market share, and revenue increases. The problem is, chasing those benefits and rebranding too often will do you more harm than good.

Rebrands should be thoughtful and deliberate.

You should never rebrand when it’s “just time for a change” or as an attempt to increase revenue this quarter. Rebranding takes time and energy to execute well, and it takes time to pay off, too.

So why do companies rebrand? Why should you be looking at how to rebrand your business? The answer is very simple:

Your brand no longer aligns with your company’s vision and goals.

This is a bit vague, so let’s get specific. Here are some situations when you would want to explore how to rebrand your business:

    • There has been a major change to the company’s structure, like a merger or acquisition.
    • There has been a significant change in your product or service offerings.
    • You’re losing a significant market share to a competitor and need to refocus.
    • There’s a negative association with your brand that you wish to change.

Let’s take a moment to discuss the last point a little more in-depth. Rebranding is too often used as a band-aid or an attempt at distraction. Rebranding due to a negative association with your brand needs to be handled with care, ideally by an experienced rebranding agency.

When should a company do a brand refresh?

Brand refreshes are much more forgiving. If your brand hasn’t been updated in about 7 – 10 years, you may want to consider a brand refresh.

A brand refresh is also helpful when you’re launching a new product or service line – that isn’t a significant change from your current offerings – and want your brand to reflect it.

 

How to rebrand your business successfully

Shimahara Visual: a rebranding project of Flux Branding

Shimahara Rebranding Campaign

No matter why you’re exploring how to rebrand your business, there’s one thing that will help you succeed: consistency.

Without consistency, your brand gets muddled and confusing. Your customers may not even recognize your brand when they encounter it, meaning your rebrand does more harm than good.

The more consistency you can create, the smoother the rebranding process will be. Creating a rebranding checklist can help in the process, as well as ensure that you don’t miss anything.

Working with an experienced rebranding agency can also make the rebranding process smoother and more consistent across channels.

As a rebranding agency ourselves, here are our top tips for how to rebrand your business:

1. Document everything

First, make sure that you document everything. Record zoom calls and live meetings. Keep a folder on your computer for all the recorded, written, and design data. Better yet, back it up in the cloud or onto a flash drive, too.

One thing that becomes immediately clear when you research how to rebrand your business is just how much information you’ll be handling. And since consistency is a priority above everything else, keeping all that information in one place will be a lifesaver later on.

2. Collect data

Next, you’ll be collecting a lot of information. You’ll need to do a full audit of your existing brand, including all the places it appears – online and in the real world.

You’ll interview your employees to get an inside look at your brand. Especially since creating company culture may need to be part of your rebrand!

You’ll also interview your customers and potential customers. Their insights into your current brand and the direction you could take with your new brand will be invaluable.

Once you have your existing brand audit and customer research, you’ll audit your competitors, too. What are they doing well or badly? What are they not doing at all? Where can you fill the gap in a way they haven’t?

3. Get creative

Los Angeles rebranding creative team choosing brand colors for their client

Using the data that you gathered, you’ll start to craft your new brand. This includes your new vision, mission, and values. You might change your name or tagline. Your logo and color palette may need an update.

As you explore how to rebrand your business, you might realize that what you want and what your customers want don’t quite line up. Trust the data that you gathered in step two and allow your brand to meet your customers where they’re at.

You may even want to test several options with focus groups. If you choose to do this, make sure you don’t release any changes to your brand until you’re done with this research.

4. Stay organized

Once you have all of this, it’s time to look back at your brand audit. You’ll need to come up with a plan for launching your brand across all the different touchpoints you found. While determining how to rebrand your business, pay close attention to everywhere your brand might show up.

Look for digital presences – like your website, social media profiles, job boards, and digital ads.

You’ll also look for physical places your brand exists – like letterhead, business cards, merchandise, and physical ads.

5. Finish the paperwork

Like anything in business, there’s a bit of paperwork to do before you can consider your rebrand complete. You’ll need to copyright your new brand, and check with your legal team to make sure that everything looks good before you proceed.

You may also need to update DBAs or product names.

Last, make sure everything is square with your finances. Many of the expenses associated with the rebranding process (including hiring an agency) are tax-deductible, so you can mark them as write-offs in your budget.

6. Launch your brand

OLiVE DTLA Artist In Residence Marketing Campaign

Finally, it’s time to launch your brand. Launches often include physical and digital marketing campaigns, user-generated content, and rolling out any new packaging. One of the most helpful branding agency services is their assistance with the launch. If a launch isn’t well coordinated, it can weaken brand equity and create confusion. But when it’s done smoothly, it’s a powerful method to grab attention in the marketplace.

You need to roll your brand out across multiple physical and digital channels simultaneously, which is a lot of wor.! With a clear strategy for how to bring the brand to the world, an agency allows it to go as smoothly as possible.

 

Strong brands make strong companies

Your brand is how you get recognized. It allows people to get to know and trust your company. That trust, in turn, encourages them to buy from and stay with you over their lifetime.

As a result, a full rebrand can make a company…or break it. Poorly done rebrands make your customers – current and potential – confused and uncertain. If you’re inconsistent with your brand, they’ll wonder if you’re inconsistent with your products or service, too.

Rebranding is an intense process. The payoff, though, can be incredible. Rebranding – when it’s done carefully and done well – can breathe new life into a company. It can show that you’re growing, changing, expanding…and welcoming the future.

Perhaps you’re just exploring how to rebrand your business, or maybe, you’re at the point where you’d like to bring in help from an expert branding agency in Los Angeles.

If you’re ready to embark on a project with the rebranding team at Flux, get in touch today.