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JournalField Note No. 05Brand Strategy

Refresh or Rebrand?

A decision guide for owners weighing how much of their brand to change, and how much to keep.

Aaron ArmstrongFounder + Creative Director

Plenty of businesses ask for a rebrand when a refresh would do, and a few ask for a refresh when the problem runs deeper. Guessing wrong is expensive either way. This Field Note is the worksheet: ten statements to score with your team before you brief anyone.

For the full argument behind it, read Rebrand or Refresh? How to Tell Which One Your Business Needs.

Score each statement

Give each one a 0 (not true), 1 (partly true) or 2 (true). Score it honestly, and ideally with more than one person.

  1. Customers would recognize us if the logo disappeared.
  2. Our name still fits what we do and where we’re going.
  3. What we promise customers hasn’t changed in the last few years.
  4. We still sell to broadly the same people we started with.
  5. Our look is dated, but people still associate it with us.
  6. Our main problem is that things look inconsistent, not that they look wrong.
  7. Our staff can explain what we stand for in one sentence.
  8. We haven’t merged, been acquired or changed ownership.
  9. Competitors look more current than us, but not more credible.
  10. We’d be sad to lose our current look, not relieved.

Reading your score

  • 15 to 20: refresh. The foundations hold. Update type, colour, photography and templates, and keep the assets people already recognize.
  • 8 to 14: look closer. Something structural has moved. Start with your lowest scores: the name, the promise, the audience or ownership usually decide it.
  • 0 to 7: rebrand. The brand no longer describes the business. Start with strategy, not design.

Related reading

Scored in the middle? Serif + Gold helps businesses work out how much of their brand to change and how much to keep, before a dollar goes into design. Get in touch to talk it through.

Talk it through

Questions

How do I know if my business needs a refresh or a rebrand?

Score the foundations: whether your name still fits, your promise and audience are unchanged, customers recognize your assets and ownership is stable. If those hold, a refresh of type, colour, photography and templates usually does the job. If several have moved, a rebrand that starts with strategy is more likely.

What is the difference between a brand refresh and a rebrand?

A refresh keeps the foundations and updates how they look: type, colour, photography and templates, while protecting the assets people already recognize. A rebrand revisits the foundations themselves, such as the name, the promise or the audience, and starts with strategy before any design.

Does a merger or new ownership mean a rebrand?

Often, because ownership changes tend to move the promise, the audience or the name. It is not automatic. Score the other foundations too: if customers still recognize the brand and the promise holds, a refresh may protect more value than starting over.

Should I fix an inconsistent brand with a rebrand?

Usually not. If the problem is that things look inconsistent rather than wrong, the fix is a refresh with clear guidelines and templates. A rebrand changes what the brand is, while inconsistency is a problem with how the brand is applied.