“It doesn’t feel very...them”. But then, isn’t that the point of a rebrand?
The glow-up is a brand marketing rite of passage. Businesses reach for it in times of fustiness: to galvanise their customers, win new ones and shift the narrative on exactly what being them is all about.
Why is it then that so many rebrands have a tendency to put noses out of joint? To ruffle the feathers of even the most placid consumer and leave them eye-rolling in the aisles.
Take Jaguar. The prestige car manufacturer’s bold reset in November 2024 coincided with its pivot to electric-only. But there were no cars here. No heritage. (Perhaps most disorientating, no wealthy white guys in business casual).
Jaguar asked us to “trust and reserve judgement” on its modernist touch-up. But we all knew that was too much to ask. Our judgement was running wild.
Here’s why your next rebrand may suffer the same treatment.
1. We just don’t like change
When Google, not content with world domination, had the bare-faced cheek to update its serif typeface logo to a sans-serif, flat design in 2015 – the people wanted blood. Childish and unsophisticated were among the slants used against what’s now seen as a clean, timeless design.
And we won’t forget 2008 in a hurry, when Pepsi abandoned its traditional circle in favour of a new wavy stripe. Panned by critics as costly and unnecessary, today it sits as an icon of the brand’s modern energy.
Past tales remind us it’s the process of change – rather than the effects – that makes us feel itchy. In years to come, long after our inevitable U-turn on Jaguar, we’ll talk of the dark old days when the fuel-guzzling firm was a stuffy and exclusive ‘boys club’, which the world is better off without.
2. You came on a little strong
In rebrand world, nothing sparks suspicion more than an overnight transformation. What may be pitched on the inside as ‘dramatic impact’ will likely be seen as ‘knee-jerk reaction’ by those outside of company HQ.
Any sudden, conspicuous retelling of the story we thought we already knew about a brand is likely to have its credentials questioned. The art lies in being as unsuspicious as possible.
Compare Jaguar’s makeover to less ‘pull the rug’ rebrands, like Dunkin’ Donuts – who subtly got their customers used to the idea of Dunkin’, before eventually pushing to DNKN with barely an eyelid batted.
For a heritage firm like Jaguar, a more incremental teasing of the new direction would’ve certainly felt less of a seismic shift. (Then again, maybe that was the plan all along).
3. You didn’t use your voice
Logos. Brand colours. Angular models in futuristic outfits. They’re one thing. But a brand amounts to zilch without its voice. A personality to imprint on the market.
Jaguar showed us big game, but it didn’t talk one. It took no more than one click from its homepage for its words to remind us who it still really was. Was the new advert merely a mirage? Did anything lie beyond the vast pink terrain?
When it comes to rebranding, language comes first. Test the water with your tone. It needs to be ready, primed for action – and everywhere – before you hit the big green ‘Rebrand’ button. The secret of the subtle transformation.
So rather than plunging straight in with bluster and asymmetrical haircuts, remember it’s your language that undergoes the rebrand first. The backbone of what comes next.
Or else you’ll end up looking like the brand whose mouth couldn’t keep up with its brain.
