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Blog: Building A Brand

Building A Brand: Creating A Brand Development Strategy 

There is no doubt that we have emerged from the widespread disruption of the pandemic into a new reality – one where the consumer is king. Power has well and truly shifted away from companies as customer choice increases exponentially through online marketplaces. The popularity of food delivery apps and e-commerce platforms has led customers to expect convenience and quality above all else, while social media and online reviews can instantly make or break the reputation of a brand. 

A recent study found that there are six key drivers that shape consumer purchasing decisions: value, convenience, choice, privacy, experience and purpose. The company-consumer relationship has evolved as customers desire more consistent and personalised experiences with brands that align with their values. This means companies that wish to survive (and thrive!) in this dynamic retail environment need to prioritise creating and maintaining a deeper relationship with their customer base. How? Through building their brand. 

Brand building can take different forms depending on where you are on your food, beverage or retail journey. For newbies launching their first product, storefront or restaurant, building a brand encompasses the creation of an authentic and unique brand identity – everything that customers see and learn about your business. For established companies, brand building usually refers to brand development or rebranding to maintain a competitive edge in a flooded market, attract a new customer demographic or revitalise tired brand assets. 

Creating a brand identity that people will love is hard. Creating a brand identity that customers want to remain loyal to is even harder. But both are vital to ensuring the success and longevity of your business. 

Why Building a Strong Brand Identity is So Important 

Our ability to trust has taken a hit over the past few years. Living through a period of global uncertainty and having to adapt to sudden societal change (remember lockdowns?) has made us wary of company promises and more selective of the brands we choose to endorse. It has even been suggested that we are entering an age of cynicism, with a 2021 survey revealing only 47% of brands are considered trustworthy by consumers and worryingly, that up to 75% of brands are seen as easily replaceable.

So, it makes sense that trust has become the new measure of success for brands. Trust drives customer loyalty: a 2020 Deloitte survey found that 88% of customers who highly trust a brand have bought again from that brand, 73% have tried a new product or service from that brand, and 62% buy almost exclusively from that brand over competitors in the same category. Not maintaining the trust of your customer base can also be costly, with brands that broke customer trust due to scandals recorded to have lost up to a staggering 56% of their market capitalisation. 

Being seen as a trustworthy brand by customers relies in part on your brand identity. Consumers will only forge meaningful connections with brands that can prove themselves to be authentic, transparent, purposeful, and above all, human. 

Key Elements for a Successful Brand Development Strategy 

Building a brand from scratch requires strategic strategy development to place you in the best position to start establishing trust with your customers. Here are some elements to consider: 

#1: Establishing Your Purpose 

Customers want brands to stand for more than just the products they sell. Purposeful brands know how to articulate why they exist and the positive impact they have on people’s lives, society and the environment. Effectively setting your brand apart from competitors isn’t the only benefit – brands with a clear purpose and high impact on people’s lives grew 2.5 times more than brands with a low perceived impact. 

Consider what makes your brand unique and how it can positively affect your community, and make that the heart of your brand identity. Your brand doesn’t have to be ground-breaking or change the world, but it does need to be meaningful. 

Refining Your Brand Position 

Finding your niche and refining your brand position will make your business stand out from the rest. When Saint Clair Family Estate came to us with the ambition to create a world-class New Zealand wine brand in less than one generation, we drew on the quality of their vineyards and the family’s history as viticulture pioneers in Marlborough to create a distinct brand identity which has grown with the business. Today, Saint Clair is ranked in the top 100 wineries in the world with over 20 sub-brands exported across the globe.

Saint Clair Family Estate Wine Brand Identity Packaging Design Agency Australia

#2: Understanding the Market

Finding your place in the market necessitates research. You can learn invaluable lessons from major players in your industry, from what is exciting and eye-catching about their brand assets to how they interact with their customer base. How do they deal with customer complaints? Maintain customer loyalty? What is their social media presence like? 

This doesn’t mean that you should try to create a brand identity similar to your competitors. You definitely don’t want to be overlooked or worse, mistaken for another brand. Instead, you should try to zig where the rest of the market zags – authenticity and innovation are what attract consumers and make them care about your brand. 

Identifying Your Ideal Customer 

It is no longer enough just to have a high-quality product – you need to find a way to cut through the noise and resonate with your target customer. Sometimes this means increasing specificity, as was the case with Delta Estate Wines. We crafted a memorable brand identity that reflects Delta’s elegance, restraint, and attention to detail, resulting in a significant increase in both domestic and global sales. 

Other times, this may mean evolving your brand to avoid being lost on the shelf. Yenda Brewing Co. had lost market share due to a massive influx of competitors into the craft beer space. By creating intelligently disruptive packaging to draw the eye and reflect its connection with country Australia, we were able to drive a more mainstream positioning in the market and engage the attention of a wider customer base.

Yenda Brewing Co. Beer Positioning Statement Design

#3: Telling the Story of Your Brand 

If you want consumers to care about your brand, then you need a good story. Storytelling is one of the oldest and most evocative forms of communication – stories are how we learn to navigate the world and each other. We believe that great brands are built on great stories and that having an authentic story at the centre of your brand can go a long way towards humanising your business. 

But what makes a great story? Easy: one which creates warmth, trust and connection between you and your customers. So, think about who you are, where you come from, and what you can deliver that no other brand can, and you’re well on your way to building your brand identity. 

Finding Your Voice 

Sometimes solidifying the voice of your brand boils down to asking the right questions. Guzman Y Gomez was born out of the desire to introduce real Mexican street food and culture to Australia at a time when there was little understanding of Mexican cuisine. Our research revealed an increasing appetite for culturally authentic dining experiences, so we positioned

GYG as an authority on contemporary Mexican food, resulting in the fastest-growing QSR chain in Australia with over 130 restaurant locations. 

