JONATHAN FARIA  PMP, CSM

Whether as a pure corporate identity update, or as the result of a merger/acquisition; for large companies, the full scope and complexity required to implement a new brand is extensive. Rebranding initiatives can be time-consuming, expensive, distracting, and – if done poorly – disruptive. Given that this type of project only occurs every 15-20 years on average for most companies, and many Marketing Executives will only be involved in this type of project once or maybe twice in a career, having both creative agency and brand implementation management consultant partners who do this every day can offer both crucial guidance, and a much higher degree of success.

With millions of dollars of cost, and tens of thousands of man hours of internal labor involved, amidst the risk of negative reactions from the marketplace and investors, a corporate rebranding initiative is the definition of “high risk, high reward”. All too often however, marketers and even senior leadership focus too much effort and attention on the 'look and presentation' of a brand change, and less so on the implementation of the brand holistically across all branded assets (physical and digital), but also as a way of leveraging business strategy and corporate culture change.

If done right, however, a rebranding represents a set of activities that have the potential to deliver significant rewards from several standpoints that include: corporate financial benefits;, stronger market presence and brand value; a vehicle to drive major corporate cultural changes; and, at a personal level, as the type of successful initiative that could be one of the highlights of a career.

When undertaking a rebranding initiative, HOW you implement your brand is as important as WHAT you implement.