Time to change your identity? Maybe you need to redesign?
All brands are different, but companies’ management teams always have to do their homework, respect their legacy and always listen to their customers!
We have to change, but how far can we go?
There comes a time in the life cycle of a company when the management always have to ask themselves whether the company’s identity is still appropriate and hence on trend as regards the company’s strategy. The market may have developed dramatically, or other external or internal situations may have changed. Or maybe the company realises that it’s limited by its original identity, that this identity feels old-fashioned. But just how far can and should the company go when it comes to changing its identity?
IBM has managed to keep its identity feeling fresh over several decades thanks to frequent tiny changes. Federal Express, on the other hand, changed its name and modernised its logo drastically in order to reinforce the FedEx brand.
But beware, a company can get so excited about the potential for change that they ruin many years of branding. The American clothing chain "The GAP" changed its 20-year-old logo with a bang just to experience the humiliation of having to change it back after a couple of weeks! The new identity garnered fierce criticism in the media. People get a relationship with the brands they surround themselves with. Therefore, if there is no clear reason to change, be careful. Sometimes companies experience that customers turn away from the brand, become angry and disappointed and no longer believe in the brand if a large and unjustified change suddenly occurs.
All brands are different, but companies’ management teams always have to do their homework, respect their legacy and always listen to their customers!
Checklist
Are there legitimate reasons for considering a change of identity?
Have you examined degrees of identity change from the point which your company is currently at?
Can you qualify the changes of identity to the management and owners?