Guzman Y Gomez QSR Store Design & Customer Experience Australia

#4: Creating Intelligently Disruptive Designs 

In a saturated marketplace, you really don’t want to waste time blending in with the crowd. We believe in disruptive, bold design which leaps off the shelf or out of the screen. The visual design of your brand can encompass everything from typography and colour palette to graphics and the all-important logo, which might one day symbolise your entire business. Great visual design should tell your brand story instantly, and if it can leave your customers smiling too, so much the better. 

Don’t fall into the trap of just trying to be aesthetically pleasing, either. Memorable brands intelligently disrupt the status quo by catching both the eyes and imaginations of consumers. 

Developing Ownable Assets 

Quick! Think of one of your favourite food or beverage products: was it the name or the logo that popped into your mind first? As a brand, you need unique, ownable assets that you can develop to suit your evolving needs. Cleverly designed brand assets make your business instantly recognisable and embody your brand identity to both existing and new customers. This was the case with RUM Co. of Fiji from Coca-Cola Amatil, which was underperforming in the spirits category until our packaging design refresh that paid respect to the Fijian heritage of the brand and increased Australian sales five-fold within the first year. 

#5: Fostering Cohesion and Consistency 

Although creativity is crucial for building your brand and attracting your ideal customer base, you also need to consider the role of cohesion and consistency in creating a trustworthy brand. Customers need to trust that you will continue to deliver the same quality of service, listen to their concerns and fulfil the purpose of your brand as communicated through your brand story. 

As customers, we like familiarity – the belief that we understand and are understood in turn by our favourite brands. Keeping customers aligned with your brand means getting to know them and putting effort into maintaining that personal connection, whether that be in-store, through your brand assets, or online. 

Building Brand Awareness

A brand identity is made up of various elements which all need to work cohesively together to retain customer loyalty. Strong brands ensure that every product, asset, and social media post reflects their authentic brand identity. Consumers want transparency – any note in your branding that doesn’t ring true can damage your reputation. That’s why when we were asked to bring the story of Soo Zee 23’s Sichuan beef noodle soup to life, we made sure that the authenticity of their specialty cuisine featured in every aspect of their brand identity. 

Tips for Ensuring Brand Success and Longevity 

Building a strong brand doesn’t end at the launch date of your business – brand development is ongoing and it isn’t uncommon to partially refresh or fully rebrand after a certain length of time. 

However, there’s definitely a sweet spot between implementing the innovation required to attract new customers and maintaining the consistency that consumers crave. Let’s discuss how some of Australia’s best-loved brands reinvented themselves while keeping the trust and loyalty of their customer base. 

Apply Your Brand Across Your Organisation 

Successful branding is consistent branding, so once you have decided to redevelop your visual and verbal brand identity, you need to follow it through. Potentially alienating your existing customers is a lesser risk than only partially completing the transformation and seeming uncertain about the creative direction of your business. 

As Australia’s favourite chicken shop, Red Rooster had more to risk than most when they came to us for a brand refresh to match their new menu. But by injecting humour and personality into their distinctive brand assets, Red Rooster can now appeal to a whole new generation of chicken fans. 

Revitalise Your Brand with New Assets 

For established or legacy brands, longevity and success can be a balancing act. You need to maintain what customers love about your brand while remaining relevant and competitive. Sometimes all that’s needed is a refresh of your brand assets to revitalise your business while ensuring that you remain easily recognisable.

This was the case with Doyles Seafood, who are widely known for having the best fish ‘n’ chips in Sydney. Doyles has been serving fresh seafood since 1885, so we made sure that heritage was clearly reflected across multiple touchpoints. 

Doyles Sydney Restaurant Logo, Brand Identity, Packaging Design Agency Australia

Connect With Your Customers 

The last thing you want to do is drift out of touch with your customer base. New products and restaurants are entering the marketplace every year, so to prevent your customers from looking elsewhere you need to understand and emphasise what made them connect with your brand in the first place. 

Chicken Treat has had a huge following in Western Australia since the 1970s, but became dated and challenged by competitors. By referencing its origins with 70’s comic book-style assets while simultaneously modernising the brand, we helped Chicken Treat increase its sales by 12%. 

Be Committed and Creative 

Brand authority comes from commitment and creativity, exemplified in success stories like Coca-Cola Amatil. Building your brand to become a household name means being willing to take creative risks and re-energise your business when required. 

Although known for its ‘famous Bondi Beach chicken burgers’, Oporto took the opportunity to evolve their brand positioning as the QSR brand expanded into regional Australia. By rebranding with us as experts in authentic ‘Portuguese Flame Grilled Chicken’, Oporto expanded its customer appeal, contributing to a 40-point increase in their store’s Net Promoter Score. 

Oporto QSR Food Brand Customer Experience Packaging Design Agency

Grow Your Brand with The Creative Method 

Our brand identity solutions create meaningful connections between businesses and consumers through authenticity, storytelling, and bold, intelligently disruptive design. Build a unique brand that your customers will love and trust for years to come. 

Contact us today so that we can create the best brand development strategy for your business. 

Blog: Innovation and Strategy

The Value of Brand Innovation and Strategy for Success

Creating a brand that people will love is hard. Trust us, we’ve been in the brand design industry long enough to know. Creating a brand that people will remain loyal to is even harder. Being a successful brand seems to be more of an art than a science in the brave new world of e-commerce and social media, and it relies on knowing your customers really, really, really well. The past few years have shifted power overwhelmingly to the consumer in the retail equation, meaning that ensuring people continue to choose your brand over your competitors is more important than ever before. Zendesk’s 2022 CX survey found that more than 60% of customers have higher customer service standards post-pandemic, and that 61% would defect to a competitor after just one bad experience. The truth is that with so much choice available, consumers need a better reason to stick around than just a quality product. As the food, beverage, and retail industries are flooded with new entrants every year, how can your brand cut through the crowd while creating customer loyalty? The answer lies in innovation.

What is Brand Innovation? 

