Nothing is more exhilarating to a multi-disciplinary brand, graphic and marketing design team than having the opportunity to build a brand from scratch. It means you get to make critical decisions about the brand's key messaging along with its recognition and distinction in the marketplace.

But this article is not about that. It is about the very difficult task of reinvigorating an existing brand. It takes discipline to do it the right way, and it is a far more complex process to insure success.

A recent example of this was demonstrated with a long-standing respected brand in the construction and D.I.Y markets, Arrow Fasteners. Although contractors and do-it-yourselfers viewed Arrow as rugged, reliable and easy-to-use, that wasn't enough to stave off the competition and grow their business.

We first conducted considerable up-front research into the history of the brand, the company and the product category. This critical phase included one-on-one qualitative research with key constituents: senior management, retailers, wholesalers, consumers and contractors.

Our research confirmed that consumers viewed the brand as rugged, trusted and built-to-last. But stakeholders also expressed a desire for the brand to become more innovative, responsive to change and known for developing new products. The stakeholders felt the company was old-fashioned in their approach to the market, and that they needed to become known as a modern, forward-thinking company.

With the proper direction we knew their brand touch-points could be reinvigorated and refined to embody modern, innovative, powerful, ergonomic and forward-thinking attributes. These attributes would be welcome additions to this trusted brand because they are reverent to the past but comprehensive and forward-looking, which are essential components to brand reinvigoration.

As many different versions of the logo had evolved over the years, determining the right treatment required extensive work. We worked closely with Arrow's product and marketing teams to insure the new solutions would translate well on all products, packages, advertising and web communications.

We designed a range of solutions - from evolutionary approaches to revolutionary. We arrived at a new positioning statement, tagline and an updated version of their existing logo that was reverent to the past and embodied comprehensive, forward-looking attributes as a basis for the future.

Reinvigorating an existing brand takes discipline and an intelligent approach. Here are some objectives that help guide the process:

1. Research and respect the heritage of the brand
2. Collaboratively manage the project with your senior management team's involvement and buy-in
3. Insure there will be no sales loss or point-of-sale confusion
4. Develop and design a solution that will make an impact in the marketplace
5. Design and develop solutions with retailers'/wholesalers' feedback and buy-in
6. Insure that the revised and refined brand will support future initiatives
7. Keep the existing brand loyalists happy
8. Design new brand elements to attract new consumers to the brand
9. Confirm the initial new directions with research validation before final refinements
10. Develop a set of brand standards to insure adherence and compliance going forward

Keep in mind that any project of this nature is not just a simple graphic fix to the logotype or brand mark. A successful project should address all the components of your brand:

Customer Service

Is the competition close at your heels? Are your profits and sales under pressure? Are new consumers flocking to your brand? Is your future not as clear as you would like? If the answers are yes, we strongly recommend you take a close hard look at where you've been and design a strategy for where you would like to go.

<<< back