When to Update My Brand Identity?

When creating your brand kit as part of your brand identity, you have the long run of 10 years in mind. That’s also how long a trademark would last, but when should you update your brand identity?

Join us as we answer that question in our blog today.

A Brief Explanation of Brand Identity

Before anything else, let’s refresh our knowledge of brand identity. These elements of your business make you distinguishable from the rest.

From your logo design to website design, packaging, and more, these make your brand unique physically and outwardly. It’s the WHY of your business.

Why do you want to serve your customers? A lot of your brand’s design answers just that. From the typography to the color palette and even iconography helps you shape the view of your customers.

The common elements of your brand identity are

These elements ensure that you stay in the minds of your customers. And statistics show that consistent brands get more traction. That begs the question, when should your business update its brand identity?

Should You Update Your Brand Identity?

The answer will need to answer another question: are you rebranding or refreshing? Before anything else, let’s define each to help you decide which exactly you’re doing as your read this blog.

Rebranding for your business means changing most of the design elements of your brand. From your brand’s voice to the logo design and overall color palette and font style, changing these means, you’re rebranding.

Refresh your brand means you are making minimal tweaks to your overall branding. Update the feel and look of your business to existing graphic design trends or something you think suits your brand as a whole.

Now that we’ve defined them, here are eight reasons to update your brand identity.

The Want for Influential Brand Recognition

Target Audience/Market is Shifting

Need for Damage Control

Change of Business Name

Finer Brand Cohesiveness

To Have Better Communication

Announce Change Internally and Outwardly

Realigning Brand Perception

1. The Want for Influential Brand Recognition

All of us have been there, wanting to create a branding scheme that’s recognizable and memorable enough that we stay in the minds of your market longer. If your brand identity isn’t helping you achieve that goal, please listen to your gut instinct and redesign your elements.

Brand recognition is the frequency of your audience correctly pinpointing your brand when your product or service is displayed. Refresh or rebrand your elements accordingly to strengthen your brand recognition.

2. Target Audience/Market is Shifting

Next, we have your target audience/market in mind. They are, after all, the life source of your business. Let’s say that you’re a cosmetics brand that wants used to target Gen Z peeps.

But now, you want to primarily focus on catering to millennials. Your advertisement campaign and brand’s overall look will shift to a modern design yet have bright, energetic vibes through your color palette.

Pink and orange are some great examples of such colors. Can you identify other trends your target market follow?

3. Need for Damage Control

This update is one we hope you don’t experience sooner or later. With the rise of connectivity through social media, one wrong move can ruin the reputation of your business.

But as the saying goes, Prevention is Better than Cure. Create preventive measures for this aspect through trademarking, spotting plagiarism, or rebranding.

Did you know that Google renamed itself Alphabet in 2015? Google is a subsidiary under them, much like Vans and The North Face are subsidiaries of The VF Corporation.

Either way, if you want to keep the fire of your brand alive amidst crisis, it’s a great idea to update your brand identity today.

4. Change of Business Name

Let’s say you’re not satisfied with your business name anymore since it doesn’t represent who you are as a business. It’s high time for you to change it and your brand identity.

Ensure that your business name idea shines with your branding to allow your market to get to know you better. It lets you get creative and tell the world you’re still the same business with different values and priorities.

5. Finer Brand Cohesiveness

Next, if your branding can do better to make your brand look whole, please update it. You need to look credible and trustworthy to your market.

The best way for you to do that is through subliminal messaging. You can use color psychology for this and pair it with this year’s icon trends to help you achieve that sweet spot of finer brand cohesiveness.

Refresh your brand identity as needed for this portion.

6. To Have Better Communication

Sometimes, our first design doesn’t always convey our message correctly. Revising and presenting it in a new form for your market is good.

After all, it takes 7 seconds for your market to get a first impression of your business. Use marketing tactics like the emotional design or cute and humorous marketing to aid in the vibe you want your market to feel around your brand.

7. Announce Change Internally and Outwardly

Second to last, if you have a change in management and reestablished your goals, go ahead and refresh your branding. It’s an excellent way for you to connect with your audience. It’s personalizing your business rather than just an entity your market will love.

