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When Is a Good Time to Rebrand

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The decision to re-brand your business is a big one. A lengthy process that can sometimes cost a bit of coin, and it’s certainly a decision not to be taken lightly. However, if done for the right reasons and at the right time, a rebrand can be a great investment to the immediate and future growth of your business.

Done for the wrong reasons and at the wrong the time it can not only be a costly mistake but a PR disaster.  A recent example, one we can all learn from was by a household name, with a product we all grew up with and loved. Arnott’s rebranded their famous Shapes biscuit ‘updating’ some of their renowned flavours in the process. Australia went into meltdown. It’s possible we’re still in the midst of this meltdown as the benefits of this change have yet to be seen or understood.

Another famous example on the worldwide stage was when Coca-Cola made an attempt to re-brand their product to appeal to younger consumers in 1985. A strong consumer backlash forced the company to bring back the original “Coco-Cola classic” a mere three months later.

Evolving

If your business has evolved since opening its doors, it’s possible that the logo and brand you started with is no longer consistent with your current message or offering. It’s good practice to have a brand that consistently reflects your business’s message. New direction is the primary reason for re-branding.

Moving or Expanding

Moving your business or expanding geographically? If your branding includes geographic information or contains messages or meanings that only apply to one area, re-branding to appeal to the new location will be required.

Updating

Has the market or trends within your industry changed considerably? Has your brand become outdated as a result? Your brand reflects your business and is directly responsible for prospective client’s perception of you. An outdated and dull brand will not appeal to new customers- especially if you’re a company that sells these sort of services. It’s important not to get this confused with you feeling bored with your current branding – which can happen to the best of us.

While it is totally normal for any business owner to want to shake things up, it’s vital to recognise that this isn’t a good enough reason to re-brand, at least not on it’s own. If however you’re considering updating due to an outdated logo or niche a complete change may not be needed. A simple refresh may be enough.

Appealing to New Audiences

If you’re wanting to appeal or attract a new audience, then this is a solid enough reason for rebranding and one of the most popular. If you want to break into a new demographic, updating your brand to reflect their behaviours, likes and interests can position your business favourably. It is important to make a well-informed decision backed by research if considering this. Using an experienced agency to assist with re-branding is beneficial beyond the obvious design reasons. An agency familiar with branding will have years of knowledge and tested and tried experiences behind their expertise.

Merging or Acquiring

Another reason you may be considering a rebrand is if your business is merging with another or you are you acquiring a new one? Updating the brand to reflect the new dynamic not only creates and helps keep the brand consistent with offerings and message but it can also be a great marketing and PR strategy. Just be careful not to alienate existing loyal customers.

It’s not only important to get the timing and the reasons for re-branding right but to also make sure it’s done with longevity in mind. We can’t stress how important it is for a brand to remain consistent, solid and trustworthy in the eyes of consumers – no matter what type of business you’re in.

When considering rebranding you need to consider all elements of your business’s marketing platforms. With website and digital being a strong player in today’s business environment it’s important that a brand presents well in a digital environment as well as on traditional promotional material.

Get Expert Advice

Rebranding can be an expensive exercise and even more expensive if it isn’t done right. It’s a good idea (and a good investment) to get advice from a team who know and understand the branding process.

We recently re-branded our business to reflect the growth of our business and have had glowing feedback from many of our partners and customers. Digital is an important part of a re-brand strategy, contact us today to discuss how we can help.

White Knight becomes WK Digital

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White Knight Web Design was formed in 2008. The name represented a time in the industry where a customer focused quality web designer was needed, given a reasonable proportion of the web industry operated out of their car boots. We worked hard to not only provide quality websites but help those stranded by other companies who couldn’t finish the job.

We’ve grown together with many of our customers who are still with us from the early days.

White Knight to WK blog post image
 

The digital landscape is constantly evolving. We have added an office in San Francisco, at the heart of the evolution. We want to focus on maintaining our core services, but also ensure that you have access to proven cutting edge revolutions in the digital space.

Rebranding to WK Digital reflects your growth and our growth. We are still here to help, but we’ve grown to provide you with more. WK maintains our heritage and our core ethos; but it also reflects our transformation into a mid tier multinational digital agency.

