How to Announce a New Brand Identity

Businesses work hard to develop a brand identity that customers know and trust. Changes brought on by technological advances, shifts in culture or a merger can necessitate a new brand identity to keep a business relevant. Announcing a new brand identity calls for careful coordination of messages, visual elements and technology, as well as addressing stakeholder groups in the correct order.

Employees represent core brand ambassadors for the business. Simply declaring a new brand and expecting employees to understand or advocate for it demands too much. The culture of most businesses gets built around brand values. Use existing systems or launch new ones, such as workshops and meetings, to bring employees up to speed on the new brand values. A lack of employee buy-in to the new brand can indicate an ill-conceived rebranding, which may warrant a reexamination, but often means that employees lack appropriate grounding in the new brand values.

All of the visual elements that represent your business, from a logo to letterhead, contribute to your brand. An effective announcement must demonstrate a coherent and complete switchover from the old visual elements to the new in every aspect of the business. Common spots that contain visual elements include business cards, uniforms and envelopes, but less thought of elements such as vehicles must also be updated.

Rebranding calls for the distribution of clear messages to the public and other stakeholders. A clear statement of the new brand values should appear as part of the business literature and receive a dedicated space on the business website. Reinforcing the new brand also calls for drafting new standard greetings that reflect the change in brand that employees implement on the official changeover date.

A variety of technical issues can plague a new brand identity announcement. A new brand often entails a completely new website, email system and changes on social media platforms. The business needs to ensure the new website and social media presence reflects the new visual elements and that the old site and email addresses redirect to the new ones correctly. These elements need to be in place and operational on the day of the official public announcement.

The public announcement of a new brand identity often calls for multi-platform approach. Standard tactics include a press release, awareness advertising and the distribution of new sales or marketing materials. The business can encourage followers and friends on social media platforms to like or follow the new brand. Social media platforms also provide a way to educate customers about the brand through, for example, explanatory videos and blog posts.