Generally, brand innovation refers to expanding on or adding value to your current offerings, whether that be through a new product line, creation of brand assets, refinement of brand strategy and position, or a complete rebrand of your entire visual design and identity.  The largest, most successful brands in the world are always innovating, focused on making their products distinct and disruptive while still remaining identifiable and relevant. Think of brands like Coca-Cola, McDonalds or Arnotts – each company is a household name in Australia with a unique brand identity, but continuously works to improve their offerings, reputation, and relationship with their customers. In 2021 Red Rooster undertook their first menu innovation in years by adding fried chicken to the menu. This was the perfect time for a drastic transformation to the brand as well.

Aligning Creativity with Brand Identity Consistency 

Although creating a unique and strong brand identity which will best serve your business is essential, what is often overlooked in the brand creation and innovation process is the importance of consistency. As consumers, we crave familiarity and an emotional connection with our favourite brands. Something as simple as a packaging or logo change can accidentally alienate your customer base, or worse, render your brand unrecognisable.  So, although creativity is an integral part of brand longevity and success, be mindful – each change you make should be purposeful and aimed at ultimately improving the customer experience.

Why is Having a Brand Innovation Strategy So Important? 

A 2021 survey by Havas Group concluded that we are entering an age of cynicism when it comes to the relationship between businesses and consumers. 71% of survey respondents had little faith that brands would deliver on their promises, and only 47% of brands were considered trustworthy. This means that brands need to concentrate on presenting an authentic and consistent brand identity to their customers, or risk losing their trust in the long run.  That is why having a cohesive brand innovation strategy is crucial – presenting conflicting information about your business or failing to deliver on your promises could spell disaster.

The Crucial Role of the Customer in Successful Innovation 

Now that the power of the consumer has exponentially increased, brands need to look to the needs of customers to inspire innovation. Having a strong social media presence is essential for modern brands, as this is where customers go to ask questions, leave reviews, and engage with businesses on a personal level. Brand equity is created just as much online as through in-person customer experiences these days, if not more so. Being able to directly connect with your customer base and solicit their opinion on recent or upcoming changes to your brand will help alleviate some of the risk that accompanies innovation, while also helping to form a stronger brand-consumer relationship.

How to Achieve Innovation Through Brand Evolution 

So now the question becomes: how can we achieve innovation? It’s normal to feel daunted by the idea of evolving your brand, but keep in mind that innovation is often the culmination of many small, easily achievable changes over time. Here are our five top tips for brand innovation:

#1: Be Inspired By Your Unique Story 

When we create or reinvigorate brands for our clients, we always go to your brand story first for inspiration. Not only does your unique story help to differentiate your brand from your competitors, but storytelling itself is the most effective way to forge an emotional connection with your customer base. We believe that behind every good brand is a good story, so make sure that you share it. Not sure how your story can help to evolve your brand identity? Sometimes it’s just a matter of digging deep and asking the right questions.

#2: Refresh Your Existing Brand Assets  

The visual elements of a brand can come to represent your entire brand identity at a glance. Refreshing your brand through a packaging redesign can be useful for overcoming a slump in sales or attracting a new customer demographic. The trick is to achieve this without losing the accumulated brand equity and recognition you have built up until that point. Our advice is to do your research! What do your customers want? What are your competitors doing? How is the market evolving? How can you integrate your brand story? We eat (and drink) with our eyes first, so make sure you give them a feast.

Yenda Brewing Co. Pale Ale Beer Packaging Label Design

Due to a massive influx of players into the craft beer space, Yenda had lost market share against its competitors. 

We were engaged to refresh the Yenda brand identity and drive more of a mainstream craft beer positioning, without alienating existing grassroots customers.

#3: Consider the Customer Experience 

Brands are judged on the way they treat their customers, so you need to ensure that every consumer has a positive experience when they engage with your products or service.  A customer’s experience of your brand could begin on your website, or through an interaction with a staff member, or by ordering takeaway through a food delivery app. Whatever form this first interaction takes, everything from your store design to your product packaging needs to reflect your brand identity and create a cohesive (and enjoyable) customer experience.

#4: Solidify Your Brand Position 

Having to constantly compete with other brands for consumer attention can be demoralising, especially when you can’t tell what makes a customer choose another product over your own. Some brands make the mistake of trying to appeal to every customer demographic, but we’ll let you in on a secret: the more specific your audience, the more likely you will receive ongoing customer loyalty.  People like to feel as though they are being personally advertised to; it’s one of the ways that we feel connected to a specific product or brand. You might just find that when you begin to target your ideal customer, your brand will actually resonate with a broader range of consumers.

#5: Disrupt the Status Quo  

The last thing any brand wants to do is get lost in the crowd. Although seeing how your competitors are branding themselves is valuable, don’t be tempted to copy what others have done before. You want to look for gaps in the market that haven’t been filled, or customer needs that haven’t been met – essentially, you want to zig where the market zags. Disrupting the status quo with intelligent, disruptive design is what gets brands noticed, so don’t be afraid to experiment! A refresh, partial rebrand or even a full rebrand could be all that is needed to take your business to the next level.

Guzman Y Gomez QSR Packaging Design Australia

When we were engaged by Guzman Y Gomez to create their Mexican QSR brand, no one was doing Mexican in Australia well. See how we built a disruptive brand that has survived the test of time and supported them as they have become one of Australia’s fastest growing QSR’s today.

Build Your Brand’s Success with The Creative Method 

Innovation is essential for brand longevity and success. Let’s talk about your brand innovation strategy – whether you are an established business or an entrepreneur with the beginnings of a dream, our team can help. Contact us today so that we can create the best brand innovation strategy for your business.

Blog: Branding and Packaging Design Success

The Key to Beverage Branding and Packaging Design Success

The Australian beverage market is currently worth $438.9 million and expanded by 2.1% during 2021, overtaking the consumer goods and services sector and the overall growth of the economy. Producers of alcoholic beverages in particular benefited this year, with a 3.4% increase of Australians drinking wine, a 2.6% increase in sales of spirits, and a 0.5% increase in beer consumption (after a decade-long slump).  Whether you’re an established brand looking to attract a different demographic with your latest product, or an ambitious newcomer determined to make a splash with your innovative offering, now is the time to start preparing. Once your product is on the shelf, the power passes to the consumer.  So, how can you convince customers to take a chance on your beverage over the competition? One key component: packaging.

