Branding vs. Rebranding

About the episode:

Welcome to episode two of Rebrand with RuthAnn! Today we’re going to dive into one of my favorite topics – branding vs. rebranding, the definition of the two, which one you should invest in, and what you can expect out of the process of each. I’m also going to share some rebrand success stories of a couple of my clients as well as popular rebrands that you’ve probably seen out in the wild. Listen in and let me know your favorite takeaways!

What you’ll hear:

The different definitions of branding and rebranding
The deliverables that RuthAnn offers her clients and the clientele she supports
The emergence of personal branding and influencer marketing to make connections with your customers
How building a trustworthy and credible brand will make it easier to sell your product or service
Knowing the differences between branding and marketing
Two examples of rebranding that RuthAnn has recently done that really led to success for her clients
Rebrands that you may have seen with multi-million dollar companies
Also looking at the differences between a rebrand and a refresh

Episode resources:

Hi there, welcome to the show. I'm so excited that you're here. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen. Today we are talking all about branding versus rebranding. And we're gonna talk about what the difference is. I'm gonna share some examples of my own clients and bigger examples from out in the wild from bigger companies. And so I'm excited to dive into this topic, but. Before that, if we have not met, my name is Ruthann. I am the brand and website designer behind Art Space, which is a branding boutique helping ambitious women entrepreneurs uplevel their online presence with rebranding and website design. And I have been in business for seven years now. Four of those years have been full-time. Three of those years were... as a side hustle and yeah, I love doing what I get to do and working with the incredible women I get to work with. It's just such a joy and it really fills my creative cup and it is just, yeah, it's just such a joy. And so yeah, today we're talking about branding versus rebranding. So when it comes to branding versus rebranding, honestly, they are... the same thing except that rebranding is when you're completely overhauling a brand that's already been established and branding is normally something that you do from the beginning. So if you have, honestly this is kind of just a difference in words for the most part, rebranding just means you're doing the branding again and branding is you know doing it from the start. So what is branding? I did want to kind of break this down in case you're not sure what branding is. Branding is how you make a customer feel. There is a lot that makes up the branding. It's the visuals, the copy, the communication, your values, your aesthetic, your mission, connection. It's so many things that make up a brand and it's a lot of like intangibles a lot of the time. I've heard it said like it's someone's vibe. It's kind of like the vibe you have. I like to think of it in terms of like a restaurant. So say you have a restaurant and that is representative of your business, your brand is the vibe. So when you open the door to the restaurant, what do you see? Is the lighting pretty dim? Is there ambiance, music in the background? When you go to the table and sit down, what kind of chairs are you sitting in? That is kind of the vibe and the feeling you have when you're in a restaurant. You kind of like, oh, this feels super trendy or like this is... a very, sorry, one second. Like when you go into the restaurant, you might think like, oh wow, this is like super trendy and fun, or this is more like lavish and low key. And so there's, or bougie, I guess, is a word you could use. So I think there's different things when it comes to having a vibe of something. And I've also heard it said that branding is when your customers, let's see, I've also heard it said that branding is what your customers say that your business is. It's not what you say your business is, what your customer says it is. And the reason that's important is because, you know, you are putting out all this information and content and your aesthetics and your visuals and your logo. You're putting out all this stuff, but how is it being received? And that is what branding is about, is about like that connection that people feel to you, that what they feel when they interact with your content, with your marketing, all that kind of thing. So there is definitely, a importance on branding for sure. And there's also like different There's also different containers of branding itself. So for me, I'm really focused on the visual branding aspect and I offer deliverables to my clients, such as logo files, media kits, website design. I offer a deliverable of visual branding services, but there's also people who are brand consultants or brand managers, and they make sure the company is aligned with the vision and values of you know, what the company stands for and represents. And so there's different, you know, people in charge of different things when it comes to branding, especially if it's like a bigger company, or, you know, for me, I work with a lot of small business owners. So it's like, you know, a solopreneur who's working in her business, either, you know, she just has one team member, or she has a small team. That's normally like the clientele I work with, but there are different levels of, you know, all... there's such a range