Jon Stevens, Co-Founder of Threesixty Brand Design, discusses his top five tips for an outstanding product rebrand.  

What’s not working?

Knowing what’s wrong with your current branding is crucial to getting it right at the next round. Rebranding without sufficient analysis, processing and understanding of the current design means you’ll lack the insights needed for a solid re-design brief. 

The best way to brief your agency is to tell them what the problems are. Don’t be too prescriptive, just capture and share what’s not working. 

What do your customers want?

Are you selling what you can make, or making what you can sell? 

If you’re in the market for rebranding, is it the pack presentation that’s wrong or something more fundamental? Shoppers are smart, they don’t switch for something they don’t want or don’t need, or isn’t significantly better than the competitor product they usually part with their cash for.

A rebrand is best executed after the hard yards of perfecting your proposition. No amount of fabulous branding is going to fix a flawed proposition. 

What’s the market doing?

Are you rebranding because the market has changed and you’ve got left behind?

Don’t be tempted to imagine some snazzy new graphics will save the day. 

If your rate-of-sale has dropped off a cliff it’s likely your proposition has lost relevance. Time to relook at the core fundamentals of the product proposition and pivot with where the market is heading.

What will grow your retailer’s category?

If you’re rebranding due to a de-listing it’s vital to know what went wrong. 

To win that listing back, your proposition must add value to the retailer’s category. It’s time to gather the insights and make predictions on where the market is heading - so you can reengineer and innovate your proposition for the future. This work will reinvigorate your retailer relationships and increases your chances or winning that listing back. 

Did your on-trend design become untrendy?

Trends are transient by nature. By following the zeitgeist you’re forever chasing a moving and slippery target. Neon green today is pastel pink tomorrow. 

Don’t chase trends. It leads you on a path of constant iteration and updates.

Instead, tighten up your positioning, find your distinctive heartland and set about creating a timeless design icon with your design team. 

Think Porsche. Incremental change of a classic, timeless, distinct and distinctive shape. The same strategy can be applied to FMCG brands. 

Chasing trends is expensive and time consuming! 

Jon Stevens, Co-Founder of Threesixty Brand Design

Jon has over 30 years’ experience in FMCG design. His agency is home to a team that launch, reposition and extend brands in the retail space. Whether stumbling into the world of retail for the first time, or, managing a million-dollar brand with flagging sales, Jon and his team can help. www.threesixtydesign.co.uk