How to Do Drinks Branding and Packaging Design the Right Way 

Since we eat (and drink) with our eyes first, it makes sense that the visual elements of beverage branding are the most important to get right. On a subconscious level, consumers are having to make decisions and form opinions about products faster than ever before, because more and more brands are clamouring for their attention. Once customers form an emotional connection with your brand, the challenge becomes retaining their loyalty as new products enter the marketplace. You may find that a packaging redesign or complete rebrand is necessary to recapture the attention of your audience or to expand your appeal.

What Makes a Successful Beverage Brand?  

For us, successful drinks branding is about creating a meaningful, lasting connection with your customers. As the humanity and sociability of brands becomes more important than ever, the last thing you want to be seen as is a faceless company focused on revenue. To stand out, follow these key steps.

Define Your Market Demographic 

On the surface, it seems logical that wine should be marketed to an older, more sophisticated demographic, beer to a predominantly male demographic, and energy drinks to the youth. But as the beverage market continues to diversify, generalising about your audience can be a recipe for disaster.  Creating a profile of your ideal customer – how old they are, where they work or study, what they do to relax, what are they currently drinking and more – will help you create targeted branding that cuts through the noise. If you don’t understand your audience, how do you know what is going to connect with them on an emotional level? 

Deliver Your Message (in a bottle!)  

We believe that at the heart of any successful brand is a good story. Humans are hardwired to respond to storytelling – it’s how we make sense of the world and of ourselves.  Storytelling is also the key to creating a genuine connection with your audience. If you can evoke an emotional reaction from customers, they’re going to remember your brand over your competitors. Focus on what it is that makes your brand and business truly unique. That’s your silver bullet, but you have to find it and then articulate it for your audience, and that’s where we come in.

Develop Ownable Brand Assets 

Any beverage branding agency worth their salt stresses the importance of developing a strong brand identity. But too often their advice is to use your rivals as inspiration, which can lead to derivative branding or uninspired designs. Sure, you should see what your competitors are up to, but you need to zig where they zag. Your brand identity and visual design elements must be ownable and distinctive – customers should be able to recognise your product range even if you take the logo off. With your personal brand story already articulated in a compelling way, unique ownable assets and clever packaging will help amplify it.

Design Disruptive Beverage Packaging  

Beverage packaging and labels tend to have a small surface area, making it difficult to include everything that you may wish to communicate to consumers. That’s why you need intelligent design, where everything from the bottle shape to the choice of font represents your brand in a cohesive and interesting way. Don’t be afraid to get creative, either. Taking risks may not always pay off but disruptive packaging design done intelligently will get you noticed. Products that stand out, sell. So make your beverage leap off the shelf!

Tips for Effective Drinks Branding and Packaging Design 

We strive for intelligent disruption with each of our packaging solutions, and conduct a brand and category audit specific to each project, however there are several packaging cues to consider in each particular market. Different colour palettes, typography and imagery evoke different feelings and are associated with specific flavours and types of beverages.  Following familiar trends can win the trust of consumers, but breaking the mould is where you will yield the best results.

#1: Beer Packaging  

From progressive craft beer to old-school, mainstream beer brands, packaging designs in this market tend to favour colour palettes which complement the type of beer itself. Striking patterns are used to signal experimental flavours or to appeal to a younger audience. Badges and crests commonly adorn more traditional beer labels, suggesting heritage and legitimacy within the wider marketplace. The use of discoverable design elements can help create something truly unique.  Coca-Cola Amatil came to us wanting to refresh their Vonu Pure Lager label – a low-carb, handcrafted beer known for its crisp, pure taste. By switching to a clear bottle and incorporating elements of surfing culture into the logo and imagery, Vonu Pure Lager now clearly reflects its brand identity of carefree living.

#2: Soft Drink Packaging 

Arguably the most iconic soft drink brand is Coca-Cola, with its timeless red and black colour palette, old-fashioned scripted font, and a contoured bottle design inspired by the cocoa bean (which the designers mistakenly believed was on the list of ingredients!) Soft drink packaging primarily features vibrant colours and simple logos, which can be easily recognised at a distance. Customers are also accustomed to colour reflecting flavour; red or pink for strawberry and other berry flavours, green for apple or lime, brown for cola, orange for orange, and so on. Again, the use of design craft and discoverable brand elements add depth and give consumers something new to engage with each time they interact with your brand. 

#3: Wine Packaging  

Wine packaging design trends revolve around the variety and varietal. Muted tones work well with sparkling wines and pastels are a great accompaniment for blush wines, while moody shades and geometric imagery suit sophisticated red wines such as cabernet. Wine packaging design also generally reflects its price point; consumers expect an expensive wine to exude elegance, while cost-effective wines can experiment with more playful bottle shapes and label designs. Never underestimate the importance of clever beverage branding. With our help, the Saint Clair Family Estate have created a world-class, highly awarded New Zealand wine brand in less than one generation.

#4: Non-Alcoholic Beverages Packaging  

For juices and dairy products, conveying freshness and wellness is key. Clear bottles are typically chosen to showcase the product and for appetite appeal, and the labels used to convey nutritional information, with less focus on communicating brand identity. Healthy drinks like kombucha, iced teas and vitamin-infused water follow these trends, highlighting their ingredients and utilising clean, minimalist packaging designs. In stark contrast to this are energy drinks, which convey their benefits through frenetic patterns and vibrant shades. And it makes sense – if you’re tired and looking for something caffeinated, only the wildest designs are going to grab your attention! When Nexba approached us to refresh their brand it was about more than just a packaging update for their range of kombuchas. We needed to develop a full brand architecture that would work across a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages including liquid breakfast, veggie blends and seltzer. 

