Over two decades working in branding and design — and twenty-plus years building, scaling and evolving brands (including my own tech brands and the alcohol-free beer brand Big Drop) — I’ve seen this confusion too many times: “We’re going to re-brand!” … but often what’s really needed is a brand evolution. In this post I’m going to unpack what a re-brand really is, how far-reaching it can be, and when you should reserve a re-brand for critical business moments. My hope: you’ll walk away with clearer judgement about what your brand actually needs — and how I (or we) might help.
What is a re-brand?
When people say “re-brand”, they often mean “refresh the logo” — but in reality a true re-brand is far more than a shiny new badge. It’s a deep structural change in how your brand presents, behaves and is perceived in the market.
A re-brand may involve one or more of the following:
- Changing your brand name, or significantly altering your brand architecture
- A full visual and verbal identity overhaul (logo, typography, colour palette, brand voice)
- A shift in target audience, or moving into a new category or market
- A repositioning of your promise — in effect, the story you tell about who you are, what you offer, why you exist
On the other hand, a brand evolution or refresh is typically incremental: keeping the same core promise and audience, but updating the look & feel, refining messaging, modernising touchpoints. In short: evolution = same brand, refreshed; re-brand = new chapter, possibly new brand.
From a founder perspective (with Big Drop as my own example), in 2016 when we launched the beer brand we were starting fresh (so yes, a brand build). If that brand later needed to change its fundamental promise, name or architecture — then we’d be talking re-brand. But often what clients really need is simply to evolve.
How far-reaching can a re-brand be?
Because a re-brand is structural, it has wide implications — for your business, your team, your audience, your operations, as well as your graphic identity. Some of the areas impacted:
1. Visual & verbal identity
You’re not just tweaking colours — you may be redesigning the logo, re-imagining iconography, rewriting your brand voice, even renaming the company. If your brand architecture shifts, sub-brands may need retiring or reorganising. In the Big Drop story: we built a distinct visual identity tied to our alcohol-free craft positioning. If we ever reposition outside that category, all of those identity elements would require review.
2. Touchpoints & experience
When you signal “we have changed”, you must deliver that across all touchpoints: your website, packaging, signage, uniforms, marketing collateral, social media, customer service scripts. A re-brand without full touchpoint alignment risks looking fragmented. In practice: the cost & coordination of implementing a re-brand across physical and digital channels is often underestimated.
3. Business strategy & positioning
A true re-brand often accompanies business change: perhaps you’re entering a new market, pivoting your business model, targeting new audiences, shifting your core offer. If you’re doing the same business with the same promise, you probably don’t need a re-brand. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen in consulting is when a client wants a new logo without articulating what’s different underneath — strategy first.
For Big Drop, our mission was built around “great craft beer without the alcohol” — if we were to shift to, say, a broader “mindful drinks” brand beyond beer, then that could trigger a re-brand.
4. Internal culture & operations
A re-brand is more than external; it requires internal alignment. Your people must live the new brand. Your operations must support its promise. If the internal world remains unchanged you risk a “shell” brand: new visuals but old behaviours. From a human-effectiveness lens, this is where change can stumble. Staff must feel part of the journey, not just handed a new first-day instruction sheet.
5. Risk & reward
Because scope is so large, so is the risk and potential reward:
- Reward: you can reset market perceptions, gain relevance, differentiate from competitors, upscale your brand, signal new ambition.
- Risk: you may destroy or dilute existing brand equity; you may confuse customers; you may distract the organisation; you may launch a “new brand” that doesn’t feel genuine internally.
My design practice emphasises: change must be anchored in truth and purpose, not just “we wanted something fresher”.
When should you really do a re-brand?
Let’s get practical. From my 25+ years in the industry — and as founder of Big Drop — here are some tell-tale signs that yes, a re-brand is appropriate. And conversely, when you should steer towards evolution instead.
Triggers that signal a re-brand is needed
- Your business strategy has fundamentally shifted: you’ve entered new markets, changed your business model, are targeting entirely different audiences.
- You’ve merged, been acquired, or are repositioning in a new category (the old brand no longer reflects the new entity).
- Your brand promise is outdated, unsupported, or no longer credible: maybe the market has changed, your audience’s expectations have changed, or you have legacy baggage.
- Your audience has evolved: e.g., younger generations, different behaviours: you’re no longer talking to the same customer in the same way.
- Your perception in the market is mis-aligned with your reality: if customers say “we still think of you as the old brand” and you are no longer that brand.
When an evolution/refresh is more appropriate
If your business is fundamentally the same: same audience, same offer, same promise — and you’re simply being held back by ageing identity.
If what’s broken is only the visual style — you don’t need to rewrite your story, you just need to modernise. Usually, it’s not a case of just adding “more”, but interrogating, refining and creating a clearer picture of what your brand stands for.
If you don’t have the internal alignment or resource to support a full re-brand — doing so prematurely can hurt more than help.
As a brand consultant, I always ask clients: What has changed in the business? What are we signalling with this change? If the answer is “nothing strategic, just we’re bored with our logo” then we lean into refresh, not re-brand.
Things to remember
Lead with strategy, not visuals. As a designer you might love the “new look” phase. But if the strategy isn’t sound, the change will feel hollow. Pause, align on purpose, story, audience.
Map the change comprehensively. For a re-brand, create a touchpoint map: all places the brand lives (digital, physical, internal, external). This helps manage overwhelm and helps bring stakeholders on the journey with you.
Protect existing brand equity. Even when you re-brand, you don’t have to wipe the slate completely clean. If there are visual or verbal cues your audience recognises and values, bring them forward.
Build internal alignment early. Re-brand is change. Change creates anxiety. With an AuDHD lens I’ve found that clarity, structure and transparency matter: invite your team, create rituals, give space for adaptation.
Communicate the why. Internally and externally. Your audience should know what is changing and why. Without that people feel lost. Again, bringing team members, employees and your audience along on the journey with you is critical.
Plan for the future. A re-brand isn’t “one and done”. Build in the mindset of ongoing evolution. You may be “resetting” now, but you’ll still adapt in future.