Read how to balance business value and emotional value to create an authentic brand that not only sets your business up for success, but also resonates to your audiences’ needs.

1. The Balanced
REBRAND
The Art & Science
of Brand Building

2. Finding Balance
Deciding whether or not to rebrand is a critical
moment for a company. Getting your brand right
can sometimes mean a significant investment
of hours, team resources and dollars for your
organization. Usually the decision to rebrand
stems from an immediate business challenge or
need making the efforts worth it. Being clear on
an effective process and the value you wish to
drive for your business and your audience is an
art and science vital to a brand's success. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENGE
ART
EMOTIONAL
VALUE
SCIENCE
BUSINESS
VALUE

3. Committing to a rebrand is one of the biggest decisions a company
can make and oftentimes it happens at a most critical moment – a
change in company vision, needing to attract the right audience,
having negative brand perception. Use these moments as a launch
pad for business and brand soul-searching. Does your current
brand align with your business goals? If it doesn’t, it may be time
to rebrand.
From Pain to Opportunity
Shift in vision
Customer growth
Outdated perception
Shift in market category
Negative perception
Align brand to broader vision
Attract the customers you need
Look the part
Controlled repositioning
Change the narrative

4. Winning brands find the sweet spot between art and science – business value and emotional
value – to address the biggest business pains head on. Having a balance between these two
disciplines across every step of the rebrand process allows for brand building that is not only
emotionally relevant to your audience but also addresses critical business matters. Trust the
process – each step will arm you with tools and ammo necessary for the next step.
A Balanced Approach
BUSINESS
VALUE
EMOTIONAL
VALUE
VISUAL IDENTITY
Emotional
Connection
Meaning
Building
TESTING
Audience
Validation
Message
Testing
NAMING
Emotional
Shortcuts
Logical
Word
Associations
BRAND PLATFORM
Audience
Relevance
Brand
Infrastructure
RESEARCH
Audience
Perception
Market
Landscape
Insights

5. Research
Beginning the rebrand process with
research is vital to equipping your team
with an insights-driven roadmap for
success. The research process takes a
look at brand assessments and market
segmentation analysis to help better
understand your brand equity, customers,
and competitive market. Research may
find discrepancies between where you
think you stand and where you actually
do – embrace this! Turn research into a
competitive weapon by fully leveraging
data and insights across all aspects of
your business.

6. Ask Yourself
Do I have preconceived ideas
about what our research may reveal?
If so, leave them at the door and be open to new –
and perhaps even contradictory – insights your data
may uncover. Challenging your preconceived notions
may help you uncover new opportunities to help your
business succeed.
Can this research support other
facets of our business?
Take a holistic approach and leverage these insights in
ways you may have not previously considered, like for
your go-to-market strategy, sales enablement, persona
building… the list goes on!
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENGE
Where does
your brand
stand in the
market?
What is your
audience’s
perception of
your brand?
BUSINESS VALUE EMOTIONAL VALUE

7. Brand Platform
A strong brand platform is one of a
business’ most important assets – it
defines who you are, what you stand for,
and why you exist. Brand platforms are
developed after in-depth working
sessions between key stakeholders
using insights from research to find one’s
“raison d’etre.” A brand platform includes
a brand’s positioning and messaging,
mission and vision, brand story and
promise, among other important
brand-defining agreements. Use this
tool as a compass to guide everything
your brand does – from marketing, to
sales, to product development.

8. Ask Yourself
Can our brand platform live
with us into the future?
A brand platform is ultimately a company’s north star
– make sure you can follow it across every interaction
point and that it will guide you to where you need to go
long-term. A brand’s mission, vision, and values should
not change every time you have a new idea.
Does our point of view
align with audience needs?
Commit to a specific point of view that aligns with
your audience’s needs. Why are you relevant to them
and why should they believe in what you stand for?
Failure to do so will leave you with a generic brand
that connects with no one.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENGE
What is
your value
proposition?
How are you
emotionally
relevant to
your audience?
BUSINESS VALUE EMOTIONAL VALUE

9. Naming
Changing a company’s name involves
many tactical and legal implications and
should be driven by major business pain.
Perhaps your current name is not well-
understood or is misaligned to a naming
hierarchy between parent brand and
products. Whatever the reason, the
naming process is a clarifying exercise
of who you are as a brand. Begin with
core values from your brand platform
and build word maps aligned to your key
messages. Balance logical and intrinsic
connotations and consider how they
may be interpreted across industries,
audiences, and regions. Most importantly,
remember that a name change isn’t
always necessary.

