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Many companies back off of advertising and marketing in a recession or in times of uncertainty. This presents a great opportunity for you to take the lead and to gain a strategic advantage over competitors who are hunkering down. If your brand needs a refreshing, now is the time to do it. You can make a big splash and get noticed.
Your organization needs to look at its brand through the eyes of customers. Research is important to see what your customers are thinking. Then it’s time to take a fresh, new look at your mission, vision, and values and apply that, along with your customer research, to the way your company talks about itself and portrays itself visually.
Honestly assess your brand’s unique benefits and competitive strengths and weaknesses.
Obviously, you don’t refresh or change your brand just for the sake of change. And refreshing a brand is never a substitute for solid business practices. However, there’s no reason you can’t tweak your brand and gain added brand equity if one or more of the following has taken place at your company:
- Introduction of new or expanded products or services
- Acquisitions or mergers
- Targeting new or expanded markets, whether locally or internationally
- A perception of your brand as stale or resting on its laurels
- New sales channels, such as the Web have opened up, or a major shift from print to social media advertising and marketing has ocurred
- Major push for increased sustainability or social responsibility
Your revitalized brand can be subtle or major and might include:
- A new or slightly updated logo.
- New or updated graphic design.
- New or updated typeface.
- Web site update or total redesign.
- Entry into social media channels, whether dipping your toe or diving in full force.
- New company collateral, including newsletters, brochures, letterhead, e-mail templates, etc.
Don’t forget: Employees are your major brand ambassadors and advocates so it’s critical you have their buy-in and full support.
Launching your revitalized brand
So now that you’ve tweaked or overhauled your brand, you are ready to roll it out. A well-timed, coordinated and integrated launch should be the goal. If appropriate, a “teaser” campaign can lead to the roll-out where subtle messages can alert your customers and prospective customers that something new and different is coming.
Other key tactics to consider in launching your revitalized brand include:
- Heavy use of social media to build excitement and draw people to an event or a web site.
- Public relations, such as special events, product news releases, word-of-mouth, brand spokespeople, etc.
- Media buys, whether print, broadcast, social media sites, mobile or Web.
- A combination of print, audio, video and social media.
- A big splash followed with well-timed, new messaging and marketing tactics.
It’s critical to think strategically and holistically when launching your revitalized or new brand. Include all stakeholders in the process, especially employees, and make sure everyone is “on message” and not deviating from the brand that you so diligently crafted. Appoint and empower a brand ambassador to monitor and enforce your valuable brand.
Don’t let your brand become stale. Stay relevant by continually updating and assessing your brand’s identity. Plan for the future by thinking of creative ways to keep your brand momentum going.
With proper research, planning, support and engagement, a revitalized brand can help your company stand out in an uncertain market and business environment.
Ken Wurdeman is director of public relations at Ervin Group, an Omaha, Nebraska, advertising and marketing agency. You can reach him at
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