An IIM Bangalore alumnus, Prabhakar Tiwari has led Angel Broking’s marketing transformation since 2019. He has played an instrumental role in expanding the brokerage house visibility through several award-winning campaigns along with a strong focus on performance marketing and technological integrations such as leveraging web and app analytics and AI/ML based retargeting campaigns. He has previously also held key positions across several leading consumer and digital companies such as Marico, CEAT and PayU.
When was the last time you heard the phrase, “out with the old, in with the new?”. Many amongst would attest to the importance of reinventing ourselves. Our habits, our lifestyle patterns, our thought paradigm often outlive their utility. At regular intervals, career professionals feel the need to upskill and retool themselves with the right capabilities to progress on their chosen paths.
Businesses and brand identities are deeply-interlinked
Businesses are no different. They adapt and thrive in their marketplaces and are consequently shaped by their customers and their competition. With time, their brand identity comes to stand for a certain ethos, a spirit and a set of values that the company stands for. This brand identity is deeply woven not just in the mind of employees but also in the consumption habits of its customers. For an individual to profess loyalty to one brand means that at its core there is a certain kinship that he finds with the brand. This brand loyalty comes with an identification with the brand identity.
And despite the prevailing brand loyalty numerous brands often opt to rebrand themselves. Large corporations which include the likes of KFC, Netflix, Subway and many others have gone in for a rebranding and shaped a new identity that better expressed their future aspirations and persona.
What is rebranding?
Rebranding, contrary to what many believe, is not just a simple renaming and remodelling of one’s business trademark and brand identity. It is a deep-rooted, fundamental change that restructures a company’s powerhouse helping it innovate with the aid of new business strategies and corporate persona. It signals to the customers, investors, employees, competitors and the public at large that the company and its brand has hit certain key targets and that, going forward, a change is necessary, perhaps inevitable, if it is to continue delivering its goods or services.
Throughout its operations, a brand identity comes to assume the full weight of the customer experience and the market perception of the company. While this is indeed beneficial in that it helps in establishing credibility and brand value for the firm, it can also become a barrier to future growth.
When should a company rebrand?
Rebranding is a tricky job and needs to be executed with much forethought and vision. A rebranding doesn’t necessarily involve a complete rehaul of the brand logo, identity as well as company values. Ideas and value systems that are compatible with the future growth of the company should be retained and, if possible, should also be emphasised in company literature. Managerial leadership should, ideally, go in for rebranding only if the old brand identity does not completely capture the re-energised ethos of the company. Further, the brand image should be in need of vigour and energy that can be drawn from the brand logo. Lastly, the company’s business strategy and marketing campaigns should be in sync with the new brand identity. The smallest of differences or conflicts in perceptions between the rebranding and marketing strategies can lead to disastrous results, not to mention, loss of customer base.
Rebranding for a new age
The digital age speaks a new language. It is fast-paced, uber-connected and prioritises instant results. Prioritising these features helps millennials differentiate between the updated and the outmoded. Those businesses that are far too stilted to deliver on these demands will become redundant with time.
As years pass by, customer demographic and profile also go through a massive churning. It becomes all the more important for a company to present itself in a manner that is readily understood by its targeted consumer base.