Melbourne, Australia. Simon Hakim (CEO at Hunter)
An op ed to founders, brand owners, marketers, brand managers and those looking to reset their brand in 2021 and beyond for the better. Here’s our approach to developing your strategic roadmap and some of the steps we take to get you started on the rebranding journey.
Let’s caveat this by saying that the past year or so, was horrible for some and brilliant for others. Most of it was timing, bad luck, good luck or whatever the world had planned out for you. The key learning? You know things can, and will unpredictably change. Some of this change is in your hands, but mostly it’s not and the cards will fall wherever they fall. But this isn’t about playing defence or waiting for something to magically happen. It’s about taking charge, going on the offensive, building momentum to move things forward.
Embrace change
If anything has taught us over the last ten years working with entrepreneurs and challenger brands, it’s to embrace change. And with change, comes opportunity. Opportunity for a rebrand often comes knocking for two main reasons:
The first, is because things are going amazingly well. You’ve moved beyond startup, and it’s now all about scale. You’re achieving a hockey stick kind of growth, but believe that your current branding doesn’t quite represent who you are now or where you’re wanting to head as a business into the future. You’re 100% ready for change, and that change is going to bring even more energy and swagger to your place. You can’t wait to get moving.
The second, is because the business or brand has stagnated or it’s in massive decline. You’re the change agent, and therefore your job is to turn things around. Although there’s a sense of urgency and priority for the business, deep down you know the old way of doing things no longer applies and you’re looking to shake things up. With budget in hand, and the green light from the business… you pause to ask… where to now?
What’s the problem, challenge or opportunity?
Some may say that we’re all normal until we put on our marketing hats. True? We know rebrands can be hugely complicated so your role in this is to simplify the complicated. Cut through all the jargon and get straight down to the plain hard facts. Call it as you see it. If you’re not sure or want to involve your team then go ahead and answer the following five questions.
- How has our world changed?
- What’s different about the world now, such that what you just described is more valuable than it would have been, say, 3 or 5 years ago?
- What does winning look like for us?
- How about losing?
- What are our biggest obstacles to winning?
Once your team has written their responses, bring them all together to discuss everything in greater detail. Be open, listen and make sure everyone shares their perspective. Are you aligned? Either way, compile the answers and get consensus on what the problem, challenge or opportunity is before you take the next step.
Workshop possible solutions
Now you’ve defined and agreed on what the problem, challenge or opportunity is… it’s time to workshop all the possible ways on how you can move forward. When we say, ‘move forward’ we mean having a top-line logical plan to get you closer to winning. Be mindful there are many different paths to achieving success, so it’s critical that you consider them all. Think like an entrepreneur and embrace the Lean Startup methodology of build, measure and learn. Take smaller steps to test the market or your theory and see what works and what doesn’t. The trick here is to be flexible and adapt. Instead of 12-month lengthy lock-in plans, be more nimble and plan quarter by quarter because we know things will ultimately change.
The final word
Our role, your role and everyone’s role in this industry is to create and build value. Value is measured in dollars, market share, sales, in customer satisfaction surveys, repeat purchases, etc. It’s what something was worth before you started and what it’s worth after you’ve finished. Go now and challenge the status quo and make things better than they were before.