Company rebranding – how to do it right with media monitoring?

A company that has been present on the market for a long time requires refreshing which will allow it to surprise its customers, activate them and boost their interest. The time when we realize that our brand has exhausted its full potential and is unable to offer anything more, both to its existing and prospective customers, is the time for a thorough rebranding.

There are many strategies which proved successful for some while causing exorbitant losses for others. In the latter case, the company was probably missing a strategy, a good plan and reliable information on current trends in the industry. Media monitoring is a very effective tool in company rebranding as it gives us access to all information generated based on a keyword, company name, industry, phenomenon or product. It applies to media such as the Internet, press, television, radio and social media.

EFFECTIVE COMPANY REBRANDING

A company’s rebranding means refreshing its image, renewing it, introducing changes to specific brand elements. In some cases, it is only a slight facelift while in other cases, existing solutions may be completely rejected. However, not all business owners are open to change. They are concerned that the existing customers might not like the new image. Despite the coming of new ones, regular customers will leave for the competition, therefore the balance will still be the same. In rebranding, the initial phase of changes, i.e. the analysis of the current situation of the company, is extremely important. Changes in the enterprise should be made only in specific situations and with a clearly defined goal. Good times for it include a noticeable drop in sales or the expansion to other markets, e.g. abroad. A change will be a good idea if you can see that you are not much different from the competition or that you are average instead of being unique. Rebranding is also one of the activities that are carried out when a company is being acquired or has reputational problems.

Examples of effective rebranding activities include the changes introduced in December 2015 by PizzaPortal. After a new mobile website was developed, it was possible to generate significantly more orders already over the first few dozen days. The desktop website was also modernized allowing all the customers to place orders even without the mobile application. New, engaging content was also added.

DEVELOP THE PERFECT PLAN

Once you know the reason for rebranding, you can move on to developing a strategy and an action plan. Remember that chaotic marketing and image-building activities will not produce long-term benefits for your company. Set a goal, answer questions, e.g. what features should your brand have after rebranding? What benefits would you like to gain? It is also the time when you need to research your competitors. Media monitoring will help you do it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDIA MONITORING IN REBRANDING

Media monitoring can be your base of the necessary information on any topic that interests you. Thanks to monitoring, you can access up-to-date content regarding any specific field, industry or product. Based on specific data and guidelines, it generates content regarding news in the industry as well as the condition, position and changes that occur in competitive companies. Monitoring makes it easy to identify the biggest players in the industry. You can see how they capitalize on their advantage and what helps them do it. Moreover, you have access to information on consumer opinions about a specific brand, including yours. Thanks to monitoring, you can find out what your customers like and what needs to be changed and improved. This is how the plan and objective of the company’s development can be prepared.

AFTER REBRANDING … CHANGE SUCCESS MONITORING

The company’s rebranding aims to evoke a specific consumer response. Sometimes it is only about improving interest in a given product, other times it is about increasing sales and thus profits. Some companies want to improve their image with rebranding activities. We can only find out after some time whether the goal has been achieved. However, the success of the changes can be monitored much earlier. Media monitoring is also an effective tool at that stage. From the very first days, you can see how customers respond to the change and how quickly they get used to the new image of the company. A brand strategy requires constant and ongoing verification of recognizability in the industry. Thanks to the information and data from media monitoring, you can also find out whether the current communication and image are understandable to the customers or whether something has to be explained … All these data also provide solid foundations for consistent and clear communication with your audience.

The company’s rebranding cannot be based only on the knowledge of the internal structure of the company, we cannot refer only to our brand and our individual observations as our assessment is not sufficiently objective. We need guidance from our customers, a broad and detailed picture of the industry and the strategy of our biggest competitors. That is why media monitoring plays such an important role in rebranding, not only at the planning stage but also after the changes are implemented.