8. Realigning Brand Perception

Lastly, update your brand identity if you want your brand design to align with how your market sees you. This part may sound redundant since we also wish to strengthen brand recognition.

But the brand perception has its own needs because it’s your customers’ overall thoughts and feelings towards your products and services. Ensure you capture their heart and thank them for their continued support even after your update.

Pro Tips to Refresh Your Brand Identity

Last on this blog, we’re giving you well-researched tips on updating your design effectively. Customers love it when you’re up-to-date with various trends; don’t overdo it.

Here are ten ways to better refresh your brand identity.

Pinpoint Aspects You Want to Change

Update Visual Elements

Repackage Your Products Accordingly

Launch Updated Campaigns

Clear Brand Message Is Key

Align Content with Brand Voice

Tweak Minimally

Ensure That Everyone on the Team is on the Same Page

Brand Kits Will Help You

Don’t Forget Your Promotions

1. Pinpoint Aspects You Want to Change

You don’t always have to change everything drastically. Let’s go back to the question above. Are you refreshing or rebranding your brand identity?

The answer will help you envision the brand image you want for your business. The changes may come from your typography to the image you want to represent your business.

You may want a mascot for your customers to relate to or creatively tell them what you offer through abstract design. Either way, point out the main aspects of your branding you want to change.

2. Update Visual Elements

This point helps the above theme by allowing you to make small changes that count. You can retain your overall message, but your visuals have a different vibe since you chose to follow a design trend.

You may opt for a 3D effect for your existing typography or add animation to your posts to ride the new content trend. Bottomline, don’t neglect your visual elements when updating your brand.

3. Repackage Your Products Accordingly

This portion needs its point because it’s one of the first things your market sees in shops. Consider these statistics when creating your merchandise design: around 67% of consumers value the material they buy.

4. Launch Updated Campaigns

Next, we want you to create a step-by-step guide on telling the world you updated your branding. You don’t have to change everything. Ensure that some steps are renewed to help you achieve positive brand recognition and cohesiveness.

5. Clear Brand Message Is Key

When you refresh aspects of your brand, your message must also stand out to help customers personally relate with you. It’s one of the various unique ways to stand out amongst the competition in your niche.

6. Align Content with Brand Voice

With an updated brand identity follows content that backs up the changes you made. Whether that’s trending designs for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or Blog content, ensure they have the same brand voice across platforms. It all contributes to your rebranding or refreshing.

7. Tweak Minimally

Another, “Isn’t this the same as the points above?” Nope, it’s a caution for the first three points. We’re not stopping you from reimagining your brand’s overall design, but don’t forget the aspects that your customers love about your old design.

Tweak minimally is telling you to incorporate some of the old aspects your market loves while revitalizing to invite a new set of target customers.

8. Ensure That Everyone on the Team is on the Same Page

This point is more of an internal reminder for your team. To avoid having to do damage control, it’s best to meet with your group and discuss the how and whys of the changes in your branding endeavor.

It also builds rapport and ensures that when your team faces existing and potential customers, they’re treated equally and fairly and receive the same information about your brand.

9. Brand Kits Will Help You

Second to last, we have your brand kit. You can ask a freelance designer or grab it as a set of templates to help your brand look cohesive. And it’s also a way to make a one-stop-shop for all your design needs that are part of your new campaign.

10. Don’t Forget Your Promotions

Lastly, when you do create changes, announce them to the world. You not only update your existing but tell a whole new set of clients that you’re open for business and are ready to cater to their needs.

Plus, you give new light to your business to help generate organic traffic and word-of-mouth buzz that enables you to find your target audience better.

Elevate Your Brand Identity Today!

Woohoo, another overload of information to help you brand your business better. Remember that the answer to updating your brand identity lies in what you want for your business.

It’s not an obligation but more of a case-to-case basis. And if you need help with such an activity, we have freelance designers here in DesignCrowd.

And over at BrandCrowd, we have templates for your Facebook Ads, Videos, TikTok posts, and more to help you customize the best look for your business.

Update your brand identity today and attract the market and sales you want to see.