Insights
Brands
1 min Read
March 19, 2019

Two critical factors that impact your rebrand’s success

Every rebrand process is filled with complicated decision making moments. Does our name need to change? Who do we have to bring along on the journey? Are we telling our story in the most effective way? There are two critical factors that will influence the success of your rebrand process, particularly around how those decisions are made and by whom.

1. Strong rebrands emerge from strategic plans.

Strategic plans produce visionary direction, programmatic and organizational goals, and focused energy to guide a nonprofit toward achieving its mission.

In other words, a strategic plan lays the foundation for many of the decisions that need to be made during a rebrand process—and often set the direction for a nonprofit’s communications overall.

When a strategic plan precedes a rebrand process, the brand becomes an asset to achieve that strategic plan by both expressing and directly impacting the success of the priorities on the plan.

2. Brand champions and collective leadership are key.

Rebranding processes can span from 6–12 months, and in that time decisions of all kinds are being made. Establishing strong support for the brand and overall communications across the organization (not just from the communications and development departments), and assigning responsibility at the start of the process is a vital step to a successful rebrand.

Strong and influential champions of the brand are important, not only for creating accountability throughout the process, but also in fostering enthusiasm and organizational buy-in around the power communications in achieving the nonprofit’s mission. This collective leadership fosters a culture that is actively managing the brand and seizing opportunities to bring it to life.

How these two factors support your rebrand process

Using your strategic plan to generate insights and ideas for your brand sets up your new brand to be an expression of your nonprofit’s most fundamental ideas and aspirations. That premise alone will foster support from prospective brand champions who should be responsible for developing a strong and authentic brand that everyone in the organization can get behind. Together, they become a tool for your nonprofit to engage in a rebrand process that will prove to be transformative for the organization and the people supporting its mission.

P.S. Did you know Big Duck is recognized as a top New York Branding Company on DesignRush? 🙂