Five Rules for Re-Branding

At a recent American Marketing Association luncheon Michael Thomas, marketing director at the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, spoke about his organization’s rebranding campaign. I’ve attended several presentations on their process and new brand, including a controversy-stirring RSCVA board meeting, so the bulk of the information wasn’t new to me. However, Thomas geared this talk towards how other companies could go about the rebranding process and provided five tips that anyone can use. They were honest and to-the-point so I’m sharing them here.

·         Research. This seems pretty obvious, but if you don’t know how you’re currently perceived, who your customers are, where you can expand, etc., how will you know where to start?

·         Face uncomfortable truths. No one likes to hear that their pizza tastes bad (ask Dominos), but sometimes you have to own up to the reality of your product before you can move forward with a successful brand.

·         Listen and answers usually follow. People love to share their opinions, and more often than not you can glean some pretty great ideas just by asking questions and listening to what people have to say. Or, don’t even ask questions. Just go to where your customers are and listen to what they’re saying about you or your competitors.

·         Be a first rate version of yourself. If you try to bill yourself as a Lexus when you’re really more of a Toyota Corolla your customer will call you on it. If you’re a Corolla, be the best darn Corolla you can be.

·         Last, emotion trumps logic. Customers may know that it costs less to use a store brand, but they’re emotionally tied to the name brand they’ve grown loyal and emotionally connected to. Appeal to an audience’s emotions and they’ll take note.

Thanks, Michael, for the great tips!