There can be many motivations for rebranding and undergoing a name change, and not all of them are immediately apparent. Perhaps thanks to your hard work, you’ve already iterated on one of your flagship products. However, because it is so different and rising in popularity, you now know it’s the perfect time to adjust your branding plan to be more in line with it.
Or, maybe you’ve expanded and developed your enterprise to the point where it now encompasses too many services for the same presentation to be valid. This is why Facebook changed to Meta, for example, as it wouldn’t make sense for the company to be named after one of its products when it also owned Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
However, a name change is only the start of the journey. You have to ensure your branding is fully formatted in all directions, seamless and clean, and you act with confidence as if your brand has always been named this way to really sell it.
Let’s explore the fullest scope of what a brand name implies
All Visual Materials
Every element visual content your business has ever created suddenly needs a fresh look, and this will require more than changing out a logo on your homepage. For instance, think about the business cards sitting in reception areas, branded notebooks your team uses during client meetings, or perhaps promotional banners you’ve been using at trade shows for the past three years. That needs to be altered and even recalled in some instances. You may also switch out small belongings like branded pens or coffee mugs in the break room, or ask staff to take theirs home as a gift to reduce wastage.
Moreover, your vehicle wraps need updating, any storefront signage has to be replaced, and tagged or branded uniforms your delivery team wears all need to reflect the new identity. The packaging materials, product labels, and branded tape you use for shipping boxes all become part of this massive visual overhaul too. As you can see, the details matter.
Website Pages, References & Structures
Your website will be the main hub for the rebrand, which of course means that every single page needs to be combed through for references to the old brand name. There are obvious places you may think of immediately, as your About Us page and contact information are easy to catch, but you’ll also find subtle mentions buried in blog post content from two years ago or hiding in image alt tags that most people never see but search engines definitely notice.
The URL structure might need adjusting too, especially if your domain name included the old brand name, and that means setting up proper redirects so you don’t lose all the SEO value you’ve been building. Also look at the whole of each page, including footer text, meta descriptions, page titles, and internal links on each post or landing page, plus any embedded videos or downloadable resources that mention the old name. It can cause confusion if you miss any of this, but remember that even if the effort sounds tedious, you only need to do it once.
Routine Marketing Campaigns & Copy
All the email templates you’ve been using for newsletters, promotional campaigns, and automated content will need to change as well. Also keep in mind that includes your social media profiles which new cover images, updated bio sections, and fresh profile pictures, and the real work comes in updating all the scheduled posts, saved hashtags, and branded content templates you’ve been relying on on had automated to go out. You don’t want someone to use a template that is out of date even with your old colors, because it might confuse a good outreach strategy you’ver renewed.
Moreover, any ongoing advertising campaigns across Google, Facebook, or other platforms need your attention because running ads with the old branding while your website shows the new name may have people wondering if they’re in the right place. With a helpful creative agency you can perfect the wider points of your design in advance.
Delivery Services
Physical delivery has a lot to say about your brand, as even having trucks on the road is good marketing. But of course, they need to actually showcase the correct design with sticker wraps or covers where appropriate. It’s also important to change the labels and packaging materials your products arrive in.
Also remember that now a good portion of online delivery is digital, and this can apply to shipping notifications, tracking emails, and delivery confirmation messages, which all need to sustain the new rebrand approach. Keep in mind that any third-party delivery services you work with might need updated information too, because if a private carrier tells your recipient that they’ve picked up their package from your older brand name, it could confuse them.
Banking & Utilities
The administrative side of rebranding often catches businesses off guard because it involves so much paperwork and communication with various institutions that handle your business operations.
This could include but isn’t limited to bank accounts, credit lines, insurance policies, and vendor agreements which now all need updating, and that usually means providing legal documentation of the name change or sometimes waiting for approval processes that can take weeks. Utility companies, internet providers, and service contractors all need notification of the change, and many require official documentation before they’ll update their records, so it’s best to get that process started sooner rather than later.
Contractual Obligations
Existing contracts with clients, suppliers, and service providers need careful review because some might require alterations to showcase the new business name, but others might automatically transfer under the legal documentation you filed for the name change.
It’s best to reach out and check with any ongoing partnerships, licensing agreements, or franchise relationships that could be affected by the rebrand, and you might want to have legal counsel review any major contracts to ensure the name change doesn’t violate any terms you’ve agreed to.
With this advice, you’ll have rebranded with confidence. It’s a granular, sometimes thankless task, but you can rest easy knowing it’s done.
