When should a business consider rebranding?

Rebranding your business is more than just a new logo or tagline. It’s a strategic decision that helps you stay relevant, align with evolving goals, and ensure your brand resonates with your target audience.

How do you know when it’s time to take that step? Whether you’re facing internal changes, market shifts, or ever-changing consumer preferences, rebranding is a strong solution to refresh your company’s identity and ensure your relevance on the market.

We’re here with a list to help you identify when it’s time for your business to rebrand.

1. Your Business has Changed Direction

A significant shift in your business strategy —Whether a pivot to a new industry, a change in target market, or a shift in what you offer — might warrant a rebrand. As your business evolves, you might find your original branding no longer reflects the company’s current goals, values, or vision. By rebranding you can communicate this change to your audience, providing transparency in the direction your company is headed towards.

For example, if you’ve moved from a offering a single product to a broader range, your brand’s visual identity and messaging should evolve to reflect such growth, and convey a more diverse business portfolio. Below our beloved friends from Jericho needed a new direction.

2. Your Brand No Longer Resonated with Your Target Audience

Consider rebranding as you discover customer preferences evolving. If your brand no longer appeals to your target audience, or their values, it may be time to rethink your brand identity. This is especially true as your audience sees a shift in age, location or interests.

Making sure your brand evolves with its audience allows you to maintain your connection to them as you refresh messaging, imagery, and tone to better resonate with their expectations and needs.

3. You’ve Experienced a Major Change in Leadership

New leadership often brings new goals, values, and visions for the company, which should be reflected in the company’s branding. A rebrand during a leadership transition helps signal to both employees and customers that the company is moving forwards under new direction.

Whether it’s a new CEO, a change in ownership, or even a shift in management, a rebrand clarifies the vision of the company’s future.

4. Your Brand Looks Outdated

If your brand looks old or doesn’t align with current design trends, it can send the message that your company isn’t staying up to date. Brands that fail to modernise risk being overlooked by potential customers who perceive them as outdated or irrelevant.

Refreshing your logo, website, and overall design can give your business the modern edge it needs to compete in todays fast-paced digital landscape. What we achieved with 1806 Bar was exactly that. We took them from the old to the new look, the results speak for themselves.

5. Your Brand is Confused or Inconsistent

If your brand’s messaging is unclear or inconsistent across different touchpoints, this can confuse your customers and harm your reputation. Whether your branding varies across your website, socials, or marketing materials, inconsistency creates a fragmented brand experience.

Rebranding gives you the opportunity to establish a cohesive brand identity with consistent messaging, colours, logos, and design across all touch points, resulting in a seamless experience for your customers.

You can see exactly how we transformed Cookhouse look and feel here. PS. We also won an award for it...

6. You’ve Outgrown Your Current Brand Identity

What worked for your company when it was small may not be suitable as it grows into a larger, more established business. If your company has outgrown initial brand identity, its time for a rebrand to reflect your growth and reach.

Rebranding allows you a stronger presence in the market, and differentiates yourself from competitors.

7. You Want to Differentiate from Competitors

You could get lost in a crowd if you look too similar to your competitors. Give yourself a unique look that stands out in the market and differentiate your business from others.

Whether through a refreshed visual identity, a new value proposition, or an updated tone of voice, a rebrand can set you apart from the common rabble.

8. Your Brand is Losing Market Share or Customer Engagement

If you’ve noticed a decline in customer engagement, website traffic, or market share, it could be a sign that your brand is no longer connecting with your audience. A stale or poorly executed brand identity can contribute to this decline.

A strategic rebrand can help reinvigorate interest in your business, attracting new customers and maintaining the interest of existing ones.

9. You’ve Had a Negative Publicity Crisis

Every company faces challenges, and sometimes, a crisis can damage a brand’s reputation. Whether it’s a public relations issue, a product failure, or a scandal, negative publicity can have a long-lasting effect on how customers perceive your brand.

In cases like these, rebranding can help you distance your business from past mistakes and re-establish trust with your audience. By introducing a new brand image, messaging, and values, you can begin to rebuild your reputation and restore consumer confidence.

10. Your Brand No Longer Reflects Your Core Values

Sometimes, a company’s branding no longer reflects its core values or mission. This can happen when there’s a shift in company culture, a change in business philosophy, or when the brand simply becomes disconnected from what the company truly stands for. Rebranding is an opportunity to realign your branding with your company’s values, mission, and vision.

A rebrand that focuses on your core values can help your business authentically connect with customers who share those values, leading to stronger brand loyalty and trust.

How often should a business rebrand? Look at Pepsi.

There’s no strict rule on how often a business should rebrand, but companies typically refresh their identity every 7 to 10 years—or sooner if their brand starts feeling outdated. Pepsi’s 2023 rebrand, its first major update in 14 years, demonstrates that a brand should evolve when necessary rather than on a fixed schedule. Some brands, like Apple and Nike, make gradual refinements over time, while others, like Pepsi, undergo more distinct transformations to reflect cultural shifts and consumer preferences. The key is knowing when your brand no longer resonates, looks outdated, or needs a fresh identity to stay competitive.

Pepsi’s history of rebrands highlights the importance of timing and purpose. A business should consider rebranding when customer engagement declines, the market shifts, or the brand no longer aligns with its vision. However, rebranding too frequently can confuse customers and dilute brand recognition. Pepsi’s strategic approach—waiting over a decade but ensuring the rebrand aligns with modern trends while honouring its legacy—shows that a well-timed rebrand strengthens brand equity rather than disrupting it. The lesson? Rebrand when it adds value, not just for the sake of change.

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Is rebranding always a good idea? Ask Jaguar!

In 2024 nothing made more noise than the Jaguar rebrand, oh boy. Rebranding can be risky, but Jaguar revamp proves that even controversy can be a win. By ditching tradition for a bold, avant-garde identity, the automaker sparked heated debates and massive attention—racking up over 160 million views. While some questioned the direction, the sheer volume of discussion ensured Jaguar was at the center of the conversation, making the brand more relevant than it had been in years.

In a crowded market, standing out is half the battle, and Jaguar’s rebrand did just that. Whether praised or criticized, the buzz generated awareness and positioned the company as a forward-thinking brand. Love it or hate it, people are talking—and in marketing, attention is currency.

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Rebrand strategically, not reactively.

Rebranding is an exciting opportunity for your business to evolve, adapt, stay competitive, and relevant. But it’s important to approach it strategically. Rushing a rebrand without careful consideration can lead to your customers disconnecting with your business. Be sure to evaluate your reasons for rebranding and make sure it aligns with your long-term business goals.

If anything we’ve listed above resonates with your business, maybe it’s time to discover the best branding agencies to work with in 2025?

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