Building a brand is not cheap. Maybe you’ll get lucky. Something may happen and you go viral. For most of us, though, it’s a long, hard slog. To illustrate my point, consider the laws of Physics. Yes, you read that correctly. We’re turning to science for this one…
Einstein’s general theory of relativity states gravity is a result of mass and energy that distorts space-time. In layman’s terms: Size matters. Massive planets create their own gravitational pull. So do the biggest brands.
To achieve that pull for your brand, you need mass. In this case, mass is unaided awareness within a market. The trouble is that gaining such mass can take a long time or a lot of money.
I asked ChatGPT a question. How much does it cost to create a brand with 60% unaided awareness in the United States? Its answer was vague in the numbers, but not in the point. “It can take years of sustained growth and spend, or $100 million+”. That’s a lot of energy to create mass. It isn’t just the advertising. Its happy customers, raving fans, a powerful value proposition, incredible products, and the proverbial “wow” factor.
We now understand the proverbial science behind building a brand. However, all these rules go out the window when you rename or rebrand.
Unlike than the laws of the universe, you are able destroy the gravity of your brand. The best illustration of this is changing a name. If you do it right, it creates energy and fuel that builds mass. If you do it wrong, your universe comes crashing down. Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC. Dunkin Donuts to Dunkin. These changes were meant to fuel the positive evolution of their brands.
Renaming a brand to hide something may only make it worse. It reinforces the negative and is a constant reminder to your customer base—even if everything you are doing is positive. It also deflates unaided awareness rapidly. You’re forced to invest and rebuild your brand to a new audience, all the while alienating your core who are now suspicious of the change. It’s like starting over to build mass, but now you are fighting the forces that made you successful in the first place. Imagine if Boeing changed its name as a response to its challenges. It would reinforce the negative forever instead of addressing the issues to rebuild trust. “They used to be Boeing…”.
Rebranding may be a better choice. There are countless examples of brands that updated and refreshed in a way that fueled their growth to new and existing fans. The key is always in clearly defining the objective of “why” you are doing it. The change must reinforce the reason in a way that makes sense to your core customers—and attracts new ones.
Doing it right begins with a crystal-clear objective and constantly asking yourself what it will mean to your raving fans. With that said, a reason to do it should NOT be a reaction to competition or a bad quarter. That is a common mistake. Think of brands like Ollie’s and Bob’s Furniture. They know their customers and stick to branding that reinforces their value proposition. Imagine if someone said, “You know, we need to upscale our brand – just because.” That’s another of way saying you’ll end up looking like everyone else.
Look, you don’t have to be a physicist to be a good marketer, but you must respect where you are as a brand before you make any drastic moves.