The Art of Corporate Metamorphosis...

Having led seven company rebrands/refreshes throughout my career, I've learned these transformations are more art than science. Continuing my reflections on organizational change, I wanted to share some thoughts on the emotional aspects of rebranding.

𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 - When changing a storied brand name due to an acquisition, I discovered resistance wasn't about logo design but about personal identity. Once we focused on the emotional loss, it made it easier to transition to the new name/positioning. A good crisis communications expert helped too.

𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 - In every successful rebrand, I've identified and empowered internal evangelists first. Your team needs to embrace the new vision before your market will, which is why the rebrand should stem from genuine market, acquisition or solutions changes—not just disliking the logo.

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 – I've learned that the most successful repositioning isn't about design but timing. It succeeded because it was driven by a need to better speak client language, not just create a pretty design. Sales were lagging, and when I researched the market, it became apparent it was because we weren't connecting with clients on their level.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 - Before touching a single design element, I spend weeks in client conversations. Your best positioning often comes from their words, not your internal brainstorms.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 – I am known for saying – if your grandparents don’t understand what your company does, you need to rethink your positioning. If a complex answer is required, it usually means a company is not clear on its own value proposition to its clients.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦.