So your organization is going to rebrand; you’ve gathered and heard all stakeholders, assessed your motivations, determined your goals, and built consensus. Now what?
Timing is Everything
It’s always tempting to unveil something new at major conferences or events. What better way to show membership how their money has been spent than to launch a new website or present a new logo to an attentive crowd? And you CAN build a lot of buzz for your organization by doing just that—IF you’ve allowed enough time to do it right. As you’ve already learned, your brand is the composite portrait of who your organization is and the perception customers will have of you. Creating a new identity can take anywhere from three months to more than a year depending on the scope of the project, so it’s essential that companies plan ahead in order to best capitalize on the launch. Ideally, your design partner has been involved in your decision-making process thus far, but if not, now is the time to integrate them into your team. A good design firm can help you develop realistic timelines and set achievement targets to monitor progress along the way.
What to Expect
This is where the rubber meets the road. Whether you’ve decided to take your brand in an entirely new direction or evolve it by building on existing strengths, the process should include several key elements.
• The Logo—Using the knowledge gleaned through focused discussions, logo options can be presented to decision-makers. Through constructive feedback, ideas can be narrowed down and refined to arrive at the right solution for your organization.
• Language—What you say and how you say it is a crucial part of your brand identity. Your design team can advise you on adding or amending a tagline to support the logo, maintaining consistency of language and tone in your messaging, or energizing marketing copy.
• Visuals—Will you use photos or illustrations to share your vision with the world? What colors and fonts best reflect your corporate culture? In an increasingly visual and digital environment, ancillary graphics can speak volumes about your organization. Thoughtful curation of these elements by your designers can propel your brand to the fore of public awareness.
• Branding Standards—Launching your new identity is just the beginning; for a brand to resonate, it has to be nurtured and reinforced. Developing style guidelines that define what the elements of your identity are and how to use them arms your staff with an invaluable tool to consistently implement your brand and foster institutional buy-in.
Having helped numerous organizations develop lasting identities, Dever Designs has the experience to guide organizations through the process of creating or updating their brand. Ready to start? Visit deverdesigns.com or call 301-776-2812.