How to Avoid the Hidden Hurdles of a Brand Refresh
Avoid these brand refresh hurdles to realign team focus, sharpen audience targeting, and renew your market positioning.
While the benefits of a strategic brand refresh are undeniable (realigned team focus, sharper audience targeting, and renewed market positioning), the journey can be dotted with potential pitfalls. These hidden hurdles can derail progress and waste valuable resources.
If you’re a leader ready to start the brand refresh journey, read on. I shine a light on the hidden obstacles that could stand in your way and, more importantly, how to avoid them.
Let’s walk through these brand refresh hurdles that generalist marketing firms often forget about:
- Internal misalignment
- Market missteps
- Brand overhaul without a clear mission
- Rushed rollout
- Neglecting the follow through
Hidden Hurdle #1 – Internal Misalignment
Launching a brand refresh without internal buy-in could be your biggest (and most expensive) mistake. Employees are the torchbearers of your brand. If they don’t understand or support the new direction, you’re dealing with chaos before you’ve even reached your customers/clients.
The Cost of Internal Dissonance
Imagine this scenario: Your sales team is scattered, pitching a muddled mix of old and new messaging. Marketing is excitedly showing off your revamped logo, but customer service is still stuck in the past, using outdated materials. The result is often disjointed communications, damaged credibility, and confused clients who are left wondering, "Who even are you now?"
The Fix
Start your brand refresh strategy with an internal roll call. Share the “why” behind the refresh with your employees. Host workshops, distribute brand guides, and give everyone—from the C-suite to the front line—a chance to weigh in. Empower your team to champion the change. When they’re aligned, enthused, and equipped, your brand refresh becomes a movement.
Hidden Hurdle #2 – Market Missteps
Your refreshed brand looks stunning. The messaging and visuals clearly communicate your value proposition and leadership is excited. But somehow, your updated identity is falling flat with your audience. What gives?
It’s a classic case of market misstep. This is when businesses refresh their brand without adequately accounting for customer insight or competitive context.
Listen Over Assuming
Without audience research, businesses risk addressing problems that don’t exist or, worse, alienating loyal customers.
At Muse, a major part of every brand refresh is digging into customer needs and frustrations through surveys or focus groups. Your refreshed brand must feel relevant to customers, not just to your fellow leaders.
Keep an Eye on Competitors
Keep in mind, a brand refresh isn’t a chance to mimic competitors. It’s a chance to differentiate. If your competition is doubling down on sleek minimalism, maybe it’s time to add some boldness to your aesthetic. Understand their moves but use them as a springboard to stand out, not blend in.
The Fix
Do your homework. Use audience insight to refine your messaging and visuals.
Once you’ve outlined how you believe your business offers value, send a customer survey to validate and prioritize benefits in ways that align with their buying motivations. At the same time, stay grounded in what makes your brand unique.
Allow your “true north” to guide decisions, so you don’t veer into territory that feels off-brand or inauthentic to your most loyal consumers.
Hidden Hurdle #3 – Overhauling Without a Clear Purpose
Some brands launch into a refresh because “it’s time for change”. However, without a clear reason for the refresh and stated vision for the future, I’ve seen how a brand refresh can become a Frankenstein’s monster of ideas with no cohesive narrative or direction.
Why Vision Matters
Your vision is the GPS of your brand refresh strategy. Without it, you’re playing with expensive guesswork, like swapping fonts, colors, and taglines that may “look nice” but fail to drive your business goals.
After leading dozens of brand refreshes, I believe it’s essential to define the reason and potential benefits of the outcome.
Embarking on a brand refresh process is a journey, and your team will want to know why the time and effort are necessary.
What Happens During a Brand Refresh Without Vision
Consider this cautionary tale: An established software company rolls out trendy, abstract branding that its design agency assures is “next-gen.”
But the new identity says nothing about its consistent, trusted products. Long-time customers feel disconnected, sales slump, and the leadership team scrambles to backtrack.
The Fix
Work with a brand agency to solidify your vision and ensure your brand refresh aligns with your strategic business goals.
Whether you want to modernize for a younger audience, merge with another company, or prepare for international expansion, a skilled agency will help connect your visual and verbal updates to your larger objectives.
With their expertise, every decision will support where you want to go, and leave no one questioning, “What’s the point?”
Hidden Hurdle #4 – Rushing the Rollout
It’s exciting when you’re ready to show off your new brand to the world. Before you launch, take time to plan it thoughtfully. A poorly timed, incomplete, or careless rollout can confuse your audience or erode trust. Successful launches require careful choreography.
Common Rollout Mistakes
- Uncoordinated Timing: Launching prematurely with incomplete assets.
- Blind Spots: Neglecting to update all touchpoints, from email signatures to packaging.
- One-Shot Launches: Believing a single splashy announcement will suffice instead of committing to a sustained communication effort.
The Fix
Adopt a phased approach, starting from the inside out. Introduce the refresh first internally, so employees are primed for questions and can speak confidently about the transition.
Communicate directly with your loyal customers, emphasizing continuity, before going public with a splash.
Plan the rollout in concentric circles of influence:
- First, employees
- Next, current customers
- Then, partners and vendors
- Finally, the public
This ripple effect helps your brand transition feel gradual and natural, not abrupt or jarring.
Hidden Hurdle #5 – Neglecting the Follow-Through
The biggest lie in branding is that the refresh is over when the new look launches. The truth is that rolling out your update is just the start.
To make it stick, you need to reinforce the refresh through every aspect of your operations.
Sustain the Momentum During a Brand Refresh
Your team and your audience need reminders about what the new brand stands for and why it matters.
I’ve recommended these actions to brands about to launch their refresh:
- Host employee town halls post-launch
- Update marketing materials over a 12-month period
- Embed new messaging into everyday customer communications
The Fix
Before you go public with the brand refresh, create a post-launch plan that keeps the refreshed brand alive and relevant.
Regularly collect feedback to answer key questions like, “Are customers responding?” and “Does the team feel equipped to represent the new identity?”
Making real-time adjustments signals that you’re committed to the evolution, not just the cosmetic changes.
Ultimately, a brand refresh is about bridging the gap between who you were, who you are, and who you aspire to be.
Your Path to a Successful, Impactful Brand Refresh
Every brand refresh comes with complexities, but preparation is half the battle. Remember, a thoughtful brand refresh strategy is an investment in your company’s future.
Building something meaningful and lasting takes more than a new design; it takes planning, purpose, and persistence.
Muse has been a trusted brand strategy partner to over eighty brands. We evolve brands so that resonate, lead with intention, and set the foundation for long-term growth. If you’re ready for a refresh, let’s start the conversation.
About the Author
Jackie Bebenroth
Jackie Bebenroth is Founder and Chief Brand Advisor of Muse. She works alongside leading brands and executives to develop strategic positioning and messaging strategies that set the stage for long-term success. Her work, from local restaurant branding to six-figure global initiatives, has flown her around the country to speak on the art of content marketing. Jackie has earned a number of accolades, most notably a SXSW Interactive finalist award, the American Advertising Federation’s 40 under 40 award and Content Marketing Institute’s Content Marketing Leader of the Year.
