Does this sound familiar? You’re working on a brand revamp, then all of a sudden things just start heading south without a hope of redemption. Or even worse, the brand you’ve been trying desperately to rework has been in a downward spiral for years, and is finally edging the bottom of the drain. It’s a sad fate, but it doesn’t mean it’s one that has to be accepted. Brands fail all of the time, including massive ones, occasionally. However, they usually do so for very specific reasons, and if you’re willing to keep your eyes open and adjust your talents to meet the needs of your client, you can achieve success in any ailing design project or brand initiative. Here are some of the top reasons why brands fail, as well as the steps you can take to avoid such a fate:
- Not Changing Quickly Enough: We see this typically with brands that have existed for some time, and haven’t quite been on top of things as well as they should be. You see, fads come and go, just like popular approval. To stay in the market, companies occasionally have to rework their image to meet the needs of the common people. As the designer behind the project, it’s your job to get this design. The best way to do so is to look at who the company is, or what they once were. How can this be adapted to meet modern styles and motifs? Times change, and what people expect out of a design changes, too. Work to meet these, and we promise the tides will change.
- Not Using the Brand to its Full Potential: We’re going to talk about Nike for a second. You see, Nike’s strength is its products, but above that, it also has a mountain of brand recognition and trust to bank on. Does your client have a similar set-up? If so, then put that Nike Swoosh right on the box! A brand should never replace products—in fact it just can’t—but if you have to use the brand name to establish trust with the customer, you wouldn’t be the first to do so. Where possible, tie the brand name and image directly into the product, that way the customer knows right-out who they’re buying from.