10. Ask Yourself
What are the risks associated
with changing our name?
If you have started considering a name change you
are already facing challenges with your current name,
however, stop and think of the risks involved. Are the
risks of changing your name greater than the challenges
of your current name?
Is there an ideal time to roll out a new name?
Consider what else is going on in your business and
industry as a whole. Look at your product roadmap
and find opportunities to maximize impact. For example,
launching a new company name at the same time of a
new product release helps better explain your company
story and why a name change made sense.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENGE
How can your
name explain
your value
proposition?
What emotional
associations
should your
name evoke?
BUSINESS VALUE EMOTIONAL VALUE

11. Testing
Testing names and messages with select
focus groups allows for better insights-
driven decision making. Focus groups
should consist of an inner circle of
customers, employees, and partners
who are tasked with reacting to potential
company names and key messages.
Testing can also happen through broader
survey research using larger pools of
people within the industry or audience
sectors. In either case, look at what
audience sentiment/ perception is toward
specific options. Are they in line with what
you were expecting? Discard options that
perform poorly and move forward with
the closest to the desired reaction.

12. Ask Yourself
How do our name and messages
perform in other markets globally?
Test your names and messages in different markets and
languages to make sure you’re not accidentally offending
anyone. Consider how adding domain names and other
“extras” (#, @, etc.) may change or add unintentional
meaning to your name.
Are our name and key messages
performing like we expected them to?
Use this moment as an opportunity to “check yourself”
and your messaging. As insiders, we sometimes forget
that just because we understand what we are trying
to communicate doesn’t mean others do too. Are your
messages resonating and evoking the intended feelings?
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENGE
Does your
name/messaging
convey what you
intended it to?
How is your
audience reacting
to your name/
messages?
BUSINESS VALUE EMOTIONAL VALUE

13. Visual Identity
Changing a company’s name involves
many tactical and legal implications and
should be driven by major business pain.
Perhaps your current name is not well-
understood or is misaligned to a naming
hierarchy between parent brand and
products. Whatever the reason, the
naming process is a clarifying exercise
of who you are as a brand. Begin with
core values from your brand platform
and build word maps aligned to your key
messages. Balance logical and intrinsic
connotations and consider how they
may be interpreted across industries,
audiences, and regions. Most importantly,
remember that a name change isn’t
always necessary.

14. Ask Yourself
Are we addressing our initial
brand challenge?
Keep in mind the initial reason for rebranding - whether
it was a shift in market category or a negative perception
- make sure your new visual identity clearly addresses
your original business challenges.
Is our new visual brand giving
us room to grow?
Don’t pigeonhole your brand with a visual identity that
doesn’t leave room for growth. Look at your business
strategy and product roadmap to ensure your visual
brand will align with your long-term plans.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENGE
What meaning
are you creating
through design?
How should
your brand
make your
audience feel?
BUSINESS VALUE EMOTIONAL VALUE

15. The work does not stop once you’ve built your brand – it’s
just getting started! Bring your brand to life by considering
every possible touch point for both internal and external
stakeholders. Turn your employees into your biggest
ambassadors by letting them in on the fun and getting
them excited about what the new brand means for them,
for the company, for the future. Do the same for your partners,
vendors, and most importantly your customers. Consider
opportunities to “plus-one” their experience – how can you
go above and beyond?
Bring Your
Brand to Life

16. At this point, the stakes are higher than ever and engines are running at full throttle to produce all
necessary assets for launch. Keep open communication and set clear expectations among your teams.
Bucket activities into categories and assign owners for each. Check in on a weekly basis to make sure
everyone has what they need and that everything will fit together at the end.
Consider the many touchpoints and how you can create a cohesive experience:
Combining The Pieces
Internal
Brand reveal celebration
Company all-hands
Commemorative swag
Employee Q&A
External
• Website
• Social Channels
• Marketing Collateral
• Offices
• Products
• Customer Communications
• Partner Communications
• Media Relations

17. One of the most difficult parts of rebranding is keeping true to your new brand post-launch.
Leverage all the work you’ve done up to this point to build integrated campaigns across
multiple channels and disciplines. Reference your brand platform and visual guidelines to
ensure all content and messaging is in line with everything you’ve worked so hard on.
Consider the following:
Keep It Consistent
Media Relations
• Product releases
• Executive visibility
• Thought leadership
• Momentum releases
Product Marketing
• Training Material
• Email campaigns
• Video content
• Leave-behinds
Online Communities
• Interactive content
• User generated content
• Micro-content
• Tweet chats
Event Strategy
• Tradeshows
• Roadshows
• Interactive experiences
• Branded giveaways

18. One Size
Doesn’t Fit All
Rebranding is an exploratory process
that allows brands to reinvent and realign
themselves to better reach their business
goals. The exact process and outcome will
vary from brand to brand, but one factor
will always be the same: finding a balance
between business value and emotional
insights will unlock the opportunity to
create an authentic brand that not only
sets you up for business success, but will
also truly resonate with your audiences’
needs. Be open to new ideas and unafraid
to let go and take risks.

19. Hotwire is a global communications agency
dedicated to helping ambitious companies
change the game, build their reputation, and
stand out from the crowd.
Our Digital Brand Lab brings together the
power of insights and analytics, digital media,
content marketing, and creative services to
develop cutting-edge campaigns that raise
brand awareness, engage audiences, stir up
demand and drive new leads.
Contact us today!
DBLUS@HotwirePR.com