There are many differences between a rebrand and a brand evolution.
A rebrand is often used to relaunch a product or service to a new or existing market; commonly, it will involve things like creating a new logo design and changing the brand messaging.
A brand evolution, on the other hand, retains the core values of your existing brand, but adapts them to grow with your business in response to customer feedback.
A prime example of this is Cadbury Dairy Milk. This marketplace staple has gone through no less than 13 different iterations since being introduced in 1897, yet has retained its brand identity throughout all the updates, with consumers commonly recognising the product at a glance.
At G&Tea Limited, when we evolved our own brand we examined 4 key considerations which should apply when evolving the brand of any type of business.
Why Are You Evolving?
It is important to understand why you are evolving. Is it your product that has altered, or the focus of your business? Are you evolving to adapt to current market trends, or has your core market or demographic changed?
Perhaps, as was the case with G&Tea Ltd., your brand may need more visual appeal, a stronger identity, and to better capture the essence of the product itself, so you leave a lasting impression.
Are You Establishing A Product Or A Brand?
It is vital to understand whether you are trying to create a brand identity for your products, or whether they have their own individuality which you can expand upon. An example of this is McDonald’s. Although individual products such as the Big Mac have their own level of identity, they are still associated with the overall brand.
At G&Tea Ltd., we originally set out to create an all-encompassing brand identity for our product. However, the feedback we received shifted our focus from the overall brand onto the individuality and uniqueness of each gin we produce.
Choose Your Colours Wisely
It is no secret that colour choices can have a huge impact on the appeal of a product, but different market sectors will require different approaches.
The key is to recognise who the product is for, and then translate that into the colour palette used.
In the world of catering and food service for example, it is well documented that green and blue colours give customers thoughts of earth and nature, whereas yellows can be off-putting. Others such as red, gold, and earthy tones can nurture a feeling of warmth, comfort, and familiarity.
For G&Tea Ltd., as all our gins have unique personalities, the choice of colour palette for each blend needed to be different. This meant stepping away from the purity and simplicity of the original white and muted tones we tried to apply across the whole range, and creating three very different and distinct identities for the gins.
Focus On Your Story
Finally, the humanity and story behind a brand is vital – even more so now, in a world of quick hit visuals and image-led social media content.
Whether you are developing your brand or the individual products within it, your story must be told and conveyed authentically.
This is a delicate balance, and when done incorrectly the identity created can fall on the side of gimmick over true substance. However, a prime example of this approach working as planned was the Shreddies ‘knitted by nanas’ marketing campaign, which served the purpose of increasing brand awareness very well.
Gimmicks are a tried and tested promotional tool, but they have a limited shelf-life and constantly need reinventing. In contrast, being authentic not only provides a longer life for your product or brand, but allows you to continue to grow and adapt without ever losing the core of what you have created.
To establish your story, think about where you came from, how your product or brand was born, and how you fit into the current and future marketplace.
