Strong culture is the foundation of a successful rebrand

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When I was growing up, my mother often reminded me that “you can’t judge a book by its cover” and “beauty is only skin deep.” Those were important lessons for an image-conscious teenager. But I don’t think the lessons apply to companies and brands. Because in business, our outward brand image is an accurate representation of our character. Or it should be.  

Harvard Business Review puts it this way: “How you operate on the inside should be inextricably linked with how you want to be perceived on the outside.” In other words, your brand identity should reflect your workplace culture. I’ve been thinking about this a lot because Dixon Schwabl just rebranded to become Dixon Schwabl + Company. The reason? To more accurately communicate who we are and what we do — both internally and externally.  

With so many local and national businesses going through rebrands right now, it’s a good time to consider the connections between rebranding and culture and review best practices for strengthening both.  

Your people are your brand 

While your company name, logo and graphic identity work together to project your brand image, your people are the most powerful and convincing voices for your identity — and they’re critical to the success of your rebrand. There’s even research to support this: A recent meta-analysis of data by Copperfield Advisory, Insider and Revolution Insights Group found that 78% of business transformations are failures. What did the successful 22% do differently? They engaged and prioritized employees in the process and implementation. 

Studies show that when you focus on your people throughout your rebrand, your team members grow more loyal, energized to champion the new brand forward. They feel a renewed sense of belonging, excited to come together to build the new identity and bring it to life. The positive culture benefits can transform your company inside and out, but only if you communicate and involve your team members from day one.  

Two-way communication is your No. 1 priority  

To create an authentic rebrand, one that accurately represents your company’s unique culture, you need to include everyone in the process, involving people from every corner. Start by communicating why you think you need to rebrand. Ask for thoughts, opinions and ideas. And open a variety of channels for continuous two-way discussion to encourage everyone to be part of the process. You might have to get creative to get people to participate, but it’s important to do so.  

In addition to in-person and virtual large and small group meetings, one-on-ones and pulse surveys, form committees and advisory groups with representatives from every department. Invite people to submit ideas or create contests for elements of the rebrand, renaming a conference room or newsletter, for example. People will feel more inspired, secure and engaged knowing they’re helping shape the new brand — and will be excited to promote it.  

Throughout the process, be transparent about progress, communicating outcomes in live meetings, videos and emails. But be careful not overwhelm people with information about every detail and iteration. Give them time to process and provide a platform for responding and providing feedback. For example, after each pulse survey, analyze the responses and share what you learned. If you discovered aspects of the rebrand that need adjusting, solicit thoughts on how to improve it. And follow up with ongoing education about the new brand, what it means to team members, partners and customers. By taking your team on the journey with you, you move together from understanding to engagement, co-creation to ownership. 

After all, your team members are more likely to rally around your rebrand if it they had a say in it. And they should, because they ultimately are the hearts, smiles and voices that represent your brand to the world.  

A few culture caveats  

When done well, the rebrand process can spark a chain of positive culture benefits and feel-good, motivating vibes. But there are few risks to keep in mind, along with ways to avoid them. 

Know thyself. Before you begin to rebrand, you need a current picture of who you are and who you want to be. You might think you know, but it’s best to get an objective assessment. Take advantage of an online cultural audit tool or consult with an organizational development expert to conduct an analysis. If the results reveal a misalignment, you’ll want to clarify and strengthen your culture first, so you can build your brand on a strong foundation.  

Promote understanding. Use every form of communication you can to help every single team member understand why you’re rebranding. Reinforce the message with your supervisors and ask them to talk with their direct reports individually to gauge understanding, provide information and reassurance, and answer questions. This is super important, because if people are uncertain about the purpose of the rebrand, they probably won’t identify with it, be excited by it or believe in it. 

Maintain trust. For many of us, our jobs and workplaces are a big part of our identity. We define ourselves by our position and describe our culture as “family.” No wonder a change to that identity — and that’s what a rebrand is — is uncomfortable, especially for longtime team members. To help people feel more confident, talk to each person individually and let them know exactly how the rebrand will affect them personally and the company a whole. When you’re ready to launch, start with a soft, internal rollout to give everyone time to adjust.  

Recognize your roots. As you look to the future, also look back. Ask your veteran team members to help identify the vital elements of your legacy culture and find ways to incorporate them into your new brand. For example, at DS + CO, we continue our “family-comes-first” approach to work-life integration, weekly all-agency meetings and employee peer recognition programs. Also, when giving props to the people who worked on the rebrand, be sure to give big credit to the folks who helped get you where you are today. This will help unite new and longtime employees around the new brand. 

Your new brand is everchanging — and culture-changing  

Even after our strategic rebranding process, high-energy launch and overwhelmingly positive response, we continue to promote, integrate and live our new brand every day in all we do. Because a rebrand is more than a moment in time. It’s more than a new color, font and slogan. It’s an ongoing way of interacting with each other, customers, partners and the community. It’s how we create, produce and deliver our products and services. It’s how we communicate and relate, and it’s the experiences we create. In other words, it’s our workplace culture. And our culture is the bedrock of our brand. 

To keep it thriving, your rebrand needs to be integrated into the way you operate. For example, if your brand is all about innovative, custom solutions, build a culture that empowers your team members to experiment and make decisions — and mistakes. Before we developed our new brand, we restructured the agency into four workstreams, designed a new day structure and implemented an agile way of working. We also transitioned our leadership from Mike Schwabl and me to Kim Allen and Jess Savage. Together, these changes informed our rebrand — and allow us to deliver on it every day. 

And yet, our work isn’t done. We continue to research and discuss, assess and adjust to make sure our brand reflects our evolving culture and our culture supports our fluid brand. Because as Harvard Business Review points out: “If your culture and your brand are driven by the same purpose and values, and if you weave them together into a single guiding force for your company, you’ll win the competitive battle for customers and employees, future-proof your business from failures and downturns, and produce an organization that operates with integrity and authenticity.”  

Exactly the point of rebranding.  

Lauren Dixon is board chair of Dixon Schwabl + Co., a marketing communications firm, which has  been honored as a Best Place to Work.