An excellent article on renewing a brand with a sense of purpose.

“Brands shouldn’t change often – but if done for the right reasons and with the right process, your brand can be more powerful in a crowded marketplace.”

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Article Credit: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/05/10/how-to-rediscover-the-distinct-power-of-your-brand/#97dae5a78b27
By Eileen Canady

As marketers, we are devoted to communicating what is distinct about our brands. As Warren Buffet said, “Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.” Sometimes it’s necessary to revisit and refresh your brand to ensure that the special quality that has distinguished you still resonates with employees, customers and prospects.

Larger organizations should refresh their brands rarely and with deliberation. A refresh seldom requires starting from scratch – you don’t tear down a house and rebuild because a room needs repainting. Yet occasionally even the greatest houses or structures need touching up. The Washington Monument, Taj Mahal and St. Paul’s Cathedral have all gone through periods of renovation that strengthened their structures without tarnishing their legacies, keeping them vital, appealing and accessible to modern visitors. A brand refresh can accomplish the same goals for your organization.

Timing is everything.

My company is now entering its fortieth year, and much has transpired in that time. Forty years ago, the last of the baby boomers were entering high school. Elvis Presley gave his last concert. The space shuttle was being tested for flight and the Concorde was whisking passengers from Europe to New York at twice the speed of sound. Today, the King is dead, the youngest baby boomers are getting their AARP cards, and the space shuttle and the Concorde are in museums. Meanwhile, technology introduced 40 years ago, such as personal computers and fiber optics for communications, have transformed how we work and live.

SYKES has also evolved, growing from a three-person engineering firm to a global corporation with 55,000 employees, assisting our brand partners in executing marketing and customer service initiatives. On the eve of our fortieth year, what were the signs it was time to refresh our brand?

Here are some of the clues it was time for a refresh – factors which might also apply to your brand:

• The brand was last refreshed in the mid-1990s after SYKES went public.

• A series of business acquisitions over time resulted in a patchwork of existing and legacy branding.

• Our services have evolved, driven by new technology we deployed, new customer expectations and changing market needs.

• Rapid growth in expanding verticals as well as expansion across a global landscape have added color and depth to our story, which we wanted to convey in our brand identity.

Category tags: Industry Insights , Branding