#5: Spirits Packaging  

There are six basic types of distilled spirits – rum, gin, brandy, whiskey, tequila and vodka. Head to any bottle shop and you will immediately pick up on the design trends of each variety. Vodka brands use the blank canvas of the colourless spirit to suggest hidden flavours or evoke certain moods, while whiskey brands use vintage bottle shapes and typography to attract a more mature demographic. With spirits branding, less can definitely be more – we stripped back Wild Turkey Rare for a refined yet still masculine feel, and focused on the Fijian heritage of Rum Co. of Fiji to foreground their authenticity.

From elegant wines to experimental energy drinks, the success of your beverage branding can depend on having the right packaging design. Whatever your vision is for the future of your brand, we can help. 
Contact us today so that we can create the best drinks branding strategy for your business.

Blog: Rebranding strategy

The Ultimate Rebranding Best Practices and Strategy Guide for 2023

Picture this: You’re sitting in a meeting with your team, bouncing ideas off each other. Perhaps your brand has failed to gain traction in the market as quickly as you’d hoped, or sales are falling as consumers seem to lose interest in your products. Then someone throws out that mammoth word – rebranding.

We get it. Rebranding a business can be a daunting task, with no guarantee that the new brand will be embraced by your existing customers or a new market. But a successful brand strategy doesn’t necessarily have to include a new logo, mountains of new marketing materials, or endless focus groups. If done well, the rewards of your rebranding efforts will far outweigh the risks, as long as you avoid the common mistakes companies tend to make when undertaking a rebrand.

Successfully rebranding your business can revitalise your position in the marketplace, attract new customers, excite existing clients, and align your brand more fully with your company mission and brand values. So let’s get cracking!

What Exactly Is Rebranding?

Rebranding refers to the process of changing a company logo, brand messaging, or visual identity of a product, service, or company.

It is often done in response to changing market conditions, shifting consumer preferences, or to keep up with evolving trends in the industry. It can also be done to distance the company from negative associations or to appeal to a new audience.

Rebranding can be a complex and challenging process as it involves communicating the new direction to customers and stakeholders, and ensuring that the new corporate identity is consistent across all marketing channels and touchpoints to avoid customer confusion.

To rebrand successfully, a company needs to dig deep into what makes them unique then find a clever and disruptive way to present this to the market.

What Can Rebranding Involve?

A complete rebrand can involve redeveloping everything from company name, to a company’s logo, product packaging, web design and social media, and refreshing outdated branding materials.

A business may include their company’s mission statement, brand vision and values, tone of voice, or new brand guidelines in their rebranding strategy. It’s no wonder the entire process can feel so overwhelming!

The Most Common Mistakes to Avoid When Rebranding a Business

The first thing you should ask yourself is – do I need to rebrand, or do I actually need a brand refresh? (Yep, they’re two different things.) The last thing you want to do is overhaul your entire brand identity only to alienate your current buyers who have an emotional connection to and familiarity with your existing logo, packaging and other visual elements.

You might find that a new marketing campaign or fresh look at your packaging design does the trick to improve sales, increase awareness and re-energise your brand in the eyes of consumers.

A recent study showed that the success of rebranding is affected by the complexity of brand meaning creation and negotiation amongst different stakeholders, including consumers.

In essence, the longevity of your business relies on customer recognition and loyalty, so make sure that you aren’t transforming your brand into something unrecognisable.

We all know the pressures of keeping up with an ever-changing and expanding marketplace, but change for change’s sake can ultimately damage your reputation and could result in the loss of any existing brand equity.

Remember that as consumers, we tend to prefer consistency above all else – the knowledge that our favourite restaurant, food product or beverage (and the brands behind them) will always deliver the same level of quality. 

Why (and When) Your Business Might Need to Rebrand

There are several reasons why you might decide to rebrand your business, from trying to capture a new target audience to differentiating yourself from your competitors, to simply finding that your original branding has lost its meaning.

The purpose of rebranding is for consumers to perceive your brand in a different way while maintaining your accumulated brand equity.

Legacy brands in particular can benefit from rebranding, allowing them to maintain a competitive edge while evolving to meet industry expectations.

Partial rebrands are more usual than full rebrands, where companies update certain elements of their visual design such as their logo, while keeping the original colour palette and imagery. A partial rebranding strategy can effectively overcome a slump in sales or attract new customers while still maintaining the integrity of your identity. 

Our Top Tips for Successful Rebranding

Not to brag or anything, but we’ve helped some pretty cool companies with their brand identities over the years, from entrepreneurial start-ups to global corporations. We’ve learned firsthand that developing a new brand can be a game changer for any business, if you do it the right way.

Here are our top tips to successfully rebrand.

Pinpoint What Makes You Unique

If your existing branding is failing to stand out in the crowd, then it’s time to find out what makes you different. Following popular design and packaging trends might work in the short term, but without a unique visual presence, compelling brand elements and authentic brand story, customers are likely to overlook you for your competition.

Start digging deeper and get to the heart of what makes your brand distinctive, meaningful and interesting. Telling your unique story is the silver bullet of branding building. We believe that behind every good brand is an even better story – stories make us laugh, cry, reminisce, think and care. Not only does good storytelling humanise and modernise your business, it will help you forge a valuable, lasting connection and brand loyalty with your customer base. 

Create a Strong Emotional Connection

During the process of rebranding, it can be hard to figure out what parts of your existing brand identity you should keep, and what parts aren’t serving you well anymore. We like to think about it this way – which elements of your brand create the strongest emotional connection or response for consumers?

If you’re a legacy brand, perhaps it’s your name, logo or typography that people find comfortingly familiar, in which case those elements of your current branding should be maintained – and amplified. However if you’re a newcomer, opportunities for connection could lie elsewhere in your company’s purpose, story or values. You can then feel free to completely change the visual elements of your current brand, secure in the knowledge that your customers are drawn to your passion for organic ingredients, eco-friendly manufacturing methods or experimental flavours.

Focus on Longevity, Not Being On Trend

In any market, companies look to their competition for inspiration. A certain brand gains popularity out of the blue, so naturally you examine everything from their packaging to their ad campaigns to find the secret to their success. That’s how trends form – a successful brand might have graffiti-inspired typography and a high-contrast colour palette, and suddenly everywhere you look there are similar designs.

The issue with following trends is that (you guessed it): they change. Rather than risk being left behind, focus on creating distinctive brand assets which you can own and develop over the long term.

For example, when Yenda Brewing Co. decided to rebrand after losing market share in the highly competitive craft beer industry, we crafted a new version of their packaging with a unique logo and set of distinctive assets that would punch off the bottle and intelligently disrupt on the shelf.

Establish a Clear Purpose for Your Rebrand

This might sound pretty obvious, but you need to be able to clearly articulate why rebranding your business is necessary, as well as what you hope to achieve by it. Are you trying to engage a new customer demographic, or appeal to an international audience? Are you looking to expand your business, or are you trying to distance your brand from a previous mistake?

Once you know why and how extensively you want to rebrand, you can create a focused rebranding strategy which is more likely to succeed and help you achieve your business goals. You should also consider sharing your journey with your existing customers through social media, both to reassure people that the essence of your brand will remain intact and to demonstrate that their opinion and trust matters to your company.

Know Your Audience Really, Really Well 

As an established brand, you should already know your target audience inside out. But pivoting to target a new audience, or expanding to appeal to a broader demographic, means going back to the drawing board. Research your ideal customer and analyse your rivals in the marketplace, factoring the information you accumulate into your rebranding and marketing strategy.

Look for gaps in the market, what your customers need or desire that hasn’t been provided so far; you want to zig when everyone else zags, and stand out in the process.

When Delta Estate Wines wanted to evolve their brand, we appealed to a sophisticated, modern audience looking for exceptional quality, handcrafted wines and a brand with a clear passion for viticulture. The result was elegant, memorable and significantly increased domestic and global sales.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative

Sometimes companies are scared to experiment with rebrand strategy, worried that their existing customer base might dislike the changes or that it will negatively impact brand recognition. While this is a valid concern and a risk to be considered before the rebrand begins, you should also think about rebranding as the perfect opportunity to push the boundaries and intelligently disrupt.

We know creating a brand identity that people will love and remain loyal to is hard, and it makes sense to stick with what you know. But being too cautious can result in a brand that is generic and boring, the opposite of everything you’re trying to achieve.

Bold, intelligent design sells. Clever, disruptive design cuts through the noise and is remembered. And every successful brand began with a leap of faith, so get creative!

Commit to the Rebranding Process 

We’re going to let you in on an industry secret – getting cold feet halfway through a rebrand is completely normal. You might want to put on the brakes, or stress that all these changes are happening way too fast. But hesitating could leave your brand lost in the middle of an inconsistent present and incomplete future, never reaching its full potential.

When Oporto decided it was time to rebrand, they were known as the famous Bondi Beach chicken burger restaurant by Sydney-siders. In order to target regional areas, Oporto had to move away from their wildly popular ‘Bondi’ brand positioning. The risk paid off, with a vibrant blend of Portuguese culture and Aussie humour coming to define their brand.

Commit to the process. 

Whether you want to re-energise your brand, attract and retain new customers, or maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace, our team of experts can help you rebrand and share your unique story.
Contact us today to see how we can create a successful rebranding strategy for your business. 

Blog: FMCG Branding Guide

How to Create FMCG Branding That Can’t Be Ignored

When it comes to modern mass marketing, the fast-moving consumer goods industry (FMCG) is undeniably king. Including packaged foods and beverages, toiletries, cosmetics, alcohol, household products, tobacco and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, what differentiates fast-moving consumer goods from other categories is that they are in high consumer demand, tend to be perishable, have a high shelf turnover and are sold in large quantities at low prices. Since the end of WWII, the FMCG industry has been using a massively successful value-creation branding model which resulted in the foundation of 23 of the world’s top 100 brands by 2010. This value-creation branding model is based on strategies including creating partnerships with mass retailers and grocers, cultivating growing market categories to capitalise on the increase in consumer wealth, and designing company operations to consistently produce goods while simultaneously reducing the cost of production. And since it’s served the industry pretty well so far, it makes sense to continue using the same model, right? Wrong. Over the past few years in particular, the marketplace and the consumer experience have drastically been reshaped. During the height of the pandemic, as our physical space became more limited, our digital landscape – including e-commerce and social media platforms – expanded. And whether you’re an established business or in the process of creating your own brand, you need branding strategies that reflect our new reality. The value-creation model was unbeatable before the dawn of the digital age but now it’s outdated, affecting the organic growth of even the biggest FMCG companies.

Staying Competitive in the New Marketing Reality 

As new brands continue to emerge and the marketplace becomes more crowded, the power of the consumer grows exponentially. To maintain a competitive edge, companies need to understand their customer base and – more importantly – concentrate on creating a meaningful connection with them. Recent research has identified seven major drivers that affect the attitudes, beliefs and purchasing behaviour of Australian consumers including the use of personalised marketing, the healthy lifestyle trend as popularised on social media, the level of convenience offered and a preference for purpose-driven, ethical organisations. FMCG companies have also been encouraged to embrace digital marketing, which has permanently changed how we learn about and engage with brands, and learn how to work with the millennial market, who are completely different from any previous generation of consumer. (Feeling a little overwhelmed? We don’t blame you!) So how should we approach branding in this brave new world? Simple – we evolve.

Why the Best FMCG Brands are Agile and Disruptive 

Now, by evolve we don’t mean tearing your branding strategy apart to start from scratch. Think of brand evolution as shifting your focus, drawing on your own experiences as a consumer and what gives products value in your eyes.  We all have our favourite brands – there’s a reason why we reach for a Coca-Cola when we’re thirsty or crave a packet of Tim-Tams with our cup of tea. But we don’t often consider why we identify with these brands, or why once we decide on a particular brand we won’t accept similar alternatives. (Pepsi just isn’t the same, okay?) Part of our preference for particular brands is the comforting familiarity of them; we feel emotionally connected to them, which plays a critical role in shaping our subconscious purchasing behaviour. But brands also need to fit seamlessly into our changing lives, maintaining relevance so that we continue to choose them over the competition. It’s a balancing act of innovation and consistency, where tipping too far in one direction could alienate existing customers or lead to being overlooked by new audiences. The best FMCG brands are agile enough to walk that tightrope with ease, disrupting the status quo and reaping the rewards.

