Rebranding services cover a wide spectrum of offerings. When you start looking at which ones your company needs for its next project, getting lost in the weeds is all too easy. The most successful rebrands, though, need a top-down approach that looks at the big picture.
At Flux, we’ve successfully guided many projects (like yours!) through the complex, shifting fields of rebranding. In our professional experience, we’ve found 10 services to be an absolute necessity for a successful rebranding project.
10 rebranding services to look for in an agency
Trying to determine how to rebrand your business is never an easy process. Different stakeholder and executive viewpoints, customer segments, timelines, and budgetary concerns all play a big role.
An experienced branding agency can manage some of those concerns with one caveat: You have to choose an agency to work with.
Searching “Los Angeles branding agency” turns up more than 72 million results – and that’s just our corner of the world. Wherever you’re located, chances are good that countless branding agencies are vying for your attention, so how can you choose the right one?
Don’t be afraid to shop around. Interview your potential branding agency to get a good feel for their culture and expertise.
Ask about their processes. What do they do to get consistent results? How do they determine what your project needs? What rebranding services do they believe are critical, and why?
The answers to these questions can make or break your rebranding project. The true test of an agency is how they use their creativity to deliver a consistently beautiful, functional end result time after time.
Here are the rebranding services we consider essential to a successful rebranding project.
1. Workshops with key stakeholders
Why is this project happening? Before anything else, we need the answer to that question. Rebranding isn’t the work of a single person or department, so answering that all-important question shouldn’t fall on a single point of contact.
Holding workshops with key stakeholders is one of the few rebranding services that is rarely, if ever, mentioned by a branding agency. That’s a real problem.
Without getting hands-on experience with the stakeholders who can make or break the project, your agency is missing an important compass point for the project as a whole.
2. Interviews, interviews, interviews
Company rebranding is never just about the company as a general concept. Your customers, salespeople, and executives all play a role in how your company is perceived – both now and after your rebrand. Interviewing these people adds a new dimension to the research you’ve already done with your stakeholders.
On-the-ground experiences from employees shape the way your customers (and potential customers) interact with your brand. That means their feedback is one of the most invaluable rebranding services you can get. Why skip it?
3. A thorough brand audit
Caltech Associates Strategic Vision Report
Marketing materials, social media, sales collateral, and internal manuals are all places your brand shines through.
What are they saying to your customers and employees right now? Does it align with your vision for the future? If not, why not?
4. Insightful reports
Your branding agency should be able to put together insightful reports on how different interviews and brand pieces interconnect.
These reports should give you a sense of what your brand is saying to customers and what people are saying about your brand. If there’s any misalignment, these reports are the start of your brand reputation strategy – the pathway from where you are to where you want to be.
5. Reorganization of your brand platform
Your brand platform is what communicates the essence of your brand to new and existing employees – what you value, who you serve, what you believe, and how you communicate.
Reorganizing your brand platform goes hand in hand with the research and reports we’ve discussed so far. Together, these powerful rebranding services ensure you’re building your new brand with evidence-based facts and ideas that will truly resonate with your customers.
6. Brand identity systems
Jump Out Brand Identity Mood Board
Brand identity is the visual (and external) expression of your brand’s personality and beliefs. When most people think of a brand, they think of logos and typography. But those things can only be truly powerful after you’ve determined who you are, what’s important to you, and how that shows up in your business.
At that stage, you can create an irresistible brand identity that communicates all those core ideas faster than words. Visuals are the first thing the brain processes, so it’s essential that your brand identity reflects the underlying rebrand strategy.
7. A company-wide standards manual
Another one of the many rebranding services that gets overlooked? A standards manual for the new brand.
You may find yourself doing a complete overhaul of the way you interact with your customers and employees. The language you use in advertising or marketing has changed. And, yes, visual standards are different, too.
It’s a lot to keep track of, and your employees will need a guide as they adjust. A standards manual is an invaluable rebranding service that you can continue to reference long after your agency has come and gone.
8. Website updates
Not every rebranding agency will offer website updates, but they’re vital parts of your customer interactions. The website’s loading time, visuals, navigation, and mobile-friendliness can all impact how your customer (or potential customer) views your brand.
Rebranding services should always include a critical look at how your website is performing, not just the way it looks. A full audit of your digital presence– across websites, social media, and more– can also give critical insights into what needs to be improved in the rebranding process.
9. Sales and marketing collateral support
Your sales and marketing teams are responsible for carrying the banner past the initial brand launch. And during the launch itself, they will be a huge part of bringing your new brand into the world.
Sales and marketing collateral are key rebranding services because a brand launch is unlike any project your teams have handled in the past. We’ll need to work as a team to get your project smoothly off the ground.
10. Corporate identity pieces
Business cards, letterhead, envelopes, email signatures… your brand shows up as part of your corporate identity day in and day out. When it comes to rebranding services, the details matter.
An effective rebranding agency will be there to help you with those details, carefully ensuring that your new brand is consistent. Because to your customers and business partners, consistency translates to trust.
When it’s time to rebrand
Companies rebrand for different reasons.
You might be looking to gain a larger market share or get the edge on a particularly fierce new competitor.
Maybe you’re looking to increase customer loyalty or employee retention.
Perhaps you’re trying to get a fresh start with new management, or after a crisis tarnished your brand’s reputation.
No matter why you’re looking for rebranding services, you need a branding agency that can handle the heat. They need to cover everything from stakeholder buy-in to researching customer views to managing minute details for a clean final launch.
Flux is a top branding agency in Los Angeles, and we’re up to the challenge. Let’s talk.