Rebranding Isn’t Cosmetic

When people think of a rebrand, they often picture a shiny new logo or a sleek website launch. But in reality, rebranding is less about a fresh coat of paint and more about realignment.

A brand is a promise. It’s the shorthand way customers understand who you are, what you stand for, and why they should choose you. When that promise no longer feels true, whether because the business has outgrown its old story, or the market has shifted under its feet, that’s when rebranding becomes essential.

The gap between perception and reality can open up fast. Consumer tastes shift in months, not years. Entire industries are disrupted by new tech, cultural shifts, or regulation. This means the need for clarity has never been greater.

So let’s break down the big questions clients typically ask me about rebranding.

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Why Do Companies Rebrand?

The short answer: because what worked yesterday no longer works today.

Some of the most common triggers include:

• Market shifts: Your category has changed, and you need to catch up (or leap ahead).
• Growth or expansion: You’re moving into new markets or audiences, and the old brand feels too narrow.
• Mergers & acquisitions: Two businesses coming together need a unified identity.
• Reputation issues: The brand carries baggage and needs a reset.
• Visual fatigue: The logo, colours, or overall system simply look dated.

But here’s the thing: rebranding isn’t just a design exercise. It’s about alignment. If your strategy isn’t shifting, the visuals won’t make a difference.Take Pepsi’s rebrand in 2024. On the surface, it looked like a “retro” refresh, leaning back into its heritage globe icon and bold typography. But the real driver was usability. Their old identity wasn’t working in motion, on digital platforms, or globally across thousands of touch points. They didn’t just want a prettier logo. They needed an identity system built for the way brands live today: on screens, in apps, in motion.

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When Is the Right Time to Rebrand?

There’s never a calendar reminder that says “time to rebrand.” But there are warning signs:

• Customers struggle to articulate what makes you different.
• Your website looks dated compared to competitors.
• Internal teams are inconsistent when describing your business.
• You’re targeting new markets but your identity feels stuck in the old one.
• You’ve evolved your offering, but your brand hasn’t kept pace.

A rebrand should never be about boredom (“we’re tired of our logo”). It should be about need. The right time is when the cost of staying the same outweighs the cost of change.

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How Long Does a Rebrand Take?

This is where scope matters.

• A light refresh: tweaking logos, colours, type: 1-2 months.
• A full identity system: strategy, identity, guidelines, rollout: 3-6 months.
• An enterprise rebrand: multinational with packaging, signage, campaigns: 9-18 months.

The execution is faster these days, thanks to modern design tools, no-code platforms, and digital asset management systems. But the strategy side… the workshops, alignment, and decision-making… that still takes time.

In my experience, the “thinking” stage often takes longer than clients expect, but it’s the part that prevents expensive mistakes later.

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What Does a Rebrand Include?

A rebrand isn’t just a logo swap. Done properly, it covers three key layers:

1. Strategy: Defining positioning, values, tone of voice, and audience clarity. This is the foundation. Without it, design risks becoming decoration.
2. Identity: Visual elements: logo, colour palette, typography, imagery, iconography, motion rules. Increasingly, this also includes sonic identity (think Netflix’s “ta-dum”) and digital-first elements like favicons, app icons, and social avatars.
3. Application: Rolling it out across touchpoints: websites, packaging, marketing campaigns, social channels, internal comms, even office spaces.

The “application” piece is often the biggest challenge. For global brands, it means updating thousands of digital assets in sync, training teams, and making sure the rollout feels seamless rather than fragmented.

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What Does It Cost to Rebrand?

The dreaded question… It depends.

• Freelancer / boutique agency: A small business rebrand can range from £2k to £20k.
• Specialist agency: For mid-size businesses, expect between £20k to £100k depending on scope.
• Global rebrand: For enterprise brands, seven-figure budgets are normal. When you factor in packaging, signage, websites, campaigns, and licensing, costs can stretch into the tens of millions.

The 2024 Johnson & Johnson rebrand by Siegel+Gale is a perfect example. This wasn’t just a new logo. It was about unifying dozens of product lines, refreshing global packaging, and aligning how the brand shows up across healthcare, consumer, and digital touchpoints. That kind of complexity requires investment, but it also pays dividends in clarity and recognition.

For smaller businesses, the real question isn’t “how much will it cost?” but “how much will staying the same cost us?” Outdated brands lose opportunities, confuse customers, and drain marketing spend.

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Who Should Be Involved in a Rebrand?

The biggest mistake companies make is leaving rebranding to just the marketing team.

The most successful projects bring together:

• Leadership: set vision and make final decisions.
• Employees: capture internal culture and reality.
• Customers: understand perceptions and gaps.
• Design/brand specialists: turn strategy into tangible identity.

In 2025, rebrands are also more collaborative thanks to tools like FigJam, Miro, and Notion. Remote workshops allow global teams to contribute without slowing the process. But clarity on who decides is still essential, too many voices WILL paralyse a project.

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What Are the Risks of Rebranding?

Of course, rebrands carry risk and in the age of social media, mistakes are amplified instantly.

• Losing brand equity – If you change too much, too fast, loyal customers may feel alienated.
• Confusion – Poor rollouts create inconsistencies that damage trust.
• Surface changes – If strategy isn’t addressed, new visuals won’t fix deeper issues.
• Internal resistance – If employees don’t buy in, the brand falls apart in execution.

We’ve all seen high-profile missteps. Tropicana’s 2009 rebrand famously tanked sales by 20% in two months because shoppers no longer recognised the product. Fast forward to 2025, and the lesson remains: evolution is usually safer than revolution, unless your old brand is truly toxic.

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What Does a Successful Rebrand Look Like?

Success isn't measured by design awards (though those are nice). It's measured by clarity and impact.

• Customers understand who you are more easily.
• Teams feel aligned and proud to represent the brand.
• Visuals feel modern and functional across platforms.
• The brand is flexible enough to last another 5-10 years.

Going back to Pepsi’s 2024 refresh, the design was well-received, but the bigger success was practical: it worked better on screens, in animations, and across markets. It wasn’t about chasing trends, it was about building a system that could scale.

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Should You Rebrand in 2025?

If your business feels misaligned with how it looks, sounds, or is perceived, the answer is probably yes.

But don’t jump in lightly. A rebrand isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s a signal to the world that you’ve changed, and if you haven’t, people will notice.

Done right, a rebrand is transformative. It gives teams new energy, customers new confidence, and your business a sharper edge.

Done poorly, it's expensive wallpaper.

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Final Thoughts

Rebranding in 2025 isn’t about trends. It’s about alignment, clarity, and longevity.

The tools have changed. The pace of culture has accelerated. But the principles are the same: listen deeply, define clearly, design purposefully, and launch with conviction.

If you’re considering a rebrand, ask yourself: is this about looking different, or about being different?

That single question separates the projects that make noise from the ones that make impact.

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