REBRANDING: STRATEGIES TO INTERNALISE THE

NEW BRAND

Pooja Jain, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, Christ

University

Sneha M, Post graduate research scholar, Department of Commerce,

Christ University

Nilesh Kumar, Post graduate research scholar, Department of Commerce,

Christ University

ABSTRACT

Rebranding is a technique where the firm intends to change its previously created brand
image by altering its brand elements. A rebranding process is initiated so as to cover the
gaps of the existing brand image/identity of a company. Even though the phenomenon is
frequently noticed in the news and various other media, it has not been looked into with a
research point of view. The success of a rebranding procedure depends on effective
communication of the new brand promise, to both internal and external stakeholders. The
externalisation procedure of a firm depends on the effectiveness of internalisation procedure.
The firm should adopt necessary strategies to successfully embed the new idea within their
employees. This study aims to identify the drivers of rebranding followed by deriving ten
strategies for internalising the new brand image. An exploratory study of 106 companies who
underwent a rebranding in the past five years was conducted. The firms here belong to
diverse sectors ranging from technology to media-based industries. Our research has
contributed to the existing rebranding literature through identifying sectorial spread of
rebranded companies, the major drivers of rebranding and the strategies that can be used for
internal rebranding. The firms by adopting these strategies can overcome the barriers in the
employees living the new corporate brand.

KEYWORDS: Corporate Rebranding; Drivers of Rebranding; Internalisation Strategies

INTRODUCTION

‘Re’ branding, as the name suggests, is the process of creating a new image for an already
existing brand. A rebranding process is initiated so as to cover the gaps of the existing brand
image/identity of a company (Shetty, 2011). It is a process where the firm decides to modify
certain elements of its brand or all the elements. The elements here not only refer to physical
elements of the brand but also the psychological elements such as values and promises
associated with it (Daly & Moloney, 2004).

Rebranding is a risky and an expensive procedure. The firm is convinced to put its brand
equity at stake in order to maintain its appeal in this era of ever-changing consumer needs,
decreasing product life cycle and growing technological environment. Thus, rebranding is
one of the methods which firms use to compete and survive in the global market (Lomax,
Mador & Fitzhenry, 2002; Gotsi & Andripoulos, 2007). It not only helps in retaining the
existing customers but also boosts its customer base (Shetty, 2011). Research in the field has
also found that rebranding leads to an increase in the market value of the share (Lomax,
Mador, & Fitzhenry, 2002).

Generally, rebranding is of three types:

a) Minor changes - which involve certain minute changes in the aesthetics of the company.

b) Intermediate changes – where the company uses marketing strategies to create a new
image of the brand in the minds of consumers.

c) Complete change – it uses the brand elements and strategy to create an entirely new image
in the minds of consumers (Daly & Moloney, 2004).

Rebranding can also be classified in terms of level of change incorporated.

a) When the level of the change is minor it is called Evolutionary

b) And when the level of change is major it can be termed Revolutionary (Muzellec &
Lambkin, 2006). The time period involved in the Evolutionary rebranding is more because
here the elements are changed one by one. Whereas, it is the opposite in case of
Revolutionary as the changes are implemented at a stretch (Roy & Sarkar, 2015).

Rebranding is executed at three distinct levels in the organisation:

a) Corporate

b) Business unit

c) Product (Muzellec, Doogan, & Lambkin, 2003)

The idea of rebranding is ignited through the drivers of the same (Goi & Goi, 2011). Drivers
are the key motivating factors that invoke a need of change in the minds of the management
of a company in terms of its brand image in the market (Lomax & Mador, 2006).

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

There are various reasons for rebranding as stated by Daly & Moloney (2004). These reasons
can be classified as: a) Interim: When the firm wants to forego the old brand image and
portray a new image b) Prefix: It is when two brands merge c) Substitution: Sudden change
of any element of the brand d) Amalgamation: When two strong brands merge. Once the new
brand is created, the firm should ensure an efficient communication of the same.

Communication is one of the principles to be followed for successful rebranding. It includes

communication with both internal and external stakeholders (Merrilees & Miller, 2007). The
firm should incorporate various strategies to communicate the brand idea to both internal and
external stakeholders. This process of effective communication to the stakeholders acts as the
firm’s competitive strategy (Lomax & Mador, 2006). The information communicated must be
backed with necessary research and clarity (Shetty, 2011). The absence of necessary
communication to stakeholders can act as a pitfall for the firm (Gotsi & Andripoulos, 2007).