We still have the same dedicated local staff and we remain resolutely focused on you. This rebrand to WK Digital reflects that we are now in a better position to provide you with digital tools that will enhance your competitive position.

A letter to my daughter on International Women’s Day

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Why do we celebrate this day anyway? I can hear you ask that and “haven’t we come far enough?”

Well I’d like you to know that yes, in 2016, we have come a long way.
We can vote, we can play sports, we can be CEOs, we can start and successfully
run our own businesses.

My industry, information technology, is a male-dominated industry, so right away women already stand out. So we
don’t have to fight to get noticed but we’ve always have to have a clear focus on getting noticed for things that impact us specifically.

#WomenInIT

Through my career in IT I have evolved an interest in the inner workings of computers
and software into fixing real world problems for lots of people in lots of industries.
In this way, getting to work in many different environments provides the ultimate diversity and
variety that I know most people want. This is what I love about IT, but I also know it’s not a career choice
considered by enough women.

#PledgeforParity

I also know that across all industries the gap in pay between men and women for the exact same jobs is real and its
too big. If I stand by and don’t do anything to see that change then I’m letting you and your friends down now, for later.

#GirlstotheFront

What I’ve also learned talking to other women, as professionals and as mothers, is that we can’t forget to put
ourselves first when it matters, even if we need to be loud about it sometimes.

So to me, today is important because it’s the day we get together as a group, 50% of the world’s population, and celebrate
our successes and how far we’ve come. And with a loud voice today I tell people I support:

– Setting goals and encouraging more women into information technology careers
– Sharing gender pay data across all industries so we can talk about real solutions for reducing the gap
– Women putting themselves first, professionally and as family members, because we always bring the rest of
the team up with us!

Resist the Urge to Save

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We’re a nation of contrarians, we don’t like to be told what to do. So if the government says spend because of generous tax breaks, we shout “Save!” But maybe we’re shouting save and thinking…SPEND!

Tax deductions are always attractive and this year the carrot is shiny and sweet, so if you’ve got spending on the mind then consider these technology investments:

1. Upgraded Point of Sale units – if you have POS cash registers connected to the internet then there is always a risk of viruses but most importantly, just like upgrading a laptop you need to consider the main point of receipting cash and credit cards and then consider an upgrade today. We’re big fans of – Ordermate they just get customers and on the plus side your eCommerce website integrates directly to the POS for seamless ordering and monitoring of your profits.

2. Tablet – Your kid has one, so why shouldn’t you start using the ultimate in flexible technology that acts as a fantastic sales tool? Why wait to show your customer your goods when you can hand over your new, pixel perfect tablet and they can scroll through themselves. As a aside, how is your website looking on the tablet these days?

3. Mobile – Tablets are sales tools, mobiles are the productive-you tool. Tech changes so quickly in this space so don’t wait any longer to change out to a mobile phone that can act as a mini-office in your pocket. The statistics for users viewing your website only through mobile phone browsing are approaching 50% of the browsing public and will only continue to grow, how is that site looking on your phone?

Ok so we violated the “Don’t Tell Us What to Do!” rule but even though we don’t think Gerry Harvey needs more money we do like the focus on technology to sharpen your business model so think about it, but not for too long.

Its Your Day – Take Time for Yourself!

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And no, we do not mean a sneaky 5 minute (and became 30) session checking out your friends antics on Facebook – that’s just tuning out!  Take time, that is professional development time, for yourself.

This is easier said then done, we are all busy solving operational issues and the phone doesn’t stop. But carve out 30 minutes a day, or 2 hours a week and make sure you work on your business instead of in it.

Taking that time can help you craft lasting solutions to those fires you put out again and again.

It can be an actual training course OR you could just Google it and go deep. Pick a weekly topic, leadership, finances, technology, marketing or any other old thing that’s been on your mind and really put some time into:

• Understanding what it is
• Figuring out if it can help you
• Lining up any questions you still have
• Making a plan for addressing the lingering questions (if any)

In 30 minutes you can definitely get through each of these steps, and if its something that needs further investigation to bring to a conclusion then rank it on the list of other things and come back to it. Or even better – delegate that task to someone else in your business.

Remember – its your day – you didn’t start a business to have someone else set your schedule. So take time to develop yourself – you will feel so much better for doing so.