Rebranding is a topic and a process familiar to many Design professionals and Organizations. It typically occurs at clearly identifiable watershed moments in the existence of a product or brand, where in order for that same product or brand to continue a narrative of expansion and maturity, it necessarily has to convey that same narrative to its target audience in a meaningful way. Rebranding has immediacy, visibility, and in a way, it’s very much like a reintroduction of the brand to its partners, fortifying qualities which already exist, while also enhancing aspirational ones, hopefully including considerations on, longevity, credibility and consistent engagement.

Rebranding can take many dimensions, from an all encompassing strategy of how a product communicates to market, including Identity, and also granular aspects such as Brand Guidelines, Copy, Motion, to name but a few manifestations, but can also be an exercise in just finessing a particular identity approach an application or feature has, something that driven by its virtuosity and value, is deemed of competitive edge in the market. This case study, while specifically focusing on the rebranding of a software package, also takes into consideration a Rebranding exercise I shepherded for a Startup, which at the time wanted to alter its market narrative, showcasing simultaneously not only its new product suite, but the maturity of its deliverables. Ultimately, independently of what prompts this type of exercise, it’s invariably something that aims to reinvigorate the product, brand and organization itself.

Defining & Identifying the Problem. Any redesign process, or for that matter any solutioning initiative, always begins with the identification of a palpable and measurable problem. In the case of the rebranding of a software package, the particular genesis for that initiative, started with the identification of a problem which was directly associated with one of the products of the suite. Clients did not understand what the designation of a particular product had to do with the product itself, which also extended to the mission of the product itself. What originally had prompted the existence of the product, and for that matter, its market virtuosity and viability, had become a faint notion which resonated somewhat poorly with clients. Not only was the branding for this particular product lacking in aiding the clarification of its mission, it also didn’t assist in further cementing the quality of the suite itself. Therefore, what started as an identifiable problem for one of the products, rapidly prompted the need to analyze & audit the existing product suite. This audit experience allowed for the identification of a series of gaps but also visualize opportunities. There was a clearly identifiable lack of consistency across all the available products, which ranged from the branding itself to an atomic level approach of a design language which by all accounts should be uniform across all products, and it was demonstrably not. In this case the process of rebranding a particular product, started a ripple effect that not only impacted all products within the suite, but also had a profound impact in the definition of the Design Language of the organization, and the establishment of the Design System itself.

Researching. The research process occurred on three levels. The voice of the customer was fundamental to understand the market perception of the product, and the product suite itself. Through a series of qualitative driven research endeavors, it was possible to gather and synthesize where the gaps for the product and product line existed. Secondly Market Research and Competitive Analysis, allowed for the identification of product experiences quite similar to our business proposition. We were able to identify quite a few brands on the market, with a robust set of product offerings. These brands, through a combination of product development and acquisitions, had an eclectic array of applications, which were nonetheless consistent across their overall product experiences, and shared a design language which was sensical and scalable. Finally through Customer Support, it was possible to understand not only clients consistent layer of feedback to our internal teams, directly related to product usage, but also further comprehend where their sense of confusion, frustration, distraction and ultimately disengagement lied with.

Characters. The branding initiative relied on the utilization of the FAST UX paradigm. During this process, we (the team which included, Product Owners, Lead Architects, Customer Support professionals, Sales, C Level Executives) were able to quickly map out different characters who used our products and features. The definition of these characters were essential for the uncovering of their journeys when utilizing the product suite, but also and just as importantly, measuring their expectations, when it came to the products themselves and what they delivered.

Iterations, Operations, Testing & Implementation. A rebranding exercise can take a variety of directions, and these directions themselves can be substantiated with a variety of activities. We considered the utilization of partner Design Firms to assist with the engagement, but taking into consideration timelines and costs, I advocated for this exercise to be conducted and prepared by the internal design team. Incubation sessions were mapped out, followed by subsequent ideation sessions, periodical surveys, alongside definition of materials to be delivered and finally release strategies (internal, product based, externally facing initiatives). The initial sessions focused on outlining the product narrative, finessing and establishing how that particular product narrative became part of the Product suite journey. Think about the application of the “Jobs to be Done” philosophy, married with succinct Product Pitch initiatives.

By understanding the core responsibility and virtuosity of the product, the designation & brand of it should flow somewhat seamlessly. The incubation sessions included the utilization of brainstorming approaches and AI tools for the generation of brand designations (based on terms discussed in the sessions, all tied with the particular vertical and ecosystem). All these designations were then placed through a process of voting, based on factors such as market perception, product suite consistency, global market footprint, brand resonance, until we reached a small batch of product designations which warranted a closer and more detailed view, even across possible products and fictitious customer engagements. Once these were tested once again with diverse internal teams and customers, the product team was able to define a brand designation, which actually married with the visual concepts which I had already placed in motion. These branding concepts which had already been analyzed during the iterative cycle, told a product suite narrative, with a centralized mother/father figure brand, which had a series of offspring all of which had their own identifiable designation, while still referencing the progenitor. This strategy permeated across the definition of the Design system, and influenced immediate considerations on colors and accessibility to name but a few. The documentation and subsequent implementation, was based on a Strategy devised internally, but it included dissemination across Internal communication materials, Marketing materials (sales sheets for instance), Social Media, Microsites, Email distribution lists, among others.

As a footnote, some of the tools utilized during this process included:
- Invision Boards
- Sketches
- Namelix
- Oberlo
- Shopify Name Generator
- Survey Monkey
- Adobe Creative Suite
As a reference, it’s always pertinent to keep in mind some of the diligence and thorough process detailed in this article hailing from Process.st.

Measuring Results. Revealing rebranding initiatives can be an opportunity for organizations to reinvigorate their market presence. And this case was no exception. The strategy behind this process, was to continue to monitor, evaluate clients engagement with the product and brand itself, and continuously learn how the brand can expand itself, remaining consistent with its principles, while addressing clients and markets needs.