BRAND STRATEGY

WHEN THE BRAND NO LONGER FITS THE BUSINESS

The business has moved on.
The brand hasn't.

Organizations change.

They grow. Add new services. Enter new markets. Acquire businesses. Find new customers. Change leadership. Sometimes they simply get better at what they do.

The brand doesn't always keep up.

Eventually, there's a gap between what the organization has become and what people still think it is.

That gap can start causing problems.

IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE

The positioning could describe almost anyone in the category.

Different parts of the organization tell different versions of the story.

Customers know you for something you no longer want to be known for - or only for.

The business has expanded into new areas, but the brand keeps cementing it to the old ones.

Or everyone agrees the brand needs to change - but no one agrees on what it should become.

THE PROBLEM MAY NOT BE THE BRAND

Sometimes what looks like a brand problem is really a business problem.

Or an audience problem. A portfolio problem. A culture problem. A competitive problem.

Occasionally, it's simply that nobody has made a difficult decision for a while, finding the status quo too easy or too comfortable.

That's why we don't begin by assuming you need a new positioning, identity or campaign.

We begin by working out what's actually changed.

WHAT WE LOOK AT

We look at the business and where it's going.

We confirm what customers believe about you - not just what you would like them to believe.

We point out where competitors are becoming interchangeable.

We tell the truth about what your people think the organization stands for.

We detail the cultural shifts that may be changing what matters in your category.

And then we work out where your brand can genuinely make a difference.

WHAT THAT CAN LEAD TO

Depending on the problem, that might mean a new brand strategy or positioning.

It could mean sharpening the value proposition, rethinking the brand architecture, understanding the audiences differently or finding a more useful way to talk about the business.

Sometimes the answer is considerably smaller than expected.

Sometimes, painfully, it isn't.

THE POINT

The brand shouldn't just reflect what the business has become.

It should help drive what the business becomes next.

CONTACT

Have a brand that doesn't quite fit anymore?

Let's talk.

Get in touch.