Signage Guidelines Before Executing A Brand Conversion
OVERVIEW
Out of all the signage services available, Brand Refresh programs are among the most complex and require the most attention to your program development and execution.
It’s crucial that you understand this topic because making mistakes during your brand conversion process can cost you money and tarnish your image.
Below are some principle signage guidelines and suggestions to consider before executing any Brand Conversion program.
Brand Refresh vs. Rebranding
First, what exactly do we mean by a brand refresh, and what are some examples? Also, what’s the difference between a brand refresh versus a rebranding?
Let’s establish that a brand refresh DOES NOT involve changing your brand’s name as Federal Express did when they rebranded to FedEx.
While a brand refresh is like giving your company a fresh coat of paint, rebranding is all about tearing down everything you’ve built and starting again from scratch. Rebranding is far more dramatic than the other, and one example of executing a rebranding program comes from FedEx, which used to be Federal Express:
An excellent example of a Brand Refresh is the Starbucks logo. They refreshed their brand several times over a period of five decades.
Before you decide to implement any change, take the time to determine what you feel may be the best fit for your Brand.
Call Enterprise Signs at (866) 571 - 4609 or email essales@enterprisesigns.com to learn more about Brand Conversions with a dedicated signage representative.
Refreshing Justifications
Here’s a list of considerations before you launch into a brand refresh:
New Audience – Are you interested in attracting a different audience? Has your demographic changed? Are you failing to reach your targeted audience? Has the market shifted since you last updated your brand?
Modernization – Has your image become stale? Is your logo looking outdated relative to competitors, and are your color schemes out of style?
Brand Reposition – Did your products or services evolve? Has your vision changed?
Evolving Market – Are competitors threatening your company’s existence? Is your Brand staying ahead of your competitors and maintaining relevancy?
Search Engine Optimization [SEO] – Is your business utilizing SEO strategies alongside your branding?
New Senior Management – Do you have a new CEO, President, or CMO bringing new perspectives to an organization? Are there organizational changes driving new branding initiatives?
If some of these checkpoints are hitting right on target for your portfolio, the next step you should consider is contacting a national signage partner who will walk you through every step of your refresh process.
Standards, Audits & Plans
An important element of your brand refresh is creating a Brand Standards Guide, which becomes your roadmap to consistency.
Your Brand Standard Guide includes critical information for size, positioning, margins, color, and acceptable “lockups,” which are combinations of the logo and taglines, slogans, illustrations, mottoes, or Brand violations.
However, it’s important to note that Brand Standards are an absolute waste of time if you’re not willing to enforce them.
Now that you created a new brand identity and brand standards to reinforce it, an audit is necessary to ensure that the fresh, shiny, new logo is applied consistently across every touchpoint. Take an inventory of anything and everything that uses your logo.
Also, determine all the ways your company communicates to internal and external audiences (emails, press releases, proposals, website, signage) because you want to be sure that you’re rolling out the updated brand both internally and externally.
Note that you want to make sure you communicate internally before firing off the press releases and updating your website.
When communicating externally, it’s important to reveal the inspiration and details around the process and change.
These details make your brand refresh ‘sticky’ because you want your brand recognition to stick to your audience’s memory.
Having a strong positive brand that stands out to your targeted audience’s minds helps differentiate your products or services from competitors and adds to your Brand conversion goals.
Ultimately, the decision to refresh your brand can be difficult, but it’s worth thinking about when your current brand isn’t delivering the needed results.