As easy as it would be to create an amazing brand identity and never have to update it again, it’s just not realistic. If you don’t refresh your brand every so often, you risk becoming outdated and irrelevant — which will make building a relationship with your audience and attracting new customers that much harder. Of course, the branding process takes a lot of time and effort, and it’s not realistic to update your brand with every new trend that emerges. So how do you know when it’s time for a brand refresh? We’ve put together a quiz to help you answer that question — check it out below!
Brand Refresh Quiz
1. How long has it been since you last updated your brand identity?
A) Less than a year
B) 1-2 years
C) 3-5 years or more
The old saying that nothing lasts forever definitely holds true in the fast-moving world of design. Visual preferences usually don’t transform completely within a year, but they do always vary slightly — and those small changes add up over time. After about three to five years, you’ll probably find that your initial branding starts to feel a little bit stale. Even timeless brand identities, like NASA or Coca-Cola, will make small tweaks from time to time. You likely won’t need to do a total rebrand, but slight updates to your logo, color palette, font, and messaging can go a long way toward modernizing your look and driving brand affinity. Chances are, your organization has evolved in the years since your brand identity first debuted, and this is the perfect opportunity to show that to the public — and to get your internal team aligned on how to express the brand.
2. How up-to-date is your visual style?
A) Cutting-edge: Your visual style feels fresh and current while continuing to push the envelope
B) Relevant: Your visual style isn’t necessarily avant-garde, but it nonetheless holds up well in the current landscape
C) Outdated: Your visual style exemplifies older trends that aren’t used much anymore
Age isn’t the only predictor of relevance. Brands that opt for timeless designs with a unique personal twist will often appear contemporary much longer than those that rely upon flash-in-the-pan trends. If your brand looks neglected, it can easily set off the wrong impression for consumers. At worst, it can even look so dated that it’s laughable — brands like GNC and Abercrombie & Fitch have changed so little over the years that they look like relics of the past. Igloo, on the other hand, has been making coolers forever, but they still manage to seem hip because they’ve done a great job of adapting with the times.
3. How well does your current branding represent your company?
A) Very well: There’s meaning behind our design, and it communicates the message and feel that we want it to
B) Pretty well: Our design is thoughtful and reflects most of what we want it to, but some elements are slightly off or absent
C) Not well: Our design either doesn’t say much about who we are as an organization or sends the wrong message
We’ve discussed the importance of intentionality when it comes to design on our blog before, but it bears repeating. A good brand identity doesn’t just look cool — it says something about who your organization is and what you stand for. A company that wants to be known for its innovation, for example, would probably want to embrace a modern look rather than a retro one. You might even want to incorporate references and details specific to your company. So if your organization is a medical company on a mission to help customers navigate their health, you could embrace a compass motif. This kind of customization will not only help you send the right message to your target audience — it will also help you stand out from your competitors.
4. How thorough is your brand book?
A) Very thorough: It defines our unifying brand theme, logo, color palette, typography, photography style, illustration style, icon sets, and guidelines for all other expressions of the brand
B) Pretty thorough: It has most of the elements listed above, but it’s missing a few of the more recent assets your brand team has developed
C) Not thorough: It has some of the elements listed above, but it’s missing several important components
Brand identities, which often come in the form of brand books, can contain any number of different aspects and will differ from organization to organization depending on their unique needs. However, there are a few components that every brand identity should have. A thorough brand book will play a key role in maintaining consistency and providing direction over time.
