I don't often take requests from the audience, so to speak. Probably because...well, I've never had any. So when we received a tweet yesterday asking for insight on a particular branding topic, I was excited that it was my day to write a blog.

The question that Brian posed is a great one:

• When is it really time to do a rebrand?

And the follow up statement though unfortunate, is all too common:

• I talk to so many people Rebranding yet few can say why

I'll start by addressing your second statement by emphatically stating that no organization should ever rebrand without knowing why. The first step in the rebranding process is to understand the problem you are trying to solve.  American inventor and social philosopher, Charles Kettering, said so eloquently:

“A problem well stated is a problem half solved.”

To answer your first question, there can be many reasons to rebrand.  Too many to list here. But what all reasons have in common is that who the organization is internally (culture, vision, values, etc) doesn't match with how the rest of the world views you.  A rebrand should always be a process that makes you more of who you truly are. In short: The outside should match the inside.

I posted a somewhat controversial blog on this topic a little over two years ago, read here for more thoughts.

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