The Five Pillars of Successful FMCG Branding 

At The Creative Method, we thrive on evolutionary and revolutionary branding, combining bold visual design that leaps off the shelf with the meaningful brand purpose, sociability and authenticity which consumers demand from modern companies.  Creating successful FMCG branding that customers will love is hard, but we’ve got you covered with these five game-changing strategies.

#1: Align Yourself with Your Target Audience 

Whether you are opening a restaurant or releasing a new product line, your target audience always needs to be at the forefront of your mind. This may seem obvious, but many FMCG companies don’t do enough research into what motivates their customers. We know that mass marketing is no longer an effective tactic to engage younger consumers – there is a growing expectation that marketing will be personalised for individuals, not demographics. If you don’t align yourself with the values and interests of the audience you are trying to attract, what’s stopping them from moving on to another brand who will?

#2: Increase Customer Loyalty to Your Brand 

Once you’ve built the foundations of a strong customer base, the challenge becomes securing their ongoing loyalty. The more distinctive and interesting your brand identity is, the more you will stand out from your competition. Your brand identity is everything that the customer sees, from your product packaging and logo design to your customer service and social media presence. To tell a coherent, compelling story, each element of your brand identity needs to be cohesive. By doing so, your company effectively becomes more professional, trustworthy and authentic in the eyes of consumers. It will make you worthy of their loyalty.

#3: Tell Your Unique Story 

If you look at any of the top FMCG brands, one thing that you will notice is the amount of work that goes into their visual design, down to the smallest detail. Through effective packaging design and visual storytelling, you can share your brand identity with consumers at a glance.  One thing we’ve learned in our decades of packaging and design experience is that great brands are built on great stories. Telling your personal story will humanise your brand, help forge an enduring relationship with your customer base and make your product stand out in saturated marketplaces like craft beer.

#4: Develop a Genuine Purpose for Your Brand 

Australian consumers have discovered that their voices and purchase decisions can directly affect the practices of commercial organisations. There is a social responsibility attached to consumption, meaning that people are looking beyond the value of the product at the social, environmental and ethical impact of the brands behind them. So before diving into the essential rules of packaging design, take the time to step back and consider the values and causes that inspired the creation of your brand. Are you passionate about traditional ingredients, or eco-friendly production methods? Is your focus on providing convenience, innovation or healthy living? Make sure the visual design of your brand reflects these beliefs.

#5: Stay Relevant for Future Success

The world of retail has truly gone digital, and the last thing you want is to get left behind. If you’re currently in the process of rebranding and relaunching your FMCG business, digital marketing is the key to attracting and retaining your kind of customers while gaining brand traction in a short amount of time.  Cultivating a strong digital presence through e-commerce, an official brand website or building active communities on social media platforms will allow you to significantly expand your reach to potential customers, and create a lasting connection.

Whether you are an FMCG company focused on maintaining the loyalty of your customer base or an entrepreneur with the beginnings of a dream, you need competitive branding that can’t be ignored. 
Contact us today to see how we can build you the best branding package for your business.

Blog: Brand Identity Creation

How to Develop a Unique Brand Identity for Your Business 

Close your eyes for a moment and picture your favourite food or beverage product. (We know it seems weird, but trust us – this is important.)

What comes to mind first? Is it the logo? The visual design or colour palette? The product’s name and tagline in its signature typography? 

Or is it how the product makes you feel – comfort, desire, satisfaction, excitement?

Even in a world of near-constant advertising, we all have favourite brands that cut through the noise and become important to us. Thinking about them triggers a flood of associations and emotions – from memorable ad campaigns to enjoying their products with family and friends – increasing our loyalty and making us more likely to choose that brand over a competitor.

What all these brands have in common is a powerful and distinctive brand identity. And it can mean the difference between your success, or being lost in the crowd.

What Exactly is Brand Identity?

Brand identity refers to a brand’s visual identity, brand assets, brand voice and experiential elements that represent a brand and distinguish it from competitors. It includes the brand’s name, company logo, colour palette, typography, messaging, and other visual elements, as well as the brand’s values, brand personality, and positioning in the market. A strong brand identity serves to create a consistent and recognisable brand image that resonates with its target audience and builds trust and brand loyalty over time.

Why Building a Strong Brand Identity is so Important 

Let’s face it – the marketplace is growing exponentially, with new food, beverage and retail brands emerging every day. So how can you attract an audience, ensure your customers remain loyal, or maintain a competitive edge?

Simple: by making people care. Care not just about your product, but about your story, your values and your company. A recent worldwide study found that consumers wouldn’t care if 75% of existing brands disappeared, driving home the importance of having a meaningful connection with your customer base. Pair this with the fact that the power of consumers in the retail relationship is only increasing, and engaging customers becomes more than just a marketing tactic. It’s essential to ensure the future of your business.

That’s why all the best brands are focused on creating a brand identity that is unique, authentic and consistent. A strong brand identity is your superpower – it makes your customers care.

The Key Elements of Successful Brand Identity Design 

In essence, your brand identity is everything that the customer sees, from your product packaging to your social media presence. So it makes sense that you would need striking graphics and a catchy name. But good branding design runs deeper than that.

Each branding element needs to be cohesive, telling a consistent story that your customers can understand. If you say your brand is eco-friendly but use non-recyclable materials, or claim to prioritise customer satisfaction but ignore enquiries on your social media, customers will consider you inconsistent and inauthentic. With only 47% of brands deemed trustworthy by consumers globally, it doesn’t take much to damage a brand’s reputation these days.