5. How would you describe your brand strategy?
A) Great: We know who our target audience is and how we want to make them feel, and we’ve clearly defined our brand identity, brand narrative, positioning, and messaging in order to accomplish that
B) Good: We understand who our target audience is and how we want to make them feel fairly well, and our brand identity, brand narrative, positioning, and messaging mostly support that. However, we would probably benefit from a deeper dive into our audience and/or updating our strategies for reaching them
C) Poor/non-existent: We don’t have a clear understanding of our target audience. We’re not in agreement on how we want to be perceived, and the different elements of our brand are not aligned
Having an eye-catching, authentic-feeling brand identity is only part of the equation — you’ll also need to think about how leveraging your branding will help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be. This starts with a thorough understanding of your target audience: who they are, how they sound, where they spend their time. Then, you’ll need to come up with a coordinated strategy defining your brand narrative, positioning, and messaging, as well as detailing how they will work together to help you emphasize your unique strengths and differentiate yourself in the market.
6. How consistent is your brand across different channels and assets?
A) Very consistent: Your brand feels cohesive no matter where it appears, and you have enough templates and guidelines to make creating new assets a snap
B) Fairly consistent: Your brand is largely consistent across different channels and assets, but there are a few places where it seems a bit off-kilter. You have most of the templates you need and pretty clear guidelines, but you do occasionally find yourself using outdated assets or having to pull together new ones at the last minute
C) Inconsistent: Your brand looks very different depending on where it appears. Many of your templates and guidelines are either outdated or non-existent, making it a struggle to keep up with all of the ad-hoc design requests you receive
While it’s normal for there to be some slight variations in your brand from place to place — your brand on Instagram, for example, may appear to be a little bit more lighthearted and fun than your brand in a whitepaper — it should still be cohesive across the board. To do this, you’ll need a thorough brand book and brand strategy with clear usage guidelines and templates for nearly every use case you have. Otherwise, pulling together assets will be a time-consuming and chaotic process, resulting in erratic branding.
7. What do customers and employees think of your branding?
A) They love it
B) They like it
C) They dislike it/I’m not sure
The best way to figure out whether or not your brand is hitting the right note is by getting feedback from the people around you — not just your existing and potential customers, but also your internal team members. You can think that your branding is spot-on all you want, but if your audience disagrees, it doesn’t mean much at all. Consider holding an audit or doing interviews to see what people think of your brand, how they would describe it, how it makes them feel, and what message it sends to them. Ideally, you’ll hear consistent, on-message responses no matter who you ask.
Results
Mostly A’s: You’re probably good for now
If you answered mostly A’s, your branding is probably fairly recent. It should be modern, reflective of who you are, consistent, and appreciated both internally and externally, while your brand book and brand strategy should be comprehensive and thoughtful. In this case, your branding isn’t just “good enough for now” — it’s a true strategic asset. While you’ll still want to check in and evaluate your brand from time to time, odds are that you won’t need to make significant changes for a few more years still.
Mostly B’s: Gather more information
If you answered mostly B’s, your branding is probably hovering between adequate and good. To figure out whether or not you should actually look into a brand refresh, you’ll need to evaluate your situation more carefully. You may want to conduct a brand audit to understand where your brand is at currently and contrast that with where you want it to be. If the cracks in your current branding are beginning to show and it’s holding your business back as a result, learn more about how a brand refresh could work, how much time and money it would take, and whether it’s practical given the state of your business. However, if your branding still holds up fairly well and continues to help drive the business forward, you can probably stick with it for now — just make sure to keep tabs on it over time.
Mostly C’s: It’s time for a brand refresh
If you answered mostly C’s, it has likely been a few years since you last touched up your brand, resulting in a look and feel that’s outdated, inconsistent, and unrepresentative of who you currently are. Your brand book and strategy might be incomplete, obsolete, or nonexistent, creating a design process that’s difficult and time-consuming. As a result of all of these factors, your relationship with your existing customers may be on the rocks, and you will likely struggle to attract new ones. At this point, a brand refresh is well overdue, and you should make it a top priority.
Wondering where to start once you decide it’s time for a brand refresh? We’ll discuss this topic more in our next piece.
Anastasia Salazar Ltd. is an independent design studio for tailored branding and digital designs. Reach out to learn how we can help you fuel growth and maximize your brand’s impact.