Basics for Refreshing Your Brand
As your organization grows and evolves, sometimes your brand can remain stagnant. Before you know it, your visuals look dated and your messaging doesn’t ring the same as it once did. When that becomes the case, it may be time to rethink and refresh your brand.
Here are a few steps in doing so.
Determine whether you want a refresh or a full rebrand.
A rebrand is a much more involved process that may call for more resources such as money, time, and even outsourced skills, but if you are seeking a complete transformation in your brand, that may be the way to go.
Although it takes place on a smaller scale, a refresh can still be impactful and effective in breathing new life into your organization’s aesthetic and social media presence. A refresh also gives you more time to implement change, which can help spread out the cost!
If you are unsure whether the full transformation is needed, a great decisive tool is one question: Are the values and mission of your organization remaining the same?
Determine the brand elements you want to refresh.
Begin by scanning the various channels on which you reach your audience (social media profiles, email blasts, and so on). This can give you a sense of how your brand comes to life and serves as a thread between different platforms.
Are there inconsistencies in your brand messaging? Are there places where your message or style is getting lost? These may be the items you want to tackle first in identifying what to refresh.
These items may include:
Language that is inconsistent from one platform to another
Colors or styles that no longer fit your brand
Images and photographs that look dated
Build a guide for your key messaging and visual identity
Compile all of your brand elements into a unified brand guide. This may include fonts, colors, logos, and any other visual assets you would consistently use on your website, social channels, and communicative outlets. Also include key messaging about your mission and core values as an organization.
This not only puts all of your assets in one place that is easy to find but serves as an internal resource that staff can use when publicly referring to or speaking on behalf of your organization.
This resource can be a living document, which can be updated as you move forward.
Recommendation! Pair specific visual elements with specific aspects of your services or programming. For example, if you host community events, you may use specific colors, fonts, and templates that differ from those of workshops.
Tip! If you are creating or adjusting your visual assets or messaging, consider how your organization’s voice (e.g. being more personable on Instagram rather than LinkedIn) and visuals (i.e. dimensions of banners, headers, and graphics) may vary depending on the platform.
Set a measure for success
Before implementing any elements of your refresh, be sure to have an idea of what you would like to accomplish and how you will measure the accomplishment. Will success look like a higher click-through rate on newsletters? Does one of your desired results include a higher attendance rate for an event series?
Identifying and setting these metrics of success can not only guide how efficient your brand refresh was but can provide insights on how to leverage newer elements to drive engagement, attendance, demand for collateral (t-shirts, stickers, etc.) and more.
Implement across networks
To ensure uniformity and increase brand recognition, include your updated elements across all of your social media platforms, in your email marketing, on your website, and any other channel you’re able to reach your audience with.
Recommendation! Create a checklist with all of the channels you use to reach your audience (e.g. website, social media, donation platforms, event management platforms, etc.) This checklist can be a starting point in considering all of the digital spaces your organization inhabits to ensure you leave no stone unturned in your brand refresh!