Any conversation about the cost of rebranding should begin with the reminder that at the end of the day, rebranding is not a cost, but an investment. And it’s one that, if done properly, will yield exponential returns over the life of your business.
That said, “How much does a rebrand cost?” is a common question every company needs to ask. When it comes to branding, the answer to each of these questions is “it depends.” Below, we break down many of the common factors that go into the total cost of a rebrand.
How Much Does Rebranding Cost?
Let’s identify a few factors that could make the rebranding process take longer - and cost more.
- What are your top business goals?
- What problems are you trying to solve?
- How many sub-brands, if any, do you have?
- How competitive is your industry?
- How big is your organization (larger companies take longer)?
- How many decision-makers do you have (fewer is faster)?
- How much research (online and offline) will be required?
- Is a new name required (that’s a separate process with its own methodology and schedule)?
- How responsive is your management team (it’s a common source of delays)?
- What would a successful outcome look like?
The answers to these questions will help determine what type of rebranding approach is best for your company - and how much it might cost.
While there’s often a correlation between the size of a company and the amount it should invest in a rebrand, what’s more important is the nature of its challenges and opportunities. Small companies can have complex needs and/or ambitious goals. Conversely, large companies can have relatively simple needs and more basic objectives.
Brand Refresh or Full Rebrand?
There’s a cost difference between a brand refresh and a complete rebrand. And your decision can dramatically affect the cost.
A brand refresh is a little less complex in its execution and uses elements that have already been developed, but changes them slightly - lowering the cost, as the strategy and half of the ideas have already been developed.
The major difference between a brand refresh and a full rebrand is the comprehensive research and strategy. In a full rebrand, we go over the company’s values, mission, objectives, vision, and most importantly, their purpose.
We make sure your company is aligned and has a strong foundation on which to build a new brand. We will also discuss your competitors. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does your brand stack up against your competitors?
Cost Differences
The cost of this strategy can depend on how large your market is and how large your customer base may be. If you have multiple services or products, this could bump up the number of competitors and customers you have as well.
Another cost variable is renaming. Has your company outgrown its name? Do the services you offer seem limited by your name? Could it be too close to a competitor’s? Was there a business merger? Are their negative associations with your name?
This renaming often takes quite a bit of time as it requires research, brainstorming, and vetting, adding to the cost. However, renaming is powerful and almost unavoidable when truly needed.
Beyond the Logo: Other Updates to Consider During a Rebrand
Two questions to ask yourself before implementing your new brand identity are: “Did my company’s values or personality change?” and “Is my target persona the same?”
If your brand values, personality and personas changed, you should think about updating not just your logos, but also your messaging, content and images.
Updating Your Content
Your tagline and main messaging such as headlines and taglines should reflect your new brand identity. This is where a content strategy expert should be pulled in. This is an additional cost to think about when rebranding. In addition, messaging across your website, social media channels, and blog should be updated so it’s consistent across all of your collateral.
Developing additional content to complement your new brand can add additional costs, but if you’re looking to make the most impact and maintain consistency, it’s a must.
Updating Your Imagery and Videos
Another element to consider in a rebrand is photography and videography. Your audience will relate best to authentic photos that truly represent a brand’s personality. Does your current imagery meet those standards?
Having original photography that shows this authenticity is something you can’t get from stock photos. The same goes with video. Video is continuing to grow across all platforms and gives your brand a human touch. Video allows you to communicate authentically, shorten the sales cycle and sell more efficiently.
Updating Your Website
Finally, don’t forget to consider your website. If you’re rolling out a beautiful, modern new brand onto a dated and clunky website, it won’t pack much of a punch.
A rebrand is a great time to consider updating your website. And it may not need a complete overhaul - many times, optimizing your current site is an efficient and cost-effective solution. But if your site is out of date and doesn’t meet your customer’s needs, it might be time for a change.
Either way, consider your options and what will work best to support your new brand.
Ready for Roll-Out: Your Costs
Whether you decide on a brand refresh or a full rebrand, the implementation of your new identity could cost more or less the same. When thinking about all the places your logo, company name, messaging, and visuals appear, they will all need to be updated to match your new brand.
The more collateral and digital space your company has, the larger the cost will be to update all of these items. So, a small business may have a smaller cost to rebrand compared to a larger brand with more employees, advertisements, web pages and print collateral.
To make sure you’ve covered all the necessary rebranding elements, we put together a simple checklist for all the items you should think about updating once your new brand is ready to roll out.
Rebranding With Marketing Essentials
When it comes to rebranding, no two companies’ needs are alike. A rebranding strategy must be tailored to your company’s unique challenges and complexity.
Remember, rebranding comes at a cost, but the investment is worthwhile. If not now, then when?
At Marketing Essentials, we’re ready to bring new life to your brand! Learn more about our simple and comprehensive design process here.
