Does your business image convey what you deliver by way of goods or services?
Is your brand booring when it should be happy?
Are your cards, web site and logo dead as a dodo?

I've noticed a growing trend for silly, irrelevant and often unpronounceable names brought about by expensive re-branding exercises. So far we've seen "Aviva", "Monday", "Accenture," and "Orange".

But why pay someone a fortune to come up with a new name when I've got an alternative for you here?

Simply enter your name, choose your values and your goals and, Hey Presto!, your new name will be automatically displayed - absolutely free of charge. Click here to begin your rebranding process

Enough frivolity ... on a more serious note

Why rebrand?

Many businesses realise that incrementally their product line or service offering has been moving away from where they commenced.

At the same time it really is important that you don't "throw out the baby with the bath water"

May be you have dropped some product lines or added some service capabilities? As a result you may have a real need to deliver something that reflects this changed position.

What does your current brand stand for?

Have you bothered to ask your staff or clients?
Is your logo one you created in a rash momenet when you got a new PC with an image editor or some funky new clip art?
Did you choose some colours that matched the new car at the time and it's long gone and colour is just SO dated?
What impression do you want to create and deliver both visually and physically?

These are just some of the questions you need to ask your customers, yourself, your staff.

Why not conduct a formal survey process and find out what these critical groups think of the status quo and whether you brand is like an out of tune singer or a wonderful descriptive story?

So how far is far enough?

The decision on how far you want to leap will be based on how big a change you want to make.
It may be that your existing brand only needs a minor tweak, a new modernised graphic more suitable for print, fax and internet replication. In other instances where a full rebrand needs to occur which will necessitate a new logo, colours, marketing and printed collateral and even the possibility of internal process changes.

What values do you wish to convey?

What key words apply to your business now and what additional words would you like to add or drop from the list?
This is considered to be irrelivent by some but get down on paper the words that you think apply to your business and compare your choices with those of your staff and customers.

Getting an outsider in to direct some parts of the process is also well worth while. A graphic designer with an understanding of your business will be well able to grab the sence of what you deliver and express this in a new look and feel for your business.

So now tell the world.

Combine your new image with a communications and marketing strategy. Use it to launch a new product line, a physical shift in premises or an interior fit out. Use mail and email to tell the world and ensure that your web site also reflects this new change. There is nothing more deflating to see an old web site left behind in the makeover or a new web site which deliveres a different message than the business it self does.

Ongoing story.

In the end the lasting effect of your rebrand is what matters most.

Keep testing, and follow up with what the key groups that your business interacts with feel about the change.

Remember this is not about you ....

You may see a cheeta ...

they may see a dodo.