Revitalizing, Rejuvenating and Reformulating a Struggling Brand

Brand represents the intellectual and emotional associations that people make with a company, product or person. Brands are key to a company's long-term survival and market leadership. Accountants and auditors the world over calculate the value of brands when determining book values on the company balance sheets. In the case of strong brands, the brand can be 70% - 90% of the stock market value (intangible assets).

Brands do have life cycle which may consist of a number of phases from inception to launch, growth, maturing, decline, revitalization, and retirement. Brand Rejuvenation is a process wherein a brand which is on the verge of retirement, is brought back to life to regain markets. Revitalizing a once-popular dormant brand can be a highly profitable strategy under the right circumstances.

Rebranding is a complex process and should not be engaged lightly. Handled badly it can be damaging to business. Equally in the words of a Chinese proverb "if you do not plan for the future, you will get the one that shows up" and successful rebranding, relaunching and revitalisation adds significantly to a companys long term success. Brands are constantly evolving to ensure they keep abreast of changing needs in the market place. It's the level of change required that is the critical issue. A brand audit and market research will help assess the rate of change required amongst other things. Revitalisation maintains and celebrates the history and heritage of the brand but shows its target audience (current and future) that you are adaptive to change. Change is necessary to stay relevant to the times in which a brand exists and to ensure its future success.

The Old logo and new logo of British Airways

When a brand gets as battered, bruised and knocked out of shape as British Airways, the consequence is that it gradually and progressively loses its identity and its meaning particularly when the slings and arrows attack the brand from so many directions. The things it stood for become shadows of their former selves. But because the demise takes place over time and because the paint on the planes remains the same, it is easy not to grasp fully the extent of the damage. But the data told an alarming story. In 2010 the brand’s measure of marketing success, brand bonding, was at a third of the levels of 2002. Even more worryingly for a service brand, staff pride was at its lowest ever level.The story of how British Airways, amidst unprecedented market turbulence, re-­aimed for market leadership through the recommitment to its core ethos To Fly. To Serve. Of how this ethos re-­connected with staff, customers and culture, reigniting brand confidence and laying the foundations for the airline to fly forward through successive campaigns and once again reclaim a leadership position in the market.