Brand teams are quick to rebrand when they hit a rough patch. But they sometimes forget that a brand is more than a company name, logo, tagline, or ad creative. And that a shiny new brand identity won’t automatically solve all of the problems of the business.
The marketing world is littered with failed rebranding initiatives (from the Gap to Tropicana) that illustrate one simple truth about branding. A company doesn’t own a brand. It’s consumers do. Giving a brand a new coat of paint (or dressing it in sheep's clothing) won’t change consumers feelings and expectations of a brand....
This article makes a brilliant point, "A company doesn't own a brand, it's consumers do".
Companies which get caught up in the colour of their logo, or their witty company slogan will struggle to create a brand identity which portrays authenticity to consumers. Consumers will make up their own mind about a brand, and no fancy logo or slogan will have influence over that, it's the authenticity of the brand identity that consumers see.
Consumer insight is the most valuable research marketers can have to understand what consumers really want and how consumers see their brand. In this article RadioShack uses valuable consumer insight to rebrand their company so they were inline with how valuable consumers saw them and this way they were able to deliver what their consumers wanted.
Companies often believe a new brand identity will automatically solve all of the problems of the business. Thats like putting a fresh coat of paint on a car with a broken radiator and thinking its fixed. This article raised a valid point "a company does not own a brand, consumers do". Consumer insight is the most valuable research marketers can have to understand what consumers really want and how consumers see their brand. It is important to engage consumers in the rebranding process.