Employees play a major role in communicating the new brand promise to the customers.
Internalisation or internal communication primarily aims at delivering appropriate customer
experience by empowering the employees. Sometimes the structure of the organisation and
the type of rebranding activity act as barriers to the internalisation procedure (Stuart, 2012).
This can be overcome through inculcating various training, leadership and recruitment
practices (MacLaverty, McQuillan, & Oddie, 2007). It is very important that the employees
identify themselves with the organisation for the firm to succeed in rebranding (Plewa, Lu, &
Veale, 2011). The in-house talent must be appropriately utilised by the firm, regardless of the
department and position they are working in. All the information relating to rebranding
should be enthusiastically conveyed to the employees for effective implementation. Debates
can be conducted within the organization itself so as to know the varied viewpoints of the
employees before and after rebranding (Sasser, 2009).

RESEARCH GAP

Rebranding as a topic has only been addressed in newspaper articles and in various media
forms. Not much study has been done on this topic and there have not been many
contributions to journals and research articles (Muzellec & Lambkin, 2006).

There are various factors leading to rebranding decisions of a firm. These factors can be
either internal or external. This paper intends to identify the major drivers which have led to
rebranding in the past few years.

The previous studies have emphasised on the importance of internal stakeholders buying the
idea of rebranding. If there is a communication gap or improper communication to these
internal stakeholders, it will lead to failure. Methods or strategies through which the firm can
internalise the idea are yet to be identified. This paper deals with formulating internalisation
strategies based on the good and bad rebranding experiments of companies around the world.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study are

(i) To identify the various drivers of rebranding.

(ii) To explore the strategies to internalise the brand.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Around 160 companies were selected as a sample for the purpose of conducting this
exploratory study. All these firms belonged to various countries and have undergone
rebranding in the past five years. Information regarding their rebranding experiment was
collected from various secondary sources such as company websites, newspaper articles, etc.
Due to unavailability of information, the sample size was reduced to 106 companies.
FINDINGS

Table 1 shows the information relating to 106 companies which were further classified into
11 industrial sectors. It has been noticed that majority of companies who underwent
rebranding were from Technology-based industries such as Microsoft, Lenovo, Stub hub etc.
Followed by media and entertainment sector (12.26%) such as Disney, Netflix, MTV etc. The
results revealed that banking and finance are also one of the major sectors where companies
opted rebranding.

Table 1: Sectorial Spread of Rebranded Companies

Sector Frequency Percentage (%)

Automotive 3 2.83
Banking / Finance 11 10.38
Fashion & Apparel 9 8.49
Food & Beverages 6 5.66
Manufacturing 4 3.78
Media & Entertainment 13 12.26
Pharmaceuticals 7 6.61
Services 5 4.72
Technology 18 16.98
Transport & Logistics 9 8.49
Others 21 19.80

TOTAL 106 100

Table 2 shows that Mergers and Acquisitions have been the major driver of rebranding for 22
companies (20.75%); Avery (Manufacturing industry), Verizon (telecom industry), Thomas
Cook (Services industry), Alibaba (technology industry) were some of the companies who
rebranded due to merger and acquisition. Second being a need for innovation in case of 21
companies (19.81 %) and change in the brand image being the third prominent reason for 11
companies (10.38 %). Internationalisation, need for a new identity, diversification and
digitisation are some other reasons which have lead to rebranding.

Table 2: Drivers/Reasons for Rebranding

 Drivers Frequency Percentage
Merger/acquisition 22 20.75
Spin-off 4 3.77
Brand image 11 10.38
To attract customer 4 3.77
Internationalisation 7 6.60
Diversification 6 5.67
Digitalisation 5 4.72
New Identity 9 8.49
Innovation 21 19.81
Re-modelling 6 5.67
To expand business 4 3.77
Others 7 6.60
TOTAL 106 100

INTERNALISATION

Employees act as the main part of communicating the brand promise to the consumers. It is
really necessary for the employees to live the corporate brand to actually convey the same
rather than just enacting the brand value without any emotional connection. Similarly, when
the firm initiates rebranding, employees still form the major source of communication of the
new brand. There are certain challenges they have to face while they are trying to internalise
the new identity. This aspect is totally dependent on the corporate structure, level of
employee identity and rebranding effect on both the above factors (Stuart, 2012).

Internalisation not just deals with conveying the message to the stakeholders. It also deals
with making them feel happy about it and making them believe that it was meant to happen.

