You’ve done your research, defined your brand strategy, determined how you need to be positioned to differentiate yourself and capture your target market, and developed your brand personality, including creating key messages and supporting collateral; now it’s time to introduce all of your hard work both internally and externally.
Throughout the entire process you should be simultaneously developing your brand rollout plan. The brand rollout plan will spell out the activities, materials and budget required to achieve awareness and make a splash in the market.
There are three main steps to this process, however, the details of each process are dependent on your overall brand personality:
1. Internal Launch:
- This is often done at an internal event to get everyone excited and put emphasis the importance of the new brand.
2. Education and Training: It is critical to properly educate and train your staff on the ins and outs of the new brand, including:
- Brand promise/positioning statement
- Brand guidelines
- Tone of voice and overall brand personality
- Key messaging and elevator speech
- New employee on-boarding plan and ongoing employee training
3. External Rollout: This plan will include everything you do that is public facing, and will most likely include:
- Website launch
- Press release
- Email marketing campaign
- Social media campaign
- Video
- Event
Brand Management
Now that your new brand is rockin and rolling, your work has just begun. Next you need to develop a brand management plan. The key to any successful brand is consistency. To help ensure your brand remains consistence I recommend having one person be in charge of brand management. This can be your Marketing Manager or Creative Director.
Some firms, if big enough, will have a dedicated brand manager. This person is in charge of developing key brand messages to be used across your various marketing channels. They should act as the “brand champion” giving direction and constructive criticism to other team members to ensure all touch-points remain “on brand”. This includes both visual identity and tone of voice. Does it look and sound like the brand? This person should also be the gate keeper for logo files and templates to ensure the correct files are used and distributed.
Gaining Buy-In
Now that we’ve covered roll out and beyond, I’m sure a lot of you have one lingering question. How do you gain buy-in and approval to do a rebrand? My answer is simple. Start at the beginning. Ask and answer the question, why do you think a rebrand is necessary? Now prove it!
Remember a strong brand is a mix of: strategy, messaging, visual identity and people. While we each have the power to influence and shape our brand — it’s the way we make people think and feel about our firm that matters.
Are you about to embark on a rebrand or are you looking to strengthen your existing brand but don’t have the internal staff to do it? I’m here to help, get in touch now!