1. “Don’t think that the brand is just the logo, stationery or corporate colours”.

The Ramones lead the way in the punk music revolution of the 1980’s.  What’s interesting about the Ramones though is that their logo is more famous than their music ever was.

Ramones t-shirts are everywhere, yet their few people can ever name any of their songs.  It’s great that marketers are capitalising on their cool status, but once the next cool icons comes around the Ramones may be forgotten.  If they were remembered for their music and their logo – things would be quite different.

The Ramones are one of the only bands who’s merchandise sales have far eclipsed anything they ever made on album sales.

Great bands (like great brands) encompass everything from their fans perception and experience to the quality of their product, their presence on-line and their ‘tone of voice’. You love a band because of how it makes you feel and what their music reminds you of.  Brands are no different, that’s why the most successful brands have learnt to connect with their customers on an emotional level and not just a rational level.  The logo is just the packaging.  What is important is what you think and feel about that product or company – that’s the brand.

2. “When rebranding, don’t forget about your brand’s equity and your customer goodwill”.

Dismissing brand equity when you are rebranding anything alienates established customers, while unnecessary overhauls can irreparably damage a brands perception.  When Take That re-launched their careers in 2006, they were careful to remain faithful to their existing original brand and the reason that their fans loved them so much in the first place – but it was also obvious that they weren’t a boy band anymore.

They had an image overhaul led by some very well-chosen stylists, but they wrote great songs to capture the public’s imagination again.  They reminded us why we loved them so much in the first place and within 2 years they broke records for CD sales, DVD sales and concert tickets. All because they kept the things that made them special and only revamped the things that needed bringing up to date.

Like Take That, many companies try too hard to rebrand themselves when sometimes just a new coat of paint or a small evolution may be all that is required.  Just look at the Post Office when it changed its name to Consignia in 2001.  They soon realised that customers didn’t understand why a much-loved name had been ditched and they were forced to change their identity back to the original one.  A costly mistake, but one that some decent market research and customer insights could have helped to avoid. Sigue leyendo →