INTERNALISATION STRATEGIES

1) Provision of sufficient time:

The firm must ensure that there is enough time available between the conception of the idea
and the actual launch of the new brand. An individual while making any new decision makes
necessary planning so that the new idea does not fail and the resources utilised do not go
waste. For proper planning, time is a vital factor. Necessary time should be allotted
depending on the scale and importance of the decision. Before the concept actually reaches
the consumers there are various steps which need to be undertaken by the firm. The steps
involve planning and designing the idea and internalising the idea among the employees
(Mixing the old and new, 2008).

Key Point: ‘Give the idea the time it needs’

2) Idea generation of employees:

Snap deal as an organisation had an autocratic structure where the top management would not
consider or appreciate the ideas of the employees during decision making. The employees
with more than five years of experience having innovative and creative ideas were not invited
in the decision making process. This scenario existed even when the firm decided to rebrand.
The very fact of they not being considered or involved made the employees less interested
and the process of internalisation became less successful. A firm looking forward to
rebranding will be on a positive path by giving equal opportunities to all employees by taking
their ideas and views into consideration and utilise them wherever necessary. The firms can
also be taken back by surprise through the various inputs received from the involvement of
many mindsets which will make the process a lot easier and less time-consuming. The
employee being in the story since the beginning will act as an added advantage because they
will be aware of where the organisation is heading towards and the contributions the
employee can make to reach its goal (Nair, 2017).

Key Point: ‘Making the employee feel belonged to the Organisation’

3) To Rebrand At The Right Time:

The Airtel Company had acquired many businesses all around the world and there was a
need for it to link or associate the acquired businesses to the parent company. It decided to go
for rebranding to achieve this goal. Global rebranding does not only deal with a uniform logo,
tagline or tune for the product and service it also deals with uniformity in the message about
the quality and superiority of the product. The firm focused on bringing all the acquired
services under one umbrella and did not find sufficient time to standardise its service. The
company should have rather focused on improving the quality of the service than working on
rebranding and announcing it as a unified brand. Since the urban market was already
captured, all the telecom providers were aiming to tap the rural market and increase its
customer base. This new message of Airtel targeting more of dynamic and demanding
audience created a communication lag in the rural market. Hence, the new brand was catchy
but the timing of this event was inappropriate (Dubey & George, 2012).

Key Point: ‘Try Not To Serve a Half Cooked Meal’

4) Ensuring employee identification:

The firm while recruiting employees see whether the candidate holds the requisites or values
which they require. If there is any misalignment between the firm’s idea of ideal work and
the employee’s idea of ideal work, then the result obtained will also be a mismatch. This
mismatch will derive undesired work. Companies like IKEA and Virgin are great examples
for this. They are among those companies who have benefitted huge success through their
employees identifying themselves with the company (Stuart, 2012).

Similarly, when the firm decides on rebranding, the new image created should match the
ideas and attributes of the employees. They should be able to see a little bit of themselves in
it. It is human nature to not perform their best when it is not something which they want to
do. So it is the employer’s duty to create something which the employees would be thrilled to
do. It is not only about the image but also the way of communication. There can be
differences where the idea is appealing but the way of communicating the idea is not
persuasive. The firm needs to look at this difference as well.

Key Point: ‘Create something which the employees can relate themselves to’

5) Choose Evolutionary Over Revolutionary Rebranding:

The level of connect the employees have with the new brand depends on how well the
connection was with the previous brand. If a firm opts for an evolutionary rebranding process
where only one or a few elements of the brand are changed, the employees will not face a
sudden shock. The existence of certain few elements of the previous brand will serve as a
bridge that gives the required connection between the new brand and the employees.

The other case can be where the firm opts for revolutionary rebranding. It is the type of
rebranding that involves a complete change of the old brand. Here the employers need to start
afresh. The identification the employees had on the previous brand is gone now. This entirely
new brand might create a negative image in the minds of the employees. The firm in order to
fight this will have to put a lot of effort to create that connection again (Stuart, 2012).

Key Point: ‘Don’t go for a completely new path’

6) Adopt A Formal Way To Communicate The Message:

The success of communication of a message depends on various factors. One of the factors
leading to the success is the medium used for the communication. The medium used should
be appropriate enough for it to deliver the message in an efficient manner. For example, let us
take the acquisition of Eircell by Vodafone. The firm applied a really organised and well-
planned way of internalising the rebranding. The method was adequately formal which
helped in effective working of the plan (Daly & Moloney, 2004). During the rebranding
period of an Australian supermarket brand, the firm didn't use a formal or a well-structured
way of communicating the message. Rather it went for a non-integrated way to communicate.
The employees were informed of the changes during store meetings and others via memos
which were given along with their payslips (Stuart, 2012). It is for obvious reasons that
people would give more importance to the information received through more formal ways.

Key Point: ‘The Mode Of Communication Matters’

7) A Description Regarding The Employee Enactment Should Be Given:

There are certain questions which need to be well answered by the firm during the
internalisation process. ‘What the new brand is about’, ‘In what ways employees present the
new brand’ are the questions the employees need to get answered. The organisational leaders
should ensure that the new organisational promise is communicated well during the
internalisation process. A detailed explanation regarding the new brand promise must be
presented to the customers by the employees. If the way is clearly defined, rest of the process
becomes easier. The employees now will have a clear idea regarding the new brand which
will help to enact the new promise effectively. Enactment is a way through which the
employees identify themselves with a brand. Therefore, a clear definition of a new enactment
is also necessary (Stuart, 2012).

Key Point: ‘The Enactment of the New Promise Should Be Clearly Defined’

8) Rewards and Recognition:

Employees contribute a lot during the rebranding process. In some organisations, they are a
part of it since the inception of the idea. They are the ones who will help the firm to bring the
new brand into reality. A major part of communicating the new brand promise is done by the
employees. It is the duty of the firm to give something in return. The new brand might help
the firm gain good name and more profits. This is the positive result which has a major
contribution from employees. Proper rewards and recognition should be given to those
employees for the effort they have invested. This step of the firm makes the employees feel
appreciated for the hard work they have put. The performance of the employees can be
measured using various appraisal techniques like 360-degree appraisal, rating scale method
etc and the employees can be given peer recognition. Special events can also be conducted to
reward the best performers (MacLaverty, McQuillan, & Oddie, 2007).

Key Point: ‘The employees should feel appreciated for the work contributed’

9) Marketing Department Is Not The Only Department Responsible For Rebranding:

Internal rebranding has never been considered as one of the firm’s prominent responsibilities.
Many companies are not even aware of this concept. It is considered as one of the least
important responsibilities of the marketing department along with many other activities of
theirs like branding, advertising, direct marketing etc. The firms feel that rebranding is the
responsibility of marketing department because they have the most interaction with
consumers. It is found that around 70% of strategy formulation is vested with the marketing
department and the remaining 30% is contributed by the executive team. This strategy
formulation relates to both internal and external branding. All the functional units have equal
responsibility when it comes to rebranding so as to ensure better customer experience
(MacLaverty, McQuillan, & Oddie, 2007).

Key Point: ‘The Responsibility Must Not Be Burdened On One Department’

10) Training Support Can Be Hired For Better Communication:

Rebranding is a tedious process for the organisation. There is a lot of thinking that goes on
how to make the new brand presentable and acceptable by both the internal and the external
stakeholders. Here the internal stakeholders or the employees have a major role in
communicating the new brand to the external stakeholders. The employees, therefore, need to
be familiarised more about the new brand. Better ways to present the new idea to the
consumers should be embedded in the employees. Employees being the ones, who are
directly linked to customer interaction, should follow proper ways so that they convey the
right idea. Specialists can be hired by the firm to train the employees to do so. Training
sessions can be in the form of workshops, seminars etc. to give them a clear idea of the new
brand (MacLaverty, McQuillan, & Oddie, 2007).

Key Point: ‘External Help Can Make the Process Easier’

CONCLUSION

Rebranding is much more than a logo change or a tagline change. It is an exercise undertaken
by firms in almost all the sectors and in all countries. There are various reasons leading to it,
including both external and internal. It exhausts an enormous amount of energy, time and
money of the firm. The firm should take every other possible step to make it a success. An
appropriate procedure should be followed by the firm to ensure efficient rebranding.
Communication of the new brand promise is one of the major steps in the procedure.
External communication or communication to external stakeholders is totally dependent on
internal communication. Appropriate strategies should be adopted to ensure successful
internal communication.

Employees play a major role in conveying the brand promise to the consumers. Even when
there is a change in the brand, they will still be the main conveyor of the new promise. A
clear definition of the new brand idea and the enactment should be given to the employees.
Employees should be involved in the rebranding process right from its conception, regardless
of their department and position. Efficient work and commitment can be a resultant of this.
Once they get involved in the procedure, they also need to be recognized for the work
contributed. Firm when invests necessary efforts to internalize the idea, the following stages
become easier.

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