Rebranding a Company

Every now and then companies seek out the assistance of a graphic Designer with their brand image, to either elevate it or change it completely. When a company rebrands it is either because their brand is is failing to succeed or it is ready evolve in the business world and gain further recognition. Rebranding is a strategy undergone by a company to change its name, term, symbol or design thereof. The intention is to re-establish the brand in the minds of the consumer, Investors and competitors. These changes are aimed at dispelling any negative connotations which were previously associated with the brand. In rebranding a company is able to reposition itself and communicate effectively.

A company may also want to rebrand if it is entering into a new line of business that is not in line with its current brand identity e.g. Apple changing from being Apple Computers so simple being known as Apple. Relevancy is also a cause for change as the identity must reflect the company’s current positioning of itself. And sometimes competition can serve as a catalyst for change; a competitor’s image can render your company’s as old outdated. Rebranding may be the only way for a company to regain its foothold in the market. A shining example of this is Microsoft, a company which has undergone a gradual rebranding of its products between 2011 and 2012 following the release of the Windows Phone 7. It also changed its logo, services and website to adapt to the market and compete with frontrunners like Apple and Google in its sector. It is considered wise for a company to inform its customers of its rebranding so that they won’t be completely shocked when it does happen.

For a past school project I had the opportunity to pick a company I thought needed a new identity and rebrand it completely. The company I chose is Retrofontein, a street wear brand characterised by its use of bright bold patterns in its clothing designs. The company started in 2012 and is based in Johannesburg. The target market is 16 to 25 year old males and females living in urban areas attending high school and tertiary. The problem I found with the company is that its previous logo did not reflect its products and neither did the brand extension (of which there was very little). So I was tasked with the creation of a brand identity which would stand out amongst the competition and reflect their offering to the market. I came up with a logotype for them with a repetitive pattern in movement and then I abstracted an element from it to create a pattern for the brand extension. The new logo and brand extension I created for them reflects who they are what they do and it gives them a new competitive advantage.  So what do you think of the new brand identity?

Old logo.

New Logo.

Business card.

Letterhead

Flyer.

Poster/Magazine advert.

Billboard.

References:
http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/rebranding-essentials-why-rebrand/
http://www.pencilscoop.com/2013/04/5-amazing-examples-of-successful-rebranding/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebranding

Brand Campaigns

Branding has become something a company cannot do without when wanting to sell its products and services to the masses. A brand has to speak to a person’s senses and influence them to buy into the brand. In order to make a brand work a company has to define its values, the image its wants to portray and the action it wants people to take after coming into contact with it. One of many mechanisms used to measure the success of a campaign is called ‘brand recall’ this is measured by whether a consumer can remember the name of a brand, company or product as part of a particular class. And because consumers have a lot on their minds on a daily basis, brands have to work hard at occupying the limited space available in the consumers mind in order to reinforce their message.

Now a short lived branding campaign has to work even harder at this as it has a limited time in which to implement itself in the consumers mind. On the positive side short campaigns increase urgency for the retailer to sell the product and the consumer to buy it as soon as possible. I had the pleasure of producing a short branding campaign for a school project in the form of Women Writers 2013. For this project I had to pick a female author and create a brand campaign around them, three of their books and a book launch which would happen on the 9^th of August on Women’s Day.

The Author that I chose is Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, February 18, 1931). She is a world renowned American novelist, editor, and professor. Her novels are famed for having richly detailed characters which take the reader on an emotional rollercoaster ride. She has a string of awards under her belt including a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Nobel Prize. The three novels that I went with for my book trilogy are:

1.       The Bluest Eye: Written in 1970 this was Toni’s first novel, written while she was still teaching at Howard University. The story revolves around a little girl named Picola who because of being mocked everyday by other kids for her dark skin, constantly prays for beauty, blonde hair and blue eyes.

2.       Song of Solomon: The story revolves around Macon Dead Jr. nicknamed “Milkman”. The story follows his compelling journey from being an arrogant boy to a compassionate man.

3.       Tar Baby: This story revolves around Jadine Childs, a black fashion model with a white patron. She falls deeply in love with a black fugitive named Son. The Story chronicles the forbidden love between the two in a racial setting.

The logo that I created for the event was inspired by a pen and the form of a figure meditating, which is something one has to do in order to reach a calm place in order to write. I then abstracted the two and fused them into one. I extended the logo by making it form dandelion seeds which are blown into the air by the wind. Dandelion seeds being blown into the air evoke emotions of lightness, happiness and tranquillity. I decided to shoot all my book covers and theme them around figures standing in the sunset. Here are a few pieces from the campaign:

Logo

 Poster

Bookmark

The Bluest Eye

Song of Solomon

Tar Baby

Promotional bag

Notebook

Web Advert

 3D book reading environment

The campaign taught me that for a brand to work all of the different marketing tools used have to communicate the same visual message, they can have variety but essentially they must look like a family well spread out.

References:

https://www.promoboxx.com/blog/2013/08/long-or-short-campaigns-which-is-right-for-your-brand/

http://ivarsmore.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/how-branding-campaigns-work-for-brand-recall/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Morrison