It’s an age-old question – when is the right time for a B2B company to rebrand?! First things first – it helps to understand what, exactly, a brand is. The best definition I’ve heard lately was from a podcast called Brand Frameworks featuring Sarah Robb. Loosely paraphrased, Sarah said a brand consists of two things: associations and assets.
Associations are basically the space a brand takes up inside someone’s brain – what they think about when they think about the brand. And assets? Sarah references how people often say that a brand is more than a logo and some colors. We wholeheartedly agree… BUT the logo and colors are vitally important! They are the elements that help define where and how our brains recall specific brands.
B2B companies have to determine what type of company they are and why – and also decide if their look and presentation matches those traits. If they don’t, it’s time for a shift! So, what are some of the major inflection points in the B2B world that might prompt a rebrand?
Heading to an IPO
Interest rates are on the way down, so guess what?! The IPO and funding market is about to heat up! After 20 years in business, we’ve helped a multitude of companies get ready for the big stage. We’ve had some clients come to us the quarter before their filing asking for help with some last minute preparations, and we’ve had others bring us in from the beginning. One thing they have in common is the understanding that a strong brand will maximize the value of that initial public offering.
How? There’s a few reasons…
- Strong brands can suggest market penetration and customer loyalty, instilling confidence in potential investors.
- A strong brand can command premium pricing, which can translate to higher revenue projections – and then, higher valuations.
- Investors often see strong brands as indicators of potential for sustained growth and profitability.
Snowflake is the darling of IPO success – their September 2020 IPO was the biggest for a tech company in history at that time, particularly notable for its size and immediate stock price increase.
On the other hand, Cloudera’s 2017 IPO was less successful. While the company was known within tech circles, particularly among data scientists and IT professionals, it lacked broader brand recognition… which may have contributed to less enthusiasm from investors.
Read about Snowflake’s brand journey in our case study here.
New round of funding
Another inflection point we come across is when a new round of funding has been secured – usually, a company is going from Series A to B or B to C. They’ve tested a few things, they’ve (most importantly) found product-market fit… at this point, the entire game is to scale and capitalize on any early-entry advantage they possess. It’s a pivotal moment that represents a great opportunity to solidify the brand’s identity and messaging and align with the growth trajectory.
Read about how we have helped companies elevate their brands after funding in the Unsupervised and Rollbar case studies.
Pivots, changes, and mergers!
The only constant in business (and life) is change! Markets change, competitors change. And most of it is unpredictable. Any of those big changes – a M&A, business model evolution, a pivot or an audience update, for example – is a perfect time to consider a rebrand.
When a company repositions or pivots its business model to adapt to changing market dynamics or cater to a new audience, a brand strategy overhaul is often desirable – and sometimes necessary.
When we helped fintech player Findity, they were merging two businesses into one to allow for a more efficient global expansion. Sköna set the brand strategy, expression, and visual brand, align the two sides into one powerful brand. Read about our approach here.
New leadership
Speaking of pivots, there’s only one certainty with new leadership – there will be changes to a business! Very rarely do leaders stick around until retirement and then sunset out. In fact, most businesses require new leadership because something isn’t working. Different leaders bring different traits that better fit a business at certain points in their trajectory.
A change in leadership means an opportunity to redefine the company’s brand identity and direction. That usually starts with the brand strategy: what is the new direction we’re going in!? Then the new direction has to be reflected in the visual design.
In conclusion
There are many reasons to embark on a rebranding project, but no matter which one is driving the process, it’s most important to understand why you’re rebranding and what the desired outcome is. Once you begin, it’s vital to get the brand strategy right… without it, any design work is an art project without a ‘why’. With the right strategy to guide the process, you’ll have a design that fulfills your desired outcome; something that works as hard for you as you do for it.
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