throughout big businesses and small businesses. But personal branding is extremely important whether you are a big business or a small business. And I think this can be seen when you are, I think in the last, you know, five to ten years, there has been a real shift in like how the customer connects to a company and knowing the story of the company and the mission of the And so these things, the branding is involved with all of these pieces. So that's why I think it's very important if you are a personal brand, if you are the one in your business, I think it's incredibly important that you share who you are in your business. Maybe you have a few team members, but you're the one running your business. I think it's incredibly important that you share your face, that you connect with people because you are a personal brand. And if you are wanting to grow into an agency model or to a bigger, on a bigger scale, I think it's still good to start with a personal brand because that's how people connect with you. That's how people feel like, oh my gosh, I totally relate to this person or oh, I have that in common with this person. I think building a personal brand, which is just showing up as who you are with your personality. you share a little bit of your story, a little bit of your life, you know, that is building your personal brand. And that's how like influencer marketing has become extremely huge in the last, you know, five years. It's like everyone is an influencer, not everyone, but you know, on social media stuff, like there are influencers all the time and they're all talking about, oh, I need to like stay true to the brand and I need to build my brand. And so all of that is just being visible and sharing who you are and your personality online to people. And building a brand, the importance of that is you can sell so much easier. So when you have a brand that is trustworthy, that is credible, that is connecting to an ideal client, it's so much easier to sell a product because people already... They trust you, they believe in your brand, all that kind of thing. So the importance of building a personal brand is that when you have that trust of your customer, you are able to sell a lot easier. I do want to touch on marketing as well. I know this is not something that I'm going to go into at the moment, but sometimes I hear that branding and marketing get, like the words can be interchanged and I think that is... Not true. So I think it's really important that you separate the two. While I think they're both incredibly important and there's overlap in those two words, they are very different things. So I just wanted to mention that here. Marketing is how you get your message out to the audience you're trying to connect with. So marketing, there's like social media marketing, there's email marketing, there's relationship building marketing, there's all sorts of different kinds of marketing and you know, marketing is just how you get the message out there. And so if we're going back to that restaurant analogy I have, it's like you have the restaurant and it's marketing is how do you get the people to go to the restaurant? So whether you do wanna do commercials, billboards, networking events, having a podcast, how are you reaching people to talk about what you are offering to people? So that is for a different episode at a different time, talking about marketing, but that is something to keep in mind is like, Your branding is not your marketing. Your branding is like being solid in who you are, the values you have, the personality you have, and being able to connect with your client. And marketing is how you get that message out to people and connect with them in that way so you can sell your product. Okay, so that was a little bit about branding. And like I mentioned earlier, rebranding is just... re-establishing your vision and values on a, let's see. So that was a little bit about marketing, but going back to branding versus rebranding, rebranding is recreating your visuals. And oh my word, why am I having such a hard time with this? Let's see. So that's a little bit about marketing, but going back to branding and rebranding, in short, they are the same thing, except that rebranding is when you are completely overhauling a brand that has already been established. So sometimes this could be someone who's been in business for like 15 years and they've never changed their logo. If they are at a point where like, I wanna be seen as like adaptable, credible, I wanna like really... make a splash with my customers, I want to bring in new customers, I'm not relevant anymore, how do I connect with my customers in a new way, especially because I have all these new offers that no one even knows about. That would be a great indicator that rebranding is your next step. Because when you go through the rebranding process, you get a whole new brand identity, visually speaking. You have a new logo, new color palette, new... marketing materials, a new website. In my case, when I work with my clients, I do the website as well. So there's all of these new pieces that people can share about and that you can be excited to share about. Be like, you know, we have been in business for 15 years, but we are so excited because we are like going to the next level in business. And this is how we can do that is really reaching people in how they connect with you. Okay, let me go back to that for a second. So, if you've been in business for like 15 years, say, and then you go through a rebranding process, it