Customers also prefer purpose-driven organisations, who stand for something more than the products they sell. Just as we expect to be treated like people by brands, people expect brands to act more human, focusing on positively impacting society rather than on profit. The more transparent, engaged and sociable your brand is, the deeper your connection with customers will be.

Creating a brand identity that people will love is hard – creating a brand that customers will remain loyal to is even harder. Luckily for you, we’ve got the key elements covered.

#1: Know Your Audience Inside Out 

When you create an amazing product, you can’t help but want to share it with as many people as possible. After being in that intense creative headspace for so long, it seems inevitable that everyone will be as excited about your product as you are. Why shouldn’t you just market it to all demographics and audiences, and shape your brand identity later to suit the customer base that responds?

Unfortunately in trying to appeal to everyone, you run the risk of becoming just another generic brand, ultimately appealing to no one. Successful companies know their target audience inside out; they know how to appeal to them and what they need. Crucially, clever businesses know the gap in the market which only their product can fill, flipping the switch from disposable to essential in their ideal customer’s mind.

Figuring out your target audience is a huge step towards creating a brand identity that lasts. So close your eyes again (yeah we know, it’s still weird), but this time picture your product and how it makes you feel. We guarantee there’s people out there who want that same experience. That’s your audience.

Brand ad concept for POETS Country Lager.

This is the POETS way: Piss Off Early, Tomorrow’s Saturday.

The brand strategy for POETS Country Lager centres around it being a full flavoured lager for country Australia, aimed at hard-working Aussies who have their priorities right – laying their tools down on a Friday to enjoy a few cold ones in good company. We wanted to create a strong brand that was memorable and distinctive through use of brand assets such as the Kookaburra mascot and red brand colour palette.

#2: Define and Refine Your Brand Position

At the heart of brand positioning is the ongoing quest to set your brand apart from your competitors and make your product the most favourable in the eyes of consumers. We know it can be tedious, but thorough research of the marketplace is the best way to discover your unique flavour, whether that’s the quality or convenience of your product, your unprecedented level of customer service, or your innovative approach to retail.

With the rise of e-commerce, success can no longer be measured simply by owning the aisle or having the best eatery in a particular postcode. It’s about creating a brand identity that truly means something to your customers. 

We know that consumers trust meaningful brands, those who offer ongoing value beyond their products and work to create deeper emotional ties with their audiences. And in the digital age, one of the best ways of sharing your company values and brand mission is by cultivating a strong social media presence. If you demonstrate a genuine interest in your customers and work to create an engaged online community, your brand will become associated with authenticity, credibility and most importantly, humanity.

#3: Command Attention with Clever Visual Design

Ever heard the saying that we eat with our eyes? There’s a reason why branding design focuses so much on the visuals. Having an eyecatching logo or bold packaging that leaps off the shelf is a brilliant way to connect companies with customers, and if cleverly utilised the visual design of your brand can come to symbolise your entire brand identity. 

Our creative team has decades of branding and packaging design experience, so you can trust us when we say that products that stand out, sell. The first thing customers will see and judge your product on is the visual design, and the decision to go with one product over another is made almost instantly, sometimes even subconsciously. Since that decision could be based on any number of branding elements from the typography to the colour palette, it pays (literally) to put the extra effort in.

It’s not just about being aesthetically pleasing, either. A memorable brand is one that intelligently disrupts the status quo, making a potential customer stop in their tracks and think, or smile, or laugh, or reminisce. Never underestimate the power of effective packaging design.

We created multiple versions of the ranga character and finally settled on this fun-loving beast, who isn't overly pleased that you are drinking all his beloved ginger beer.

A simple brand identity made memorable

When we were approached to create a brand identity for a new hard ginger beer, including name and all brand assets, we wanted to create something memorable and emotive, with disruptive pack design that was bold and distinctive on shelf.

We created multiple versions of the ranga character and finally settled on this fun-loving beast, who isn’t overly pleased that you are drinking all his beloved ginger beer.

#4: Use the Art of Storytelling to Connect with Customers 

Since the dawn of time, there’s nothing that we as a species have liked better than sitting around the fire and sharing a few yarns. Stories are not only how we understand the world around us, but also one of the most effective forms of communication available to us. 

Like we said earlier, the success of both your brand identity and your business relies on making your customers care. Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of branding. By forging an emotional connection with your audience through story, whether you’re making them grin or tugging at their heartstrings, you ensure that they keep choosing you over your competition.

Believe it or not, one of the best ways to create an enduring and authentic relationship with customers is by telling them your personal story. Great brands are built on great stories, ones that create interest, warmth, trust and connection. And if you’re worried that you don’t have a unique or interesting enough story to tell, check out our work with some of the most recognisable food and beverage brands in Australia. Sometimes it’s simply a case of asking the right questions to uncover the perfect yarn.

#5: Combine Creativity with Brand Consistency 

By now you’ve probably realised the essential role that creativity plays in developing a strong, distinctive and authentic brand identity. A cohesive brand identity is actually made up of multiple creative branding elements that need to be refined and cultivated to tell your unique story. Whether it’s introducing a food product into the market or opening up a new restaurant, you should never miss an opportunity to be creative in your branding design. However when it comes to retaining the loyalty of customers, consistency is key. 

We can learn from industry giants like Coca-Cola Amatil about the importance of maintaining a consistent brand identity – if someone mentions cola, the Coke logo and its iconic red and white colour scheme immediately comes to mind. Coca-Cola doesn’t just sell cola-based beverages, it has come to represent cola itself in Western popular culture. By continuing to deliver high-quality products while repeating key visual design elements across their range, Coca-Cola is both instantly recognisable and beloved by its audience. People may appreciate innovation in the short term, but it’s familiarity and consistency that will keep them aligned with your brand for years to come.

Whether you are a long-established business looking to re-energise your brand or an entrepreneur with the beginnings of a dream, having a unique and memorable brand identity is essential for success. 
Contact us today to see how we can build you the best branding and design package for your business.