Rebranding often pops up when a company feels like it’s outgrown its current look. But before you start imagining a total overhaul, remember—rebranding isn’t all or nothing. It’s more of a spectrum. And here’s where it gets tricky: different team members will likely have wildly different takes on what this “rebrand” should be. Some are laser-focused on the visuals—new logo, trendy colors—while others are zoomed out, thinking about the bigger picture like strategy and market impact. Both are valid, but the key is finding balance.
It's easy for personal taste to sneak into branding discussions—after all, everyone’s got an opinion when it comes to design (cue the “But my cousin loves that logo” comments). But while aesthetics are subjective, branding experts are thinking bigger—how each decision impacts your company’s long-term strategy, market presence, and customer perception. The bottom line? The business case should lead the charge. If the rebrand doesn’t deliver more value than it costs, why bother? That’s why it’s so important to get everyone on the same page before diving in.
So, let’s break down what rebranding can actually involve, and where your situation might fall on the spectrum—from minor updates to full-scale transformations.
The Spectrum: Refresh, Reinvent, or Rethink?
To make sense of the various approaches to rebranding, let’s look at it like a journey, with different milestones that reflect how deep the change goes. Here’s a breakdown of the types of rebrands, using real-world examples from tech and other industries:
- The Refresh (Organic Visual Identity Update):
This is where you’re making small updates to keep things fresh, like adjusting imagery or tweaking a campaign’s look and feel. You’re not altering the core identity, just keeping up with trends or reflecting a minor shift in focus.
Example: Apple’s ongoing tweaks to its visual identity over the years, making small adjustments while keeping the essence intact.
- The Style Update (Planned Visual Identity Refresh):
Here, you’re modernizing without changing core elements like the name or logo. The goal is to update your look to avoid feeling outdated, but without reinventing the wheel. This is the brand equivalent of upgrading your wardrobe while keeping your signature style.
Example: Santander’s color flip is a refresh to fit a more digital-first, modern banking world.
- The Facelift (Logo Change, Same Name, Slight Positioning change):
You keep the name because it carries value, but the logo and overall visual identity need an upgrade to reflect a shift in market positioning. This is a practical and strategic step, signaling growth or new directions without losing your recognizable identity.
Example: Slack’s 2019 logo update, where the core playful tone remained, but the design became more streamlined.
- The Reinvention (Logo Change, New Style, New Positioning):
When a brand’s identity no longer fits who they are, but there is good reason to keep the name and the equity built into it, this step allows for a full redesign of the visual identity and positioning. You’re keeping the name, but everything else gets a bold makeover to reflect new values or a shift in focus.
Example: Mailchimp’s 2018 rebrand, where they kept the name but moved from being a mailing platform into the full marketing space.
- The Overhaul (Logo Change, Name Change, Strategic Shift):
This is the full transformation—a new name, new logo, and a clear strategic shift. You’re moving into entirely new territory, and the rebrand reflects that. This type of change is usually tied to a significant pivot in the company’s direction.
Example: Twitter’s transformation to X in 2023, or Vue Storefront’s rebrand to Alokai in 2024, signaling a complete strategic shift.
Aligning the Team: The Key to a Successful Rebrand
Rebranding can be exciting, but it can easily go off the rails or take up much more time than needed, if everyone isn’t on the same page. Often, when teams talk about rebranding, they’re not even imagining the same things. One person might think it’s just a logo tweak, while another believes it should be a strategic overhaul while the third would be fine with either not fully overseeing the consequences.
To avoid misaligned expectations leading to delays, confusion, and sometimes costly missteps, the first step to a successful rebranding is a High-Level Alignment, to avoid time and energy spent on the wrong things at the wrong time. Not doing this alignment upfront will make you having to do it much later in the process, which is painful and messy.
To help clarify where your team stands, we’ve created the simplest checklist to steer the very first discussions. As a start each team member can fill this out, then you can compare responses to learn how mixed the bag actually is.
Your Rebranding Alignment Checklist
For all stakeholders sharing their views on the upcoming rebranding; this inventory will help steer the kick-off conversations. Please fill in and elaborate as much as possible.
General Impressions
- Describe our current brand in your own words:
(Select up to 5 words)
- Is this still an accurate representation of who we are?
- Yes
- No
We should come across more...? ____________________
We should come across less...? ____________________
Specific Rebranding Considerations
- How much value do you think is tied to our current name?
(Think customer recognition, trust, and market position)
- High
- Medium
- Low
- Unsure
Elaborate: ____________________
Do you think we should change our name?
Why or why not? ____________________
- Is our company strategy changing, and do we want to express that through the brand?
(Scale of 1–5, where 1 = “No change” and 5 = “Complete strategic shift”)|1|2|3|4|5|
Elaborate: _______________
- How different are we now from when we last updated our branding?
(Scale of 1–5, where 1 = “No change” and 5 = “Completely different”)|1|2|3|4|5|
- Which parts of our brand need changing?
(Rate each on a scale of 1–5, where 1 = “Keep as is” and 5 = “Absolutely change”)- Name:
- Visual Identity:
- Values:
Messaging:
Why? _______________
- Name:
- Which parts of our visual identity need changing?
(Rate each on a scale of 1–5, where 1 = “Keep as is” and 5 = “Absolutely change”)
- Logo:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
- Color palette:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
- Typography:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
- Imagery:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
- Overall style:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Why? _______________
- Logo:
- Is our company strategy changing, and do we want to express that through the brand?
(Scale of 1–5, where 1 = “No change” and 5 = “Complete strategic shift”)|1|2|3|4|5|
Elaborate: _______________
- How different are we now from when we last updated our branding?
(Scale of 1–5, where 1 = “No change” and 5 = “Completely different company”)|1|2|3|4|5|
Click here to download your copy of our Rebranding Alignment Checklist.
