Insights
1 min Read
April 14, 2011

Three ways to roll out your new brand

Big Duck

In the book, Brandraising, Sarah Durham describes three types of brand rollouts:

1. Flipping the switch–When you update all core materials at once, and the new identity is announced and unveiled at a major event or gathering of key members of your community.

2. Phased launch–When you update core materials in phases (usually print materials first, then online, etc.), announcing the change at an event or with an informal announcement to stakeholders, and completing the shift within a year.

3. Rolling launch–When you update old materials as they run out, and you update the major public-facing expressions of your brand, like your website, as time and budget allow.

So which type of roll out is best? While “flipping the switch” has typically been the most successful in our experience, the best brand roll out strategies always take into account the complexity of the brand shift, the organization’s time, resources, and any anticipated resistance or confusion.

A great example of this was the brandraising rollout by our client, Fight Colorectal Cancer. When the staff and board came to Big Duck, their organization was named Colorectal Cancer Coalition. They were passionate, smart, and growing, but their current brand was often misunderstood (“No, we weren’t ‘Katie’s group.'”). When our brandraising process culminated in an energetic, fiesty new brand–complete with a new name–the team knew they would have to handle the rollout with care.

In the end, Fight Colorectal Cancer decided to “flip the switch” at their annual Call-on Congress advocacy day–an event that perfectly captured the active, grassroots energy expressed by the new identity. They also set the stage for rollout success for the day by previewing the new brand to key community members and giving them a t-shirt with the new brand when they arrived in Washington, DC.

By all accounts the rollout has gone very well, and Judi Sohn, Vice President of Operations, shared some great tips and lessons learned in a recent post on her blog.

Have any questions? Suggestions you’d add for a successful rollout? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

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