can be every, let's see. So, let's say you've been in business for 15 years, when you go through the rebranding process, it is a new way to gain, first of all, gain confidence in your business. Like, I am so excited that my business looks like it's modern, relevant. adaptable, all of those things. And now I'm so much more excited to reach out to new people, to bring them into my community, to bring them into my, tell them about my website, to have them learn more about me and everything. So rebranding is a great next step for people who feel like they've outgrown what they've had, or they're just ready to connect with their clients in a whole new way, and really establish that. authority and presence. So I wanted to share a few examples of rebranding and so the first two examples I'm going to have are from my own clients. So one of my past clients I've worked with was a health coach and she DIY'd everything when she started her business. She set up her website on a quick little template. She didn't really have a logo. She didn't really have a solid color palette. And so when she came to me, she was like, you know, I think I need everything. Like I think I need to redo everything because I just feel like, you know, when I went to her site, I remember like, not really knowing what she did and not really knowing anything. And she had a really successful podcast. So I was like, I don't think the podcast is even here. Like, you know, it was just kind of hard to navigate her site. She was like, you know, I really wanna be an industry expert in this. Her podcast was, you know, a chart-topping podcast. And I was like, you know, I think this is definitely the next step for you because you are established. You do know what you're doing. You're very, very good at what you do. You have a lot of credentials. You have a lot of experience. You've been in business for a while. You know, rebranding was the next best step for her because it really was able to elevate her in the online space and it made her look like she knows exactly what she's doing. It made the customer experience so much better. So when they come to the website, they know this is what I can expect. You know, she had everything laid out really easily. It was like easy to navigate. It was engaging. It shared her personality. I mean, this was like really a big step for her in her business because she was able to like really expand her reach to new people. They were able to learn about her. She had so many more client signups. once her site launched, more podcast downloads. So it was a really exciting time for her and her business because she was able to really have a cohesive online presence that made sense, that people were excited to engage with, and that was clear. And that's kind of a big one too, is like giving clarity to someone's business when it's like, well, I think people know what I do, but I'm not sure, and I think, you know, they might. know this, but they might not know this. It's like, let's get some clarity. And that's what rebranding can really help with too, is giving a lot of clarity. Another rebrand I worked on was with a business coach and she said that she felt like she outgrew her original brand. And this is something I also hear from people is like, you know, I started this, you know, out like this, but I really like grown so much and I just feel like I'm not the same person anymore. I feel like I've outgrown this. And so that is like a typical thing I hear as well. And so with this business coach client, she said, so she had a really girly website. It had a lot of pink. And I remember she said to me on the call, she was like, I don't even like the color pink. But she chose it because it was like an easy option. It was just like, oh, I know that, you know, I wanna work with women. And so I'm just gonna use the color pink, which, you know, there's just not a lot of maybe thought or intentionality behind that decision, but. That's kind of where she was and so when we rebranded she chose a really beautiful grounding color palette Slate was one of her main colors porcelain And she did have a muted pink in there, but it was a more like mature pink I guess you can say and so afterwards she felt like it was So much more and mature is the word that she used to describe her new brand she was like, I just feel like it's mature and it really like represents who I am to my clients really well, which was so nice to hear because that is exactly what I wanted to be. Your visual brand should be a great representation of who you are and your personality. Because what I mentioned before, as a personal brand, we are the face of our business and it's so important that people connect with who we are because that really is how you'll get more people to work with you is because... you know, people are like, oh, I totally get, you know, I totally get her vibe. I totally get how she shows up. And that's how someone connects with us and wants to work with us. So it was really awesome that she said that she felt like it was, you know, her new brand was mature and that she felt like, and people like made a comment about that too. Like her clients were like, this is, you know, suits you so well, which is such a compliment to me as the designer. And I wanted to share also a couple large scale examples. And so these are, you know, out, these are very big examples, but I do think it's kind of helpful to see that companies go through this, whether you're a billion dollar company or a little small business owner like me and you, you know, like there's all ranges of branding and rebranding that goes on. So it's not just for... business owners like us, it's also for the big billion dollar businesses as well. In 2016, Taco Bell rebranded and changed their logo. They kept that iconic bell in their logo, but they changed their color palette and fonts. And I remember when the Taco Bell closed our house, they repainted the building because their colors are now purple and like that's their main colors like purple now. And I was like, what on earth did they do? Like You know, sometimes rebranding is very exciting and wonderful. And sometimes for me, I was like, you know, to me, that didn't make a ton of sense. But, you know, for some people, you know, absolutely. So for them, you know, I was reading about their rebranding. They said it was a shift in mindset that they can change and evolve. And just because they've been around for 61 years, that doesn't mean that they are going to be boxed in to what they've always been because they were founded in 1962, which is. long time. And another example I wanted to share is Time Warner Cable. So I remember when they went through their rebrand when I back when I was working at the printing company I would be driving home from work and I saw this billboard for about a year I think I saw this billboard that said Time Warner Cable is now Spectrum and that just is so just stays in my it's just in my memory because I just remember that so well of like oh, this is a huge company going through a rebrand. And for them, it wasn't just a logo. They rebranded to, you know, they had a whole new name. They had a completely new color palette, new fonts. If you don't know, Spectrum is a high-speed internet company. And so they did their rebrand in 2017. And for them, they wanted to be a really an industry leader in their space. And with the name like Time Warner Cable, it was really outdated and it really boxed them in. And I remember thinking that too, I was like, wow, they have the word cable in their name. Like that's such an old term that people don't use anymore. And so with their rebranding, you know, they renamed to Spectrum and they're able to really expand their business because the word Spectrum is not boxing them in. It doesn't have, you know, limitations on where their business can go. They can provide so many other services. under that business name, which is why I think their rebrand made so much sense. And I see they are a leading, a leader in their industry when it comes to what they do. And a lot of that has to do with their marketing. They have been, you know, they, I see commercials for them whenever we have the TV on, like I see a commercial for them. And you know, they are just out there showcasing who they are and what they do with their new brand. And there's just a lot of confidence that comes with that, I think. You know, whenever you do go through a rebrand, no longer do you feel like you're boxed in or you are outdated. It's like, oh, I don't really want to send someone to my website because, you know, I know that it's not really up to date. But when you go through a rebrand, you are so much more likely to be confident and be excited about sharing your business with people and sending people to your website because you know it's like on point. So that is a, you know, just another bigger example of a rebrand. And something I also wanted to mention is like, there is a difference between a rebrand and a refresh. A rebrand is a major overhaul like we have been talking about. Something I also wanted to mention here is that there is a difference between a rebrand and a refresh. A rebrand is a major overhaul like we've been talking about whenever you're changing your business name, when you're offering new services, when you feel like you've outgrown your original branding, when you really want a professional to come in and help you do all of the visuals. You know, that is when a rebrand is really necessary. But in terms of making little tweaks along the way, because maybe you've been in business for a while and you're like, you know, I feel like I am really aligned with my branding right now. Like I feel like I don't really need to make a lot of shifts. Then maybe a refresh is just in your future. And a refresh, and to me, when I think of a refresh, I think of like little tweaks along the way. Like maybe adding a color to your color palette or like changing a font out. It's not like really huge changes, like redoing your logo and. redoing all your marketing materials. Maybe it's just like a little tweak along the way. So that's something that I think is helpful to know the difference on if you feel like, oh, maybe I am just making tweaks along the way and that's good enough, that could be totally fine. Or if you're in the camp, like, I feel like I do need a major overhaul. I am changing my business name. I do offer new services. My... ideal customer has changed. Those are all great reasons that a rebrand could be the next best thing for your business. I hope this was helpful. I love talking about this topic and if you have any questions or if you want further explanation on something, I would love to hear from you. Just head over to Instagram and you can DM me at r underscore art space and I will be over there and I would love to hear if you have any topics you want to hear about or takeaways from the show. And I just thank you so much for listening. I so appreciate you being here and thank you so much. I hope you have such a wonderful